For the last couple of years, we have spent the New Year week in Scarborough, and really enjoyed being away this time of the year. This year, we decided to try Christmas week instead. For the last 25 years or so, we have had family around for Christmas Dinner, so we just fancied a change.
We booked Sunday to Sunday at the apartment we stayed in last year; in fact, we had made the booking just after arriving back almost a year ago.
After arriving on Sunday, before we went into the apartment, we went for lunch at the Rowan Lodge Hotel, about a 2-minute walk from the apartment. I had the all-day breakfast, and Donna had poached eggs on toast. A nice start to the holiday. And that evening, although it was raining a little, we went out on a 2-hour walk down into the front, just to blow away the cobwebs.
On Monday (I was working Monday and Tuesday), when I awoke at 7:15am, Donna was already out. She had walked into town to do some early M&S shopping, to get food for Christmas Dinner, and after arriving back at the apartment, commented on how many people were also there doing their shopping.
One advantage of being here in Scarborough is that we can lunch at the Lookout on the Pier, one of our favourite places to eat in the town. I always have the chowder, but this time in a large crusty cob, and Donna has their BLT, which is cooked just as she likes it. And of course, before heading back to the apartment, we just had to make our customary visit to the Harbour Bar.
Around 5pm, I logged off, and we set off on another walk for a couple of hours. This time, thankfully, it was a dry evening. And as a little treat, when down on the front we had a stop off at the Caffe Royale for a drink and some cheesecake. Probably the best cheesecake I have ever had, to be honest, so creamy and tasty. By around 7:3pm, we were back at the apartment and ready for the next episode of the Strongman series.
As I was also working on Tuesday, Donna set off on her walk around 10am to get some miles under her belt. The weather was very dull again, but with no rain, so you can't complain......just a little rhyme from me.
After finishing work for the day, it was time for me to go and get some fresh air, of course, again in the dark. I headed down onto the south bay, on my own tonight, as Donna had done a long walk early in the day. And of course I took my camera with me, so that I could again get any night shots that took my fancy. The Spa area is always good for photos at night. Better when it is raining, though, as you get some great reflections, but it was a dry night, so I just had to go with the flow. Whilst I was out, I visited the Caffe Royale again for a drink and a sit down out of the cold. In the end, I had been out for a little over 2 hours - now time for episode 4 of Strongman.
Wednesday, Christmas Eve, was my first official day off, so we could do what we wanted today. Now, on and off for a few months, we have been watching a YouTube channel called 'Yorkshire Fossils'. The two lads who go fossil hunting on the Yorkshire Coast. Most of what they find are Ammonites, but they have found many other fossils from around 180 million years ago.
So, I recently bought myself a fossil hunting kit from Amazon, comprising a hammer, chisel, eye protection and some other bits I won't really use. And therefore up the coast to Runswick Bay we went.
We were there for a couple of hours, and although we weren't in prime fossil-hunting territory, we did manage to get a couple of small bits. Donna found an Ammonite nodule, which I chopped out of some shale, and we also found a Belemnite each, which again had to be chopped out of shale. Ok, we didn't manage to get a clean Ammonite, which we had hoped for, but not a bad first outing.
On the way back to Scarborough, we stopped off in Whitby, at Clara's cafe on the West Cliff, so we could enjoy a hot drink, sitting outside looking out over the sea. Always enjoyable there. Then back to the apartment for an evening watching TV.
And so to Christmas Day. When I got up, I felt like I had a cold starting, so I popped a few pills and then got ready to set off for a walk from where we are staying up on the Esplanade, to Scalby Mills, and back. It was cloudy but with a few breaks in the cloud, and there was a cold wind coming in off the North Sea, so we were wrapped up warm for the walk.
It was a little quieter than we expected, with only a few people on the beach, mainly accompanied by dogs, and a few families visiting the coast for a change. A bit like we have, I suppose. We walked all the way to Scalby Mills, where we decided to take a seat in the outside seating area, and we had a few drinks, and whilst there, we met and chatted to another couple about our age.
Now, after a couple of pints, I was fully expecting the long walk back to be a challenge; however, apart from one stop at some toilets, we managed it. We had been out for 5 hours, so a very different Christmas Day from what we are used to. Now back at the apartment, it was time to cook a cut-down version of Christmas Dinner, and put our feet up for a well-earned rest.
What a difference a day makes...
Compared to Christmas Day, Boxing Day was heaving down on the seafront. The result of a couple of events that happen in the town the day after Christmas.
Our day started fairly early. Looking out of the window around 8am, you could see that there was a chance of a nice sunrise, so we abandoned our breakfast, threw on some clothes and headed down onto the Spa. It was also the first time this week that we had seen the sea close to high tide, so with the breeze, it was good to see the sea crashing against the walls. The sunrise wasn't as good as expected; however, it was the sign of a clear day ahead.
We went back to the apartment, finished off our breakfast and were soon back out again. On the south bay beach, they have a Fishermen v Firemen game of football on the beach, and it was great fun watching it as half of the players were 'hammered' so struggled to stand on their feet, never mind kick a ball! After the football, the crowds moved over to the harbour, ready for the raft race.
There were about 10 teams, who all had to paddle around the harbour, but as you would expect, it wasn't as straightforward as that, as some of the teams were trying to impede the others. Some were coming alongside, and then jumping across and dragging others from their rafts. I can only imagine how cold it was in the water.
The town was heaving, which of course is great for all the businesses, and nowhere was much busier than the Caffe Royale, where we were lucky to find a seat to have a hot drink and a piece of their gorgeous cheesecake. Around 45 minutes later, we arrived back at the apartment after taking the funicular back up to the Esplanade. We had been out for close to 6 hrs in total, so no plans to go out for the rest of the day.
And so to our last full day.
It started fairly early as we wanted to get to the market for opening time at 8am, so we could grab some veg for Monday when we have family around. Neither of us was feeling on top of the world; I still had the sniffles, and Donna's cold appeared to be making a comeback. However, we decided to head out for a walk.
We went over to the Italian Gardens and down onto where the outdoor pool used to be, then headed along the front out to the lighthouse. It was close to high tide, so it was nice to see the waves crashing up around the Spa, although for most other areas it was fairly flat.
We stopped off at Caffe Royale for a hot drink, no cakes though today. That said, we then stopped at the Harbour Bar to make up for it. After walking back down past the Spa, we took the funicular back up onto the Esplanade, then went to the Rowntree Lodge again for a light lunch. Salmon and scrambled eggs on toast for me, and poached eggs on toast for Donna. We deserved it as we had been out for about 4 hours.
Then back to the apartment for the afternoon before heading to the Cowshed for one of their famous burgers, for our main meal of the day. Not a bad way to finish the week.
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