I have been walking for pleasure all of my adult life, striding out through the Dorset countryside and along the southern coastline in my teenage years, then hiking through the northern hills of the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales through my twenties, thirties and forties. Scenic walking and picnicking is very high on my list of Absoulutely Wonderful Things To Do, it has given me untold amounts of pleasure over the years, that's for sure.
Becoming a parent scuppers walking activity slightly - when they were babes we still managed to walk by stuffing them into backpacks, bribing them with snacks and carrying them about on our backs. But any sort of pleasurable walking grinds to a halt once you are in possession of a toddler or two. Now that we are firmly out of toddlerdom, walking is right back on our leisure agenda and I can't tell you how good that feels. Little B (5), Little Lady (11) and Little Man (12) are turning out to be pretty great walkers and last week we managed two modest, five mile circular walks. I read somewhere that when walking with young children you can pretty much equate their age with the number of miles you can expect them to walk, and we have found this to be pretty true. Five miles for a five year old is spot on, providing you are armed with copious amounts of sweets/chocolates/snacks.
The first walk we did last week started and finished in Whitby, which is a favourite place of ours. We were last there two years ago spending a very cold, wintry time freezing our butts off on the deserted beach. May is thankfully a very different prospect to February, and the day we made our walk it was bright and sunny with a brisk breeze blowing off the sea.
The English countryside in May is absolutely stunning, I think it's probably my most favourite time of the entire year to be out and about breathing it all in.
The first part of our walk was inland, up and away from Whitby town and out across open farmland.
I really love to see these fields of Rapeseed (grown as an oil producing crop) in full bloom, the colour is magnificent in a very in-your-face type of way. Usually viewed from a distance as we journey about in the car, it was breathtaking to be walking a path right alongside the plants.
The colour of the flowers is so vibrant it almost hurts to gaze at it for too long. I was surprised by how tall the plants were too - I took some amazing photos of my two big Little People standing amongst the flowers, with only their eyes and the tops of their heads visible above the mass of yellow.
A little part of the walk was along this quiet road, giving us some beautiful views of the ancient Abbey that is a famous landmark along this coastline.
I was walking with Little B, we were the slow portion of the family party. We lingered behind the others, me taking photos and him poking about in the undergrowth looking for things of interest. This furry caterpillar was examined at close quarters before being given a new home amidst a bed of buttercups.
After a couple miles we arrived at the cliff edge, with the return part of the walk following the Cleveland Way coastal path back into Whitby.
The views were incredibly beautiful on this bright sunny day, the shades of sky, sea and cliff merged to create a very fresh, uplifting palette of feel-good colour.
In the interests of honesty, I need to confess to you that around about now we had a bit of a bust up, and a rather vocal family argument ensued. It was midday, and the Little Peeps were hungry and wanted to stop. I had told them about this secluded little beach that J and I had once picnicked on and they had their hearts set on it for lunch. It's a bit of a trek to get down (a flight of wooden steps down from the cliff top) and even more of a trek to get back up again (same wooden steps but double the effort), but they wanted to do it and I agreed it would be a lovely place to stop. J however had other ideas. He didn't want to do the steps, in fact he didn't want to be down at sea level at all. He likes to be high up you see, he is a man who likes viewing views. So he said we should walk on and stop when we got near the abbey (with views across Whitby harbour). We argued. I might even have raised my voice a little, but he was adamant his way was the only way and refused to go down the steps. So what was I to do? In the end after much huffing and puffing, I gave in and we all carried on walking.
Anyhow - despite having to walk an extra half an hour with a very whingey, grumbly, hungry Little B, we did eventually find a very nice place to eat lunch (with spectacular coastal views) and I tried to get over my sulking. Family time can sometimes be like this can't it, differences of opinion, different likes and needs. Mostly we all get along really really well, but when I look at these photos, I can still remember how cross I felt when we didn't get to go to that little beach! Sigh, I really must let it go!
Whitby was as bustling as ever, with swathes of tourists milling about and a continuous stream of boats coming in and out of the busy harbour.
It's a lovely old town and despite the crowds and rather touristy feel it still retains a lot of it's charm.
