Friday 29th March (Day 1)
So it was a ‘will we be going or will we not’ day yesterday. The reason being we didn’t know if the grandchildren (plus) would be over as Ash had injured his leg. In the end it appeared they would not be over so we were up early and by 0900 were off. Just over an hour into the trip we discovered that the grandchildren did in fact land yesterday in the UK! Ignoring that we continued on to Whitby and to the Yorkshire MCC rally at Eskdale School about a mile outside Whitby. We knew the journey would be a bit of a mission as not only was it Good Friday, with the extra traffic, but also there was some major roadworks on the A1. Indeed we took a 30 mile detour for one part of the A1 and then the A64 had major delays resulting in us approaching Whitby from the north. That said it was a lovely drive over the moors and through Pickering and entailed a climb at one point up a road with a 25% incline. The four hour journey took just over five. Arriving we settled in and had egg mayo roll and a cup of tea before catching up with Chris, Gra and Maisie. Around 1630 we went for a stroll and ended up at the Penny Hedge pub where we had a table booked for an evening meal. It was a nice, if not exceptional, meal - a Marston's pub. Back to the school for 1900 and then over to the hall for the evenings entertainment. the usual faer, Raffle ticket sale, bingo, music and chat.
Saturday 30th (Day 2)
A good nights sleep and after a shower, a bacon butty, we left for Whitby. The app for the bus said the 93 bus was at 1036. We arrived at the bus stop in good time and it never arrived. We discussed what to do after another 20 minutes and the decision was made to walk. Fifty metres away from the bus stop and the bus arrived! We got on and were soon deposited in Whitby. We found it to be a lovely quaint place; cobbled narrow streets and quirky shops, but quite busy. Our first destination was the the abbey up 199 steps to get to it. The abbey is a ruin and at £13 a person charged by English Heritage to enter seemed excessive so we didn’t. Before this we went into the church at the top by the abbey which was most unusual. The pews were all like boxes with doors with eight plus seats in. The entrance door either had ‘free’ or for the posh people it had their name on. It had a gallery and a big chandelier. One notice on entering stated not to ask the staff where Dracula was buried! Then we returned down to street level and walked over the bridge into the main town. Again nice narrow streets and even narrower alleyways. We had a coffee and then stumbled upon a Mountain Warehouse which was closing down - so some shorts for the upcoming trip abroad was purchased for me. Chris, Gra and Maisie came into town a bit later and we met them and walked to the sandy beach for a stroll. After about an hour we wanted to search out a pub but they all were packed as, not only was it busy in general, but there was a mass scooter rally in town. Eventually we found one. This was followed later by a takeaway of fish and chips at on a bench near the harbour, which fully met our expectations. We then were keen to return to the school but the bus queue was massive so an £8 cab ride solved the problem. (The cab had over 173,000 miles own the clock!) The evening was back into the hall for a female singer who was good despite the acoustics in the gym not being the best. A dance and then back to Chris and Graham’s motorhome for a short chat before bed.
Sunday 31st March (Day 3)
A simple breakfast and get ready and around 1230 we left with Chris, Gra and Maisie for a walk into Whitby. We were a bit late as Chris needed some bits from Sainsbury’s over the road (it was shut) and they are slow starters in any event. I had found a footpath into Whitby avoiding the main road which was a good option. Into town and then out the other side along the sandy beach. We then climbed up the hillside to The White House pub where we were booked in for Sunday lunch. Having arrived at 1400, about an hour early, we say in the garden area overlooking the sea and golf course ion glorious sunshine. Eventually we ate and while it was not exceptional it was good and good value as well.We then strolled back along the hilltop into Whitby and caught a cab back to the school. A short erst and then into the hall for games, music, bingo, chat and drink. It was around 2330 when we returned to go to bed.
Monday 1st April (Day 4)
Boy did it rain through the night. It didn’t stop until the morning. Even then it was light rain on and off. We were preparing to go for a walk when Chris rang and stated they had run out of gas. The hunt was on for a place open on the Bank Holiday. We eventually found one only about 3 miles away. By the time they had got sorted and we left it was about 1245. It was very overcast and a bit chillsome. We walked into Whitby for Masie to have a run on the beach and then into the town for a coffee. We then parted company. Chris, Gra and Maisie to buy something for the evening meal and we strolled back to the school. Eventually we got together to plan our next major venture - seven weeks in Portugal. Off to our separate establishments before the evenings gathering. This will be very different as many, including the chairman, have already left. We had all gathered by 1930 and there were less than half of the group from yesterday. That said a few quiz rounds and some banter made it a good evening. It was around 2315 we retired
Tuesday 2nd April (Day 5)
Prompt up (not). By 1000 we had done all that was needed and said our goodbyes. We needed diesel and log on the way home and, eventually, got the Patrick with AdBlue also required. Diesel at a garage near to the site and then Cisco; log at Brownhills where we had lunch and two attempt for AdBlue both unsuccessful but was we still have over 1000 miles before any issues we left it. Home by 1600.
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