Tag: abbey ruins

A weekend in Whitby – part 2

Whitby is easily “doable” on foot, which meant we could park up at our B&B on Saturday and not have to use the car again until we set off for home 2 days later. As I mentioned in my part 1 blog post, Whitby is situated on two sides of the river Esk, with attractions on both East Cliff and West Cliff, and our B&B was on West Cliff, a 5 minute walk from the harbour.

After a chilled Saturday afternoon of fish and chips, ice cream, amusement arcades and a live pub band in the evening, we set off with intent early on Sunday morning to see the sights. It was a beautiful morning with bright blue skies, the sea was sparkling and, with a spring in our step, we crossed the bridge over to the East Cliff side of town and headed for Whitby Abbey.

The cobbled streets were deserted as we followed the signs for the 199 steps which climb to the top of East Cliff, through St Mary’s churchyard, and towards the abbey ruins. I didn’t count the steps on the way up, I was too busy gasping for breath and willing my lungs not to collapse, but I did get a few pics looking over the town.

At the top of the steps the churchyard looms large, with it’s ancient gravestones all worn away and gnarly from years of exposure to the elements of sun, wind and rain. I can imagine it would be quite eerie on a grey day, but the blue sky was perfect for taking some photographs and enjoying the best of the morning.

The Abbey had only been open for about 15 minutes when we arrived, which meant that we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We declined the audio guide, preferring instead just to wander at our own pace and marvel at the sheer size, scale and detail of the architecture. It’s very impressive. I always find things like this pretty mind blowing when you consider how old they are and that modern machinery and construction didn’t exist when they were built. The weather conditions were just perfect for photographs, so I took a lot!

Whitby Abbey

Look, it’s me!

Me at Whitby Abbey

After a slow meander back down through the gravestones and the 199 steps (still not counting!) we crossed over to West Cliff, and headed towards the beach.

At low tide the beach is accessible from sea level, across and round the rocks, but we had to climb up the hill and back down again, much to the sorrow of our already aching lower limbs! The whalebone arch is another Whitby tourist attraction, and is an actual whalebone – the 15ft jaw of a Bowhead whale shared with Whitby from Canada.

Whalebone arch Whitby

Whitby has a history of whaling, whereby all parts of the caught whales were used in industry – skin for leather, blubber for oil, etc; and also has a strong maritime connection, being the home of the infamous Captain Cook who moved to the town as a fishing apprentice in his teens. All of the boats used in his great journeys of discovery were built in Whitby, and there’s a statue of him on the same site as the whalebone arch, looking out to sea.

We were thrilled by the colourful beach huts!

Beach huts Whitby

And stood soaking in the rhythmic to and fro of the sea. It’s just so calming, don’t you think?

There were some crazy people having a paddle; I know I said the weather was unseasonably good, but I can’t imagine the sea would be very pleasant in mid October!

We stopped off to play the 2 pence machines in the amusement arcades – a must on any visit to the seaside – before walking along the pier out towards the sea. Imagine my delight when I saw that the lighthouse was open to the public!

Whitby lighthouse

I’ve never been up a lighthouse, you don’t get many of them in landlocked Birmingham! I gladly handed over my £1.50 (such a bargain, it’s cheaper up North) and began the climb. Not gonna lie, it wasn’t that much fun, it made me very dizzy (it’s a small and narrow lighthouse with nothing but steps inside, so you just go round and round and round) and very out of breath, but it was worth it at the top for 360 degree views across Whitby and out to sea.

There was a hairy moment on the way back down when we had to cross paths with people who were climbing up (think about a very narrow spiral staircase with wedged steps and two humans going in opposite directions) but it was well worth it, and something I will always look back on with a smile.

Feeling like true seamen (snigger) we then decided to follow in Captain Cook’s footsteps and head out on the open water. There are lots of pleasure boat trips moored up on West Cliff offering a 25 minute trip out of the bay for the princely sum of just £3, and we settled on a traditional wooden looking boat with a pirate flag!

The trip was both bracing and informative, with details of Captain Cook’s background, voyages, and eventual demise at the hands of Hawaiian natives in 1779. The boat was a 40% size replica of the Endeavour, used by Cook in his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771.

We rounded off our day with the most delicious late lunch at the Abbey Wharf restaurant (read about that in my part 1 blog post), enjoying the last of the afternoon sunshine and congratulating ourselves on having the best time!