Descending from the abbey on the cliff top to the harbour side is via 199 stone steps, and the Little People loved this part of the walk. They positively flew down, it was fun to watch them.
We took a walk out long the right hand stone pier......
....right to the lighthouse tower at the end. And then we made a unanimous family decision to head into the old town to visit one of our favourite cafés for some much needed refreshment. No arguments there, no sulking either. Pheww.
This is the lovely Sanders Yard, tucked away behind the main street in Whitby old town. It can be hard to find if you don't know of it, there is a small sign directing you down a narrow alley way, which opens up into this lovely little courtyard.
It was warm enough for us to sit outside to enjoy our well earned afternoon treat, and what a lovely treat it was too. J and I had delicious mugs of cappuccino with a shared slab of mouth watering coffee and walnut cake. The Little Peeps chose the most decadent drinks on the menu - milkshakes served with a huge blob of ice cream floating on the top. Oh you should have seen their faces, it was utter delight to watch them guzzle these down. I can highly recommend them for any Little Peeps requiring a combined pleasure hit/energy boost.
All that walking and fresh air last week was great for mind, body and soul, I've come home feeling refreshed and energised and very happy with my lot. I've got one more walk to share, I hope you don't mind tagging along? There will be some lovely views, see you then.....
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Hi Lucy,
Love your pattern in the harmony blanket. Can't wait for the pattern on how to make it. Look forward when you have it up and running.
Posted by: Joanne garratt | June 25, 2015 at 10:58 AM
Also, I noticed one of your previous commenters wondered about craft shops in whitby. You may be able to pass on that there is a fabulous yarn shop called Bobbins in a converted chapel on the main drag down from the 199 steps. There is also a little fabric shop away up behind the shops on the other side of the harbour called Judiths. It's on Brunswick Street. My Mum spends a fortune in there and has made my boys countless brightly patterned shirts with the fabric.
Posted by: Rachael Iddon | June 16, 2015 at 12:10 PM
Oh, that beach. I've spent many happy hours there as we often park our caravan at the site above it. If you ever go again, I can highly recommend finding the stream at the bottom of the hill, not far from the path and playing dams with it. Granted, I'm not sure where the stream comes from but none of us have ever suffered any ill effects. I love, love, love Whitby. I don't care how many tourists are there. It'll always be one of my all time favourite places.
Posted by: Rachael Iddon | June 16, 2015 at 12:06 PM
There is a Whitby here in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada. Doesn't look quite like your Whitby but has an interesting history all its own. In WW2, it was home to Camp X, a secret training ground for several hundred Allied spies, many of whom moved on to serve in Europe in the war effort. There were rumours Sir Ian Fleming trained there as well but I don't know if that's really true.
Posted by: Susan | June 13, 2015 at 12:30 AM
Oh, how beautiful!!! :) And that piece of cake looks GIANT!!!
I was curious about the caterpillar, so I looked it up, it looks like black-veined white. You can use this guide to identify caterpillars with your kids
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species_family.php?name=all&stage=larva
I bet there will be lots of caterpillars crawling around very soon. Have fun :)
Posted by: Silly Little Sheep | June 06, 2015 at 09:51 AM
Thank you for sharing your walks with all of us. I for one do so enjoy them all no matter where you roam. The pics are spectacular. Makes me feel like I am really there. Enjoy it so much.
Posted by: Penny Rongo | June 04, 2015 at 04:19 PM
Thank you thank you thank you! It's lovely to walk with you!
Posted by: Patricia | June 04, 2015 at 09:12 AM
What a perfectly lovely post Lucy. English family holidays at their best! The photos are fabulous. Thank you. Penny L in Dorsetxx
Posted by: Penny L | June 04, 2015 at 08:27 AM
Hi Lucy,
your Whitby post reminded me of the best times I had in the UK years ago. Whitby is certainly one of my favourite place. Went to the Bram Stoker's attraction too and and and -- the best Fish and Chips I've had during my stay in the UK. :) It's good to see Whitby in blooms. When I went there it was too grey even to take pictures.
