Whitby - May 2025

Originally, we were booked to spend this week in the Borders of Scotland, but as with our planned March holiday, we moved them back to 2026 as I didn't know what would be happening with my knee. So once we knew I wasn't yet having surgery, we booked a week in Whitby. And as usual, we were going to be lucky with the weather, as the dry and sunny period was set to continue.

We travelled up on the Friday after I finished work, and it took us a tad short of 4 hours due to traffic and diversions, but to be honest, it wasn't that bad as we were comfortable in our car on its first proper run out.

As we arrived on Friday, it meant that we had the full weekend ahead of us, and given the great weather, we decided to have a couple of steady days away from the crowds and the heat.

So on Saturday our only outings were to Sainsbury's to do a food shop, then in the evening down into Whitby for a walk down onto the piers. Oh, and I nearly forgot....

The place we are staying is next to the Larpool Viaduct, and today the bungee club were set up. They had bookings from around 9am to 6pm. So in the afternoon we went down to the river below the viaduct and spent an hour enjoying people throwing themselves from around 130ft, down towards the Esk.

And on to Sunday, just an hour in Whitby in the morning, hoping that Ebor Jetworks were open so that Donna could have something made, they were not, so hopefully tomorrow. Most of the day was spent chilling in the sun, and then in the evening we headed up the coast to Saltburn. However, we didn't spend that long walking around as the wind was really cold.

We headed back down the coast to Whitby, and surprisingly, Clara's cafe on West Cliff was open; it opens 9am to 9pm, so we wrapped up warm and sat outside the cafe, just looking out to sea, and both had a couple of hot drinks each. A lovely way to end the day.

It was another warm and sunny day on Monday, so again, our plans were to stay and chill out until mid-afternoon. Apart from that, we took a trip into town so that Donna could order her earrings. We had lunch at the house and just spent some time reading and sitting in the sun.

At 3 p.m., we headed out to catch the 3:30 p.m. bus to Robin Hood's Bay. It's not a long bus ride—about 20 minutes. When we arrived, we took the walk down the very steep, winding main street and spent about 15 minutes sitting overlooking the sea. Then it was time for a 6.5-mile walk back.

The first 1/2 mile or so is back up the steep hill, where we were met with the coastal path and the Cinder track. Our walk was back along the cinder track as it takes us back to within about 100 feet of where we are staying. We arrived back at 8pm, and I must admit, my knee was really feeling it, and of course, Donna was still full of energy.

Tuesday morning was another sunny one. That said, I only saw half of the morning as I had a really good sleep last night.

So again today, similar to yesterday, in that we spent most of the day at the house, reading, taking in the sun, and today Donna was enjoying a gin and tonic with blueberries, and me, a Bacardi and coke.

We left at 4pm for the 4:30pm bus, and ended up having to take two short bus rides to get to Sandsend. It was high tide, so we didn't venture onto the beach, and to be honest, walking on sand wouldn't have done my knee any good anyway.

The route, therefore, took us along the main road, past the golf course, and then down onto the Whitby promenade. We walked along the front for a while, and then headed up onto the West Cliff so we could stop off again for a drink at Clara's. Donna decided against the drink and went for an ice cream instead.

By the time we arrived back at the house, it was 7:45pm, and a few clouds had bubbled up, so the temperature had dropped a little. I still intended to sit outside, though, with a coat on and a blanket around my legs.

And on to Wednesday. We awoke to cloudy skies this morning, all brought in from the cool wind blowing in from the North Sea. However, by early afternoon it had started to break up so again we saw quite a bit of sun, just not as much as we had been experiencing.

We had decided to head to Scarborough late afternoon and walk around Marine Drive so that we would arrive in the harbour area by high tide. But, having driven around 3/4 of the way there, we had to take a diversion as the main road was closed, which meant all the traffic was also having to take. So we turned around on a narrow lane and headed back to Whitby.

So instead, we spent a couple of hours around Whitby Harbour and the Old Town, and treated ourselves to fish & chips. Of course, we chose our favourite place, Trenchers. We sat across the road to eat them al fresco, and made sure that we were alert to the Seagull that was hanging around waiting for any scraps, or to charge in and steal from us. So, although our original plans were thwarted, we still had a really lovely end to the day.

Thursday morning, and we awoke to grey skies, which would stay with us all day. And with the cold wind whipping in off the North Sea, it had more of an autumn feel.

There wasn't a lot on our activity menu today, so we took the short drive up the coast to Runswick Bay. It's a steep walk down to the beach, so we always had in our minds that we would have to walk back up it when we had finished our walk on the beach. A walk that lasted around an hour, and included me almost tripping over a dead seal!

After leaving, we stopped off in Sandsend to enjoy an al fresco lunch, thankfully a slightly enclosed one as it was rather chilly sitting outside. We then headed into Whitby to pick up the earrings that Donna had made this week at EBOR Jetworks, and lastly to Sainsbury's for some bits. Then back to the house where I spent a couple of hours sitting outside reading, but doing so with my coat on.

Friday was our day to head back home. However, we didn't go straight home as Donna came up with the idea of stopping off for lunch at Miller & Carter in Doncaster, a great way to finish our week away.

And now, a long gap to our next holiday as we don't do holidays in the summer, we just don't like it too hot. We are happy to leave that to others.