Scholes Coppice

Our walking group's evening walk this walk was very local to me.  It was in an area that hubby and I have walked many many times as it is very near home.  Scholes Coppice is a lovely little wood at any time of the year, but on this perfect late Spring evening, it looked magical.

 The walk was a "family" walk and so we had kids and dogs with us too.  I'm a big believer in kids getting out and about in the fresh air and I love the fact that so many kids walk so far with the group.  They are all justifiably proud of the mileage that they have walked during the year.

 A spot of tree hugging went on as we waited for others to catch up!

 We got a good view of the big house at Wentworth Woodhouse  from the top of the hill.  A lot of filming has been taking place for several films and TV series lately.  A couple of weeks ago, they had layed fake snow for a film that was being shot called "Get Santa" .  I didn't spot any celebs though.

 Hubby is working on the "Grand Depart" when the Tour de France cycle race comes to Yorkshire in July.  He had to ride around some of the route yesterday and he commented on how beautiful it all is.  I think many people will be amazed when they see our gorgeous county on TV.  A lot of people still think it is "grim up north" but it I hope I prove it is anything but.

 We walked past Keppels Column - one of the Wentworth follies.

 The area around here is all old coal fields - the mining is now all long gone and Mother Nature has taken back and beautified it once more.

 We finished our evening off in the local pub and discussed future walks.  What a very very pleasant way to spend a gorgeous evening.

Scarborough

So after our long walk, hubby and I headed towards the coast as we had booked a room for the night at the Crown Spa Hotel in Scarborough.  I know I always say this, but you can't beat Yorkshire and it's coastline is truly spectacular with lots of interesting places to discover.

 Even though it is in our own county, we hadn't been to Scarborough for a few years so we were looking forward to a good look around on Sunday.  Scarborough has 2 very large bays - North and South Bays.  Our hotel was on the very beautiful South Bay.  It looks spectacular with Olivers Mount behind it.

 We had great views down towards the harbour and the castle that sit in between the bays.

 Scarborough was built up greatly in the Victorian era when they discovered Spa waters here.  A lot of the old Victorian architecture exists almost untouched.  The pavilion is gorgeous and is used very well for concerts etc

 Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

 The skies were a silver shade of Yorkshire Grey, but it was muggy and warm.

 The harbour beach is very "British Seaside".  It has a funicular railway - which we used to get up into the town centre later in the day - the town is VERY hilly!!

 You can still get an old fashioned donkey ride here too.

 It has a few amusement arcades (where we sheltered during a 15 minute shower).  I won 3 keyrings on the 2p falls - my favourite form of gambling!!

 The harbour is still very much a working harbour and we watched the boats sail in and out.  The little blue boat seems to have travelled some distance.

 The Victorian Grand Hotel was once the largest hotel in Europe.  I find it fascinating how the fortunes of towns rise and fall.

 We  found this plaque on the Grand

 ... and these strange blokes decorating the walls.  Victorian architecture is very strange at times.

 We walked along Marine parade to the North Bay and walked up to the church which over looks the town.  We found the grave of Anne Bronte....

 ... and some odd facts about her resting place.

 If you want to live in Paradise, you can.  It's in Scarborough.

 I fell out of love with this town in the 1980's when it saw the worst of it's decline.  However, the recent double/triple dip recession and the invention of the "Staycation" seem to have revived its fortunes a bit again.  Our hotel was quite pricey (for us) but was a treat, and it was exceptionally busy with family's and friends getting away together for a few days.  The town itself has been spruced up and I have to say that I am itching to return and explore some of the smaller bays around here that I have never visited.  

I am loving making the most of every spare bit of time - my health scare last year was a huge wake up call.  The walking group has also been very good for us both too.  I think we are coping with empty nest syndrome just fine.

Roseberry Topping

I know it sounds like a delicious dessert, but Roseberry topping is actually a hill in North Yorkshire that our walking group had decided to conquer last weekend.

 We all met in the most picturesque village of Great Ayton (where I instantly decided that I could happily live - the bakery had a lot to do with my decision!!).  Captain James Cook had grown up in this gorgeous little village at the foot of the Cleveland Hills.

 Our walk was meant to be 10.5 miles but actually worked out at 11.1 miles - I think this is the longest walk that I have done.  We started out in glorious sunshine - I had my shorts on for the first time this year.

 We ascended the hill through beautiful woodlands.

 I thought it would take a lot longer than it actually took to climb the hill, and I thought it would be a tougher climb....

 .. of course I had to stop a fair few times to admire the view!!

 Once at the summit I felt thrilled and thought that was the hard work done.  Wrong!!

 We did spend a while admiring the view - no one noticed till we turned around that we could see the sea!

 Then it was onwards.

 Unfortunately, the rain decided to fall so I had to put my camera away - and boy did it rain!  But after almost 5 hours of walking, we reached Captain Cooks Monument and we knew it was all down hill from there.

Our walk had taken us above 6 hours in total - the rainy bit made it tough going at one bit, but I have to say I really enjoyed the day.  Hubby and I had booked ourselves a treat for afterwards so I'll show you where we went later.