Another travel post!

This time its Scarborough. 

WELL! When a work colleague  of my husbands , who I like to hope is also a friend, suggested we stayed in her apartment in Scarborough, I was delighted to take up the offer for a few days with my lovely Mum. 

 We were very lucky with the weather and walked and walked all over the place. My Mum is 85 and its hard to keep up with her! 

Scarborough is really much nicer than I imagined, with a sort of 'faded splendour' about it which in parts isn't that faded.  

For those who don't know it , its the very first English Seaside resort. The evidence was all over the place. Everywhere you go there are paths and benches and little shelters to accommodate the sedate holidaymaker of yesteryear. Very helpful for two old ladies from the 21st Century who like to have a sit down now and then.

 Our friends' apartment was beautiful and I am immensely grateful to them both.

My Mum really enjoyed the holiday and so did I .

 I took a lot of photographs to make into an album for her.

Here she is at Staithes. I wasn't really as impressed with Staithes as I had hoped to be. Its quaint, its steep, but I found it a little claustrophobic. However I'm glad I went.

  It has a VERY STEEP road down to it and my Mum was able to walk up.Probably because we went the wrong way and ended up doing a walk through fields back to the car park

 At the top of the hill is a lovely tearoom where we managed to track down the elusive CRAB SANDWICH!!! 

Then spent time taking terrible pictures of each other.

 We came down the coast to Sandsend just North of Whitby. A superb sandy bay.

Then on to Robin Hoods Bay. Much prettier than Staithes with a very busy beach and craft shops .

There were some interesting buildings.

 And it too is STEEP!

 But we managed. 

We went to Whitby as well but for some reason I don't have pictures.

The we called at Ravenscar which would be nice for a walk on a future visit if we ever have one.

 But mainly we enjoyed Scarborough. 

The views.

 The beach huts.

 The beach with chalets

Here's a group of people learning salsa dancing on the sand.

 If you look very carefully at this picture you can see on the left past the last building, the dotted lines of the end of 'our' road.

 Two minutes away we had this view of the spa area.

 and  all down the coast

 Here is 'our' road.

 and 'our' apartment.

 On the way home we stopped in Old Malton and took more awful pics of each other!

 Back home Little Hetty was very glad to see me. She lay on the bed while I was unpacking as if she didn't want to let me out of her sight.

MORE lovely days in Norfolk... very long post.

Once again I'be been to land of cornfields and wide wide skies.

I stopped on the way in this field , to eat my M&S egg and cress sandwich.

I marvelled at the hedgerows sporting wild things I can't even cultivate in my garden.

I also marvelled that I was able to find my way without getting lost and managed to find my way to a sweet little B&B in the village of Stiffkey on the North Norfolk coast. It was a fairly modern house, with very thoughtful hosts, providing a small kitchen area and fridge in the room, so we didn't have to eat out at every meal. Very handy as I have written about the problem of Bed and Breakfast over indulgence before. (Here if you are interested, but please note that we passed that particular B&B this weekend and its closed down)

 Here's our bit, lovely big French doors, and then the view from where we had our breakfast. I loved the colours of the catmint and dahlias together.

Just a stride away was the path to the saltmarshes, with wide views of sunset over the cornfields

 and little sheds "quick take a picture of that shed" cries my other half. The more battered the better. This was a bird hide with graffiti. Names such as 'Harry and Freya' or 'Ollie and Lucy' were scratched into the woodwork. None of your 'Shaz and Gaz' here. A better class of vandal ?

Gorgeous gardens abound. I think they call these 'weeds' here. Poor things.  I would be happy with weeds like these..

There is a super Contemporary art exhibition in Cley Church until 4th August. 

 This avenue of almost extinct apple trees is one of the exhibits, by David Lincoln and Martin Skipper.

 There's some student work in the garden, papier mache and fabric birds,

 Spoonbill

 'Knife fork and spoonbill'

Inside a great variety of work.

An inlaid commercial felt map of Blakeney Point and the coast by Stephanie Gilbert

A wonderful collaborative piece called 'New Beginnings' by Paul Ebens and Peter Swann; which is a confessional (where you 'start again') covered with lots of bits of old furniture starting life as decorative additions.

 I loved this charity board which is a permanent feature.

 These pieces on acetate are huge magnifications of pollen grains by Clare Jarrett.

In the bottom left of this picture is a piece called 'Hibernator'  by Graham High.

which was echoed by some other slightly disturbing pieces high in the ceiling, look carefully,  not to mention the actual bats who had left some evidence....

 My absolute favourite piece inside was this beautiful wooden sculpture by a very distinguished artist from Brazil,  Anna Maria Pacheco

Just made for that niche...but I think the parish might be hard pressed to find the £38.000 it was reputed to be valued.

Hanging above the pews was a  piece called ' Fishing forever' by Judith Campbell. Nets made from natural material unlike the ones used currently by fishing fleets, which, when they get lost or detached, will not biodegrade and will therefore fish forever.

 The pew ends were quietly sitting there wondering what all the fuss was about. They'd been there hundreds of years without notice!

 The centre of this picture shows a beautiful piece by Carol Columbi, made of silk with eco-dyed patterns. I wish I'd got a better photograph. It was delicate and lovely.

Another piece by Anna maria Pacheco

 Some collograph prints by Kate Green

This exhibition was beautifully hung . It both complemented and was complemented by, the ancient architecture.

 Outside:the fantastic 'River of Reeds' by Mike Dodd. It wound round

 and round, (interacting with  'Shoal' the fish machine by Rob Spray, in the crumbling north transept. It shone and turned and squeaked in the sunshine.)

 and round,

 and round,

 and round,

 and round,

 the church passing the beautiful ancient gravestones with their own adornments.

This lumpy angel is one.

 There were loads more things to see.

Here's another old church. Cockthorpe. Much more information HERE

 Norfolk is full of them. 

Once the key was obtained from the farmhouse across the road, we went inside to look at some delicate medieval wallpainting which had been uncovered by our friend, years ago.

Peace

Inside once again the pew ends sat bearing witness with their polished surfaces, to the hands of those who leaned on them over the mere 400 hundred years they've shared the churches life.

  A strange sight in a corner..

A gorgeous little angel in the window. 

On MOnday I had a trip on my own to Cambridge. 

I got off the bus outside Christ's college.

 Walked about a bit. Wonderful buildings wherever you look.

Lovely shops.

 Punting.

 I don't remember the names of these places, but I saw them all on a bus tour! Colleges founded by queens who feature in historical tv drama; ancient buildings with massive history. 

I was envious of those young people who  in possession of great brains, get to own this city for a few years.

So thats my trip to Norfolk.

I got to meet an old friend I hadn't seen for 14 years ; I got to spend a few extra days with my husband; I got to spend almost £100 on a new car battery when I broke down at Salthouse and had to call the RAC; and I got lost on the way home.

A lovely few days though. 

I just wish Jools would come home. He hasn't been seen for three days. :(