To the Seas Again

The words "thank you" are quite small aren't they?
Somehow they just don't express the way I want to say how very much I loved all your Birthday wishes on my last post. I was not expecting so many comments from you all! That self-portrait photo on Friday...Hmmm well can I just confirm that I did not in any way put that photo out there to fish for compliments.Truly, it was a spontaneous kind of for-the-record type photo at the end of quite a muddled randomy post (it was very random wasn't it?!) I simply thought maybe I could pop my picture there amongst the crochet, flowers and bits of rooms so I can remember in weeks and months and years to come how my hair looked on the day I visited the hairdressers, much as I did on this day. I think I'll also like to remember in future weeks and months and years how my face looked on that happy Friday, the penultimate day of my thirties.
You are so generous with your words, so kind. I looked in on my emails late last night after sea breezes and champagne and cake and presents had subsided, and I was quite overwhelmed. Maybe I could say something like "thank-you-so-very-hugely-humungously-enormously-much" and you will feel the bigness of those words, the way in which it comes with genuine, heart felt gratitude from me to you.
You made my heart squeeze, you wreathed me in smiles.

(((  xxx   t h a n k   y o u   xxx  )))

So yes, I am now 40.
Forty.
Forty. 40.
That number doesn't feel like it fits me yet, but I am happy with it, with myself, with my life at this time.
And folks, I had the most fantabulous weekend. It was GREAT!

"Sea Fever", do you know this poem by John Masefield? I love the middle verse ::

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. 

I often get this huge urge to be by the sea, and frequently it is at this time of year around my birthday. In fact I can recall many years when I have spent my birthday by the sea, I can vividly remember my 30th birthday (Robin Hoods Bay), and my 34th Birthday (Staithes) and my 37th Birthday (Craster). And now my 40th Birthday (Robin Hoods Bay again) will be lodged there in my memory, full of sea breezes, running tides, clouds flying and sea-gulls crying.



We had booked our hotel at the little village of Robin Hoods Bay, but on Saturday we headed first to Whitby.
Whitby is a lovely, bustling, pretty, quaint seaside town on the east coast of Yorkshire, and it never fails to life my spirits when I visit.
We have a lovely circular walk that we like to do here, its about 5 miles long so nothing too dramatic, but lovely all the same. The first half of the walk climbs out of Whitby town, up through the higgledy-piggledy houses and away from the busy harbour to head out across open fields and farms. We eventually arrive at the cliff tops a few miles outside of Whitby itself and the second half of the walk is then back along the coastal path (part of the Cleveland Way) to the Abbey ruins, which you can just see on the skyline in the top photograph.


Arriving back into Whitby along the coastal path is lovely :: we are high up above the harbour and the views are stunning.

I love the rooftops and houses, the chimney pots and windows, the boats and the harbour, the sea and the sky, the sights and the sounds. Love it all.

I especially love walking down the ancient 199 steps, descending slowly, admiring the view, feeling sorry for  the poor people huffing and puffing up the steps when I am breezing down them.
I often wish it was not so crowded (I do get absurdly annoyed at having to feature complete strangers in my scenic photographs), but the bustling atompsphere is all part of the charm. And on Saturday, it was sunny and warm, and the perfect day to be beside the sea, so of course it was indeed incredibly busy.

But there are still little patches of quiet to be found. Peeking up little alleyways to catch glimpses of small cottages hidden away....

...and a quiet cobbled street, off the beaten track.

But as much as I like Whitby, as much as I enjoy the busy harbour and the lovely shops, I am yearning to get to Robin Hoods Bay. We eventually arrive in the late afternoon at five to five, and my heart  swells at the sight of the first little houses at the top of this tumbling, ancient smugglers village.
It really is one of my most favourite places in the whole wide world.
I am so very glad to be there, I actually realise I am skipping instead of walking. It's true, I am walking along holding my husbands hand and skipping like an overgrown child.

Forty. Need to keep saying that number till it fits me.
I don't feel forty, and I certainly don't act it either.

