Picture of Whitby
Caption: Whitby Walking in the footsteps of Dracula
Caption: Early May 2015.
With the days getting longer and the weather getting warmer (well, perhaps briefly before it rushed headlong back to wintry conditions) we headed off to Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast.
Picture of 199 Steps
Caption: The 199 Steps and St. Mary's Church
Whitby
Caption: Sunday was all about exploring Whitby. Making it an extra special day, my lovely friend Laura and her equally lovely husband Andy came down from Gateshead for the day to join us.
No visit to Whitby is complete without climbing the 199 steps up to St. Mary's Church. These are the steps that a dog was seen to climb after the Russian ship Demeter ran aground off Whitby in Dracula.
Picture of Church of St Mary
Caption: There has been a church on this site since the 12th century. Inside it is a little gem. There are boxes rather than pews, and two enormous ear trumpets are fixed to the pulpit. These were used by the wife of one of the vicars in the 19th century.
Picture of North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Caption: The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Caption: On Monday we took a return trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Whitby to Pickering. The 24 mile journey takes 1 hour and 40 minutes, so it is a very leisurely ride across the Moors!
This locomotive is called The Green Knight and was built in 1954.
Church of St Peter and St Paul
Caption: We made an unexpected discovery in the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Pickering. From the outside it looked nothing more than a pretty church in a picturesque market town, but once inside...
Picture of Church of St Peter and St Paul
Church of St Peter and St Paul
Caption: I was not expecting to see 15th century wall paintings. They were covered over, probably during the Reformation, and not rediscovered until the middle of the 19th century although they were quickly hidden away again. Towards the end of the 19th century they were permanently uncovered and restored.
The first painting depicts the killing of St. Edmund. He was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. The second painting is the unmistakable image of St. George slaying the dragon.
Picture of Helmsley Castle
Caption: Helmsley Castle
Helmsley Castle
Caption: Tuesday, and it was a very windy day in Yorkshire. The stillness captured in these photos belies the conditions we had to battle through as we walked around Helmsley Castle!
I had visited Helmsley before, notably in 2000 to celebrate my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, and you can't miss the remains of the East Tower looming over the town. However, I had no idea that so many other parts of the castle had survived, to some degree.
Picture of Helmsley Castle
Caption: During the Civil War it was captured by the Parliamentarians orders went out that it should be destroyed to prevent future use.
Picture of Hutton-le-Hole
Caption: Hutton-le-Hole
Hutton-le-Hole
Caption: Hutton-le-Hole is almost the quintessential English village (all it's missing is a cricket pitch on the village green!)
Pretty cottages, a stream running through the village and sheep roaming freely.
Picture of Hutton-le-Hole
Caption: These windswept sheep and the trees in the background at least give some indication of just how blustery it was!
Picture of Whitby
Caption: In the evening the wind dropped and the light was magical.
Picture of Whitby
Caption: Sun setting above St. Mary's
Picture of Whitby
Caption: A beautiful sunset
Picture of Scarborough
Caption: Scarborough
Scarborough
Caption: Wednesday, and as the forecast was for a calm day wind-wise, we decided that we would be able to visit Scarborough Castle without danger of losing our heads!
It's quite a steep climb from the seafront to the castle, so we stopped off at St. Mary's Church to gather our breath. Buried in the churchyard is Anne Bronte, author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Picture of Anne Bronte Grave
Caption: Anne Bronte's Gravestone
Scarborough Castle
Caption: Much like Helmsley Castle, Scarborough Castle was also destroyed during the Civil War. The largest cannon in the country was used to bombard the castle with cannonballs. The remaining ruins are quite spectacular, but I doubt that's what the Parliamentarians had in mind!
During the First World War the Castle, as well as the town, was shelled by the Germans.
Picture of Scarborough Castle
Caption: The Keep
Picture of Scarborough Castle
Picture of Castle Howard
Caption: Castle Howard
Castle Howard
Caption: On Thursday, winter returned. It wasn't really a day to be outside for a long period of time, so off we went to Castle Howard.
If it looks familiar, it might be because it was used in Brideshead Revisited (both the TV series and the more recent film).
Picture of Castle Howard
Caption: Could this be Aloysius, Sebastian Flyte's teddy bear?
Picture of Castle Howard
Caption: The Atlas Fountain was exhibited at the Great Exhibition before being installed at Castle Howard.
