(Old) York & Robin Hood's Bay

Whilst I enjoyed our time in London, I am a northern lass at heart and was excited to be heading back to Yorkshire for a short while. Driving first to Hull to collect Grandpa, we had already decided to spend a few days in York, where we knew there was no end of British history and culture to show the kids. It was kind of strange to be a tourist there - I used to go shopping in York with my Mum when I was younger - but there really was a huge long list of things that we wanted to do.York is a city steeped in history. Frankly there were too many attractions to choose from and we had to make some serious decisions! The morning of our first day there - the one morning of our entire trip when the heavens opened and we were very happy to be indoors - was spent at the York Castle Museum where you can see the cell in which notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was held. If you're interested in the details of daily life in the past, then this is a great museum and all the generations in our little party had a good time.

That same day we climbed up to Clifford's Tower where there are some great views of York city. The kids bought wooden swords with their holiday spending money and spent the rest of the afternoon reenacting the events in the tower. Meanwhile we meandered along the Roman walls - with the boys racing ahead of course - and walked down the truly incredible "Shambles", delighting in the overhanging timber-framed buildings and enjoying a little retail therapy inside them too! I did make it into the wonderful Cath Kidston shop, though my pocket money did not stretch that far on this occasion.

The next day we took a little time away from "Old York", as one son called it, and headed further north to the pretty little seaside town of Whitby and the delightful fishing village, Robin Hood’s Bay. Whitby requires a whole post to itself - far too may photos to post here - but below you can see the charming Robin Hood's Bay, with every twist and turn of a street bringing into view another picture postcard scene.

It is doubtful if Robin Hood himself was ever in the area but, no matter, Robin Hood's Bay, perched at the top of a very steep cliff, with cobbled street down to the sea, is still a place of legend. Viking raiders settled there, nobody knows how many smugglers plied their illicit trade there, and legend has it that secret tunnels and passageways once existed between the houses.

The boys had a wonderful time investigating the rock pools and exploring, whilst I happily photographed the labyrinth of streets and cottages piled on top of one another. Robin Hood's Bay really is a truly lovely Yorkshire village and we all decided that it was the perfect place for a Famous Five adventure!

The next day we were back in York for a prebooked visit to Jorvik. We travelled around the Viking-age city in capsules, encountering the Old-Norse-speaking citizens and their homes and back yards along the way. The afternoon was spent at the excellent National Railway Museum and before long it was time to be heading back to Hull, where a certain football game beckoned...