Sunday 26 July 2015

Scarborough Castle & milestones


Well, I did promise you more photos from my holiday at the beginning of the month but you've had a bit of a wait. With being back at work and spending most of my day in front of a PC, I've not felt like blogging in the evenings: the call of the outdoors has been too strong. Today, though, it's cold and raining so it's a good time for a catch up.


We'd never been to Scarborough. I was expecting all the tacky tourist tat shops and amusement arcades that you find in a typical British seaside resort. However, I didn't know it had a small fishing port.


Lots of fishing paraphernelia piled up on the quayside - I love the colour of the nets.


And seagulls nesting on every available ledge. We were thrilled to see that this one had a cute chick.


I was even more thrilled to see a lighthouse - I love them! One of the things on my bucket list is to see one of those red and white stripey ones. Or any lighthouse in New England, partly because that would mean I was actually in New England.


I also love castles so our target for the day was a visit to Scarborough Castle. It was built in the 1150s though the promontory it stands on had been occupied for centuries before that.


This is all that remains of the 12th century keep as a result of attacks during the Civil War.


There are wonderful views over the quieter North Bay...



...St Mary's church (more later)...


...and the touristy South Bay.


You'll notice that the sky is much greyer than when we arrived. It actually started to rain as we were looking around so we took shelter in the cafe for lunch of a warm pasty. With chutney. I thought it was just a strange quirk of this cafe but, no, we saw people eating pasties with chutney in other cafes. Is this a Yorkshire thing? I've never seen this odd behaviour in Lancashire!

Anyway, back outside, we continued exploring the site using the audio guide.


The grass had been left long except for mown pathways. The chimney sweeper moths loved it. Chickpea was less keen as it played havoc with her hayfever.


The remains of St Mary's chapel which was built on the ruins of a Roman signal station.

Meadow pipit



More remnants of the Roman signal station.


Remains of one of the castle buildings.









Pyramid orchid

If you're in Scarborough, it's well worth a visit, particularly with the free audio guide which brings it to life.


Heading down the hill towards town, we stopped briefly at St Mary's church.


It's famous for being the last resting place of Anne Bronte.



And finally, you can't come to the seaside without visiting the sea. Feet in the water, breathing in the fresh, salty air...


...and listening to the sound of the incoming tide. Aahhh, can you feel the tension easing away?


I'm not sure what I thought of Scarborough. It had a scruffy, faded air that so many of our once-grand seaside towns have, but it also had its surprises. In any case, we had a lovely day out and I wish we'd had more time to explore. However, York was calling us back for our final evening before going home.

I'll be back on Friday with the Scavenger Hunt which includes more photos from our holidays.

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This post marks a double milestone. I've now been blogging for 3 years and it's my 300th post!

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your 3 years and 300th post! I've been to Scarborough quite a few times - but mostly as a child. My great aunt and uncle had a holiday home up that way which we used to stay in. I'm not a huge fan of the town centre but I do like the beach. I've never been to the castle though! You took some lovely photos and it sounds like a good day!

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  2. Great post Julie, super photos. I love the shot of the Gull with it's Chick, nicely captured.

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  3. I have been to Scarborough many times ,and stayed once it was the first holiday I had with my OH.
    back then it did seem much better than it does now, the area tends to go up and down depending on the money coming in. Have never been to the top though (don't know why) so nice to see.
    We often have pasties and chutney if I have no mushy peas...
    Amanda xx

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  4. Congratulations on reaching those two milestones! I've never been to Scarborough and I didn't know it had a castle.I can imagine the slightly faded air it has though, like so many Victorian seaside resorts. x

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  5. Wow - great numbers for blogging. Love the castle and the remains - I should dearly love to see such antiquities. The views are fabulous and the flowers fantastic. What a lovely trip.

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  6. Congratulations on your 3 year blogging milestone! We've visited Scarborough for the day or holidayed there and like the north bay with great views of the sea from the seafront cliff hotel, but the fishing port and other areas are interesting. I'd like to explore the castle next time we go there. The orchid was a good find.

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  7. Happy Blogaversary!!! Here's to many more great years of blogging! Scarborough looks as though it is a good old fashioned kind of seaside place - which I mean in a good way. Glad that you enjoyed it. xx

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  8. We took our son to Scarborough a few years back, really enjoyed its charm and loved looking at the crab baskets all stacked up. Gorgeous scenery in your pictures and I love the churchyard, must go back some time.

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