So.....tales of my Birthday day tomorrow.
That's my 40th Birthday you know.
Uh-huh, I'm 40.
See you tomorrow.....
xxxxxxxx

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I love Whitby!!! And York is lovely around xmas, been there several times. And I swear this is my last comment today here ;-)

[Tamar]

Dearest Lucy,
Happy Happy birthday!
40 is WONDERFUL! enjoy!!
love
Tamar

[Cele]

Glad you had a lovely break.those little seaside houses and the steep streets look so lovely.

[simone]

Happy Birthday Lucy.

[Kathryn]

What scenery, how lucky you were to go to the sea side on you birthday. 40 is only a number, it's how you feel that matters.
Happy Birthday,
With Smiles
Kathryn

[Cláudia]

Oi Lucy!
Parabéns pra você! Pelo seu aniversário!!
Amo seu link.
Beijos

[sarah]

That's mean't to say 'your' oh dear it's getting late!
Sarahx

[sarah]

It all looks fabulous glad you enjoyed our birthday!
Sarahx

[Cynthia]

Pretty scenery. Hope you had a happy birthday!

[janneke]

Dear Lucy,
Congratulations on your birthday, sorry i was not on time to sent you my best wishes...but i was visiting your country at sunday !! Back today.. we were in Edinburgh and surroundings, had a lovely time. Love you hair :)
Greetings from Janneke.

[Maizie]

Happy Belated Birthday wishes Luce, so glad to read that you had a great time & what a gorgeous picture of you, your hair is fab & I hope that my skin looks as young as yrs when I descend into my 40s xxx

[jane]

Happy Belated Birthday Lucy, sorry I missed it, but lots of love on it's way to you and your gorgeous new haircut!
What a wonderful trip you had. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful place with us.
Jane. x

[shirley]

Lucy im so glad you enjoyed your birthday. Many happy returns x

[joanna]

It sounds a lovely day. Have a great birthday.

[Claire]

Hi Lucy, wow what a fab load of comments for you on your birthday post! You deserve it, you brighten everyones day! So glad you had a brilliant birthday, love that you skipped along with hubby thats soooo cute! Robin Hood Bay and Whitby look great to visit! Looking forward to more birthday tales....lots of love Claire x

[Rosepetaljam]

Happy Birthday!!!!

I was in Whitby too on Saturday - we were having the weekend at our cottage nearby, so maybe we passed in the street and never knew :-) I hope you found La Maison, The Shepherd's Purse and the Whitby Bookshop - my faves. Oh and Beckett's for tea and cake?

I had my 32nd birthday in Robin Hood's Bay in the apartment above the Old Coastguard Station, with fab sea views - oh you are a lucky duck!

I love that poem too so thanks for reminding me.

may all of your birthday's be by the sea.

S xx

[cathleen]

Lucy, your photos are breathtaking. I wish I lived in England. I love the sea, too, and in England the sea is so close to everything. I have to drive 12 hours to get to the Atlantic Ocean. Looking forward to some more pictures.

[Fiona]

So pleased you had a lovely weekend. Can't remember whether I got time to leave you a comment on Friday so incase I didn't, Happy Birthday. Love the pictures of Whitby. I have very fond memories of Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay as I grew up in East Yorkshire and it was a favourite day out. When I was at primary school we had a weeks trip staying at a place called Thorpe Hall just outside Robin Hoods Bay and I remember walking through those windy lanes and learning about smugglers and getting bitterly cold perching on a step filling out worksheets. Happy Days! More pics of R H B tomorrow I hope?

[French Knots]

Happy Birthday! 40 is fine, really it's just 39 and a bit I'm finding.
There is certainly something restorative about being beside the sea.Perhaps that's what we need in our forties :)!

[Fi]

Hello you flirty forty. Looking forward to the next installment. Lovely photos. We moved from Beverley near Hull last year as you know, so we're quite well acquanted with the East Coast and its seaside towns.

[Nicola]

Oh Lucy, I can feel the joy and happiness radiating from your post and let me tell you you've passed a little bit of that onto me sat here at work on a cold day here in Stirling. The poem is lovely and like you I often just need to be by the sea, it helps clear away all the cobwebs that seem to take up residence in my head quite often lol! Looking forward to hearing more. Nicola xx

[Lisa]

What a truly beautiful place to spend celebrating such a special time.
xx

[Lesley]

oh what a lovely place to visit to commemorate the big four-oh!! looking forward to the rest of your birthday tales :-)
Lesley x