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!