Posted by: Dee | June 04, 2015 at 06:16 AM
I love going on walks with you! Such splendid countryside. Looking forward to our next walk along instalment :-)
Posted by: Justine | June 04, 2015 at 04:21 AM
How blest you are to have such beautiful places to walk. I had to giggle a little at your family spat. I can remember some good ones we had traveling with the children and it brought back funny memories. England is on my bucket list to visit one day and I hope to see some of the sights you have shared.
Posted by: Kate | June 04, 2015 at 01:31 AM
Lovely post and brilliant pics, as usual. My first visit to Whitby was in the late 1950s, during a week's field trip to Robin Hood's Bay whilst studying for 'O' Level geography. Your little peeps seem to be enjoying a wonderful childhood, I so miss the days when my three were young children. In order to avoid minor bust-ups I was adamant about applying the D rule, i.e. democracy. With 5 people this always works. To take a vote, which gives younger family members a voice, is never a bad idea. For one person to insist on doing what they want to do against the wishes of four others is really nothing short of selfishness, and not a good example to young peeps. Nuff said.
Posted by: Debs | June 04, 2015 at 12:04 AM
You hope we don't mind?
Oh, Lucy! I do so enjoy "our" walks! Since I can't be there to enjoy it, seeing it through your eyes is just wonderful! I'm so glad that you share these magnificent walks with us! I am so jealous that I CAN'T be there!
Posted by: Carol D | June 03, 2015 at 10:34 PM
Thanks for this lovely post! I have my first trip to Whitby booked for a week this summer (and I'm taking my crochet with me!) I'm going with three girl friends who also enjoy coastal walks, so I'll see if we can find this one and definitely look out for the cafe you mention.
How's Whitby situated for craft shops?
Posted by: rbjaneite | June 03, 2015 at 08:47 PM
Saw this and thought of you.
Crochet playtime.
http://playtime.toledomuseum.org/
Posted by: Angela-Southern USA | June 03, 2015 at 08:35 PM
Wish I could have joined you on that beautiful walk! You've inspired me to get out and enjoy some exercise, if the rain would just stop.
Posted by: Catherine | June 03, 2015 at 05:47 PM
Is that the biggest slab of cake in the world? Just the thing for fuelling up again when you need to walk back! Lovely seaside photos xx
Posted by: Winwick Mum | June 03, 2015 at 05:01 PM
So pleased to have a recommendation of where to eat in Whitby as we've never found somewhere as nice as Sander's Yard looks! So thank you.. Love Whitby. Whitby is REAL.
Posted by: Freda | June 03, 2015 at 04:49 PM
i always love your detailed tales of all your walks. i am sorry hubs was recalcitrant.
Posted by: jeannette | June 03, 2015 at 03:11 PM
Such gorgeous views and colours! Again, thanks for the walk! :)
Posted by: Marie | June 03, 2015 at 03:10 PM
I'm loving your walks on vacation. Please continue and continue. Love the pictures and descriptions.
Posted by: Patricia | June 03, 2015 at 02:58 PM
Oh lovely!
It's funny to see the same flowers blooming over there as here in the Netherlands. Though I think the rapeseed is past its prime flowerwise here, they started out somewhere in april. We're up to our necks in buttercups right now! And cow parsley, I think the white ones are called in English? We call them "fluitekruid", literally "whistle herb". Because you can make whistles out of the stems.
Ahem, sorry, getting distracted. I'm so in love with all the wildflowers in spring ;)
Posted by: Nienke | June 03, 2015 at 02:37 PM
The next best thing to being there! Thanks for taking us along. So very beautiful. If you happen to be a passerby of one of our outings, you would definitely hear "discussions" about which way to go or what to do, usually amongst the peeps. lol I look forward to our next walk. (I too am a lifetime walker/hiker.)
Posted by: Angela-Southern USA | June 03, 2015 at 02:32 PM
Such a shame Elizabeth Steam Bus will no longer be in Whitby. I really enjoyed seeing her there.
Posted by: Janet Brown | June 03, 2015 at 01:30 PM
Oh how wonderful!!!! We have been living in Whitby for half an year 30 years ago and your pictures just brought back so many lovely memories! Thanks so much, hugs Martina
Posted by: Martina | June 03, 2015 at 01:24 PM