I would 100% recommend Whitby for a weekend away; there’s enough to do to keep you occupied without feeling overwhelmed or rushed, and the seafood alone is worth the journey.

Plus, it’s very pretty by night too! (photo credit to the husband)

Whitby at night

Whitby harbour at night

Thanks Whitby, we loved you.

Read part 1 of my trip review here.

Thanks, as always, for reading! x

Days out: Glastonbury

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One of the things I dislike about winter is not being able to get out and about. Sure you can still do stuff, but it’s not much fun when it’s freezing cold with the threat of rain or snow and your extremities feel like they’re going to drop off.

The husband and I have been craving a change of scene and some fresh air, so with the promise of a dry and bright Saturday, we headed off to Glastonbury.

I’ve never been to Glastonbury before, and only know of it due to the music festival. I’d heard that it was hippy and mystical but knew nothing else about it. A quick Tripadvisor search told us that Glastonbury Tor and Glastobury Abbey were must sees.

Off we went down the motorway, getting super excited as the car temperature gauge crept ever higher, at one point reaching the heady heights of 10 degrees! It started to drop as we neared our destination, and was no more than 6 degrees and overcast as we parked up in Glastonbury and prepared to climb the Tor.

Glastonbury Tor is a bloody big hill, 525ft high, steeped in history and legend. At the top is what’s left of St Michael’s tower, dating back to the 15th century. Stuff like that blows my mind. It’s just so old!

national-trust-glastonbury-tor

There seemed to be multiple approaches to the Tor, and we settled on the one we were told was a gentle approach.

glastonbury-tor-the-gentle-approach

Ha! Either someone was having us on, or I’d hate to see the none gentle approach! Despite the helpful addition of a well trodden path and man made steps, the ascent was challenging at times (remember I’m a non healthy, non exercising, non flexible person). Calves burned. Cheeks burned. Skin flushed from pink to purple. There were multiple stops, huffs and puffs as we powered on through. But we made it!

The views from the top are 360 degrees – apparently you can see 3 counties. It was pretty cool, but still just a view of countryside (I appreciate this makes me a heathen). Maybe because it was cloudy and dull, maybe because we were so high that the wind was howling and I was afraid of falling off and tumbling down the hill, or maybe because I had such bad earache from the blowing gale that I couldn’t properly concentrate, but it wasn’t worth staying up there for very long.

view-from-glastonbury-tor

So I snapped some piccies, marvelled (and not in a good way) at the man who had carried a babe in arms which was howling through it’s pink blanket, wondered why on earth there were names and initials carved into the stone of the historical St Michael’s church (seriously, who does that?!) and headed back down.

Feeling exhilarated and proud of ourselves we walked towards the town to check out the Abbey.

Glastonbury Abbey in it’s current guise dates back to the 1530s, and again is steeped in history. It’s the final burial place of King Arthur (like, wow!) For just £7.60 each (including the optional gift aid donation) we wandered around at leisure looking at the ruins, the history, the grand floorplan, the grounds, the flowers and the museum. It was magnificent. So much history.

The size and scale of the ruins is amazing, and trying to picture it in it’s full glory is mindblowing in itself. The ruins that are still standing are majestic. To think they were built all those years ago, without machinery, scaffolding or architects is fantastic.

The level of detailed carving and sculpture, purely for decorative purposes, must have been such a long process.

Here’s an impression of what it would have looked like before it was ruined.

glastonbury-abbey-artist-impression

Glastonbury town is surprisingly small, but very quirky. Outside of the main street there isn’t really much to see or do, it just kind of drifts off into ordinary nothingness! There are lots of crystal shops, stores selling books about witchcraft and the occult, hippy clothes shops and jewellery shops, with bright frontages, candles, mirrors and fun names.

Through this archway was a little courtyard with some quaint bookstores and a café.

glastonbury-experience

Such a pretty approach and shop.

This wooden face carving was a bit eerie!

glastonbury-wooden-carving

The sculptures were lovely.

See the guy in the blue fleece on the bottom right photo? He was randomly doing some form of tai-chi on his own in the middle of the courtyard. The kind of thing you’d expect in a place like this. Then he stopped and got his mobile phone out! Checking your emails isn’t the height of zen!

After marvelling at all the colours and craziness, we headed home; contended and happy to have had such a great day.

Thanks, as always, for reading!