Sunday 12 September 2010

Whitby

My husband teases me about my blog. He tells me that when I write about our family holidays and days out, everything I set down is so very positive and doesn’t mention squabbling kids and so on. I want to set the record straight at this point. Of course my kids squabble. Heck, I'm one of the best squabblers of all! I take the view, however, that those of you with kids know what it is like to spend quality time with them - the good and the bad - yet not all of you have had the opportunity to visit Israel or even some of the places I have recently visited in England. So, on my blog I am going to carry on showing you photos of some of the great places I have been lucky enough to visit. Please enjoy them knowing that we had a wonderful time but also that we are all human and, yes, there were a few bad moments and arguments along the way, but you don't really need to hear about those do you? The pretty little seaside town of Whitby, mentioned in a previous post, was definitely a highlight of our recent trip to the UK. Dominated by the cliff-top ruins of the beautiful 13th century Whitby Abbey, this traditional maritime town, with its old cobbled streets and picturesque houses was a place we had all looked forward to visiting. My youngest son was looking forward to exploring Dracula's castle. The eldest simply likes going to the seaside. We were all looking forward to a really good meal of English fish and chips! We were not disappointed. Whitby is a beautiful town that was a delight to explore. The abbey was fascinating. The red roofs of the houses that overlook the harbor and the North Sea were enchanting and I enjoyed wandering in and out of the little shops - well, as much as I was allowed to with four members of the male species in tow! It's at times like that that I really miss my Mum.
The statue of Captain James Cook, who served his apprenticeship in the town and sailed from the port to change the history of the world, was worth seeing and we took a trip around Whitby Harbour on a scaled replica of his ship, HMS Endeavour, enjoying some fantastic views of the North Yorkshire coastline along the way. A whalebone arch, sitting high up on Whitby’s West Cliff, commemorates the once large whaling industry in the town. We enjoyed wandering along the pier, laughing at the sight of the fishing boats returning to harbour with many eager seagulls following closely behind, hoping for an easy meal.
You can't go to Whitby without having fish and chips and we ended our day eating the same meal as the seagulls, though in a rather different way! Our fresh white fish, fried to perfection in a crispy batter, was served in the typically English way with slices of bread and butter and washed down with a pot of tea. Unfortunately I have obviously been away from England for too long - I preferred a nice cup of coffee after a full day of walking!

3 comments:

Birte said...

All family holidays have their ups and downs.
You really bring out a delightful day in a small English town. Well done

TMCPhoto said...

When it's all said and done, 10 years from now will you be sitting with your family reminiscing about the squabbles that took place during your trips or will you talk about the other stuff?

I can tell you from experience that the other stuff; the good stuff will be what you remember most. My sister and I recently sat down and re-hashed some old vacations; our fondest memory is of our Dad, drugged up on pain killers from a bad case of gout singing along to our camping neighbor's guitar but making up his own words. Not once did we talk about the nit picking fights we had in the back seat.

Your trip looks like it was fantastic, I would love to go there one day!

lovethosecupcakes said...

Whitby is just down the coast from where we live but for some reason we rarely go there. Glad you enjoyed your fish and chips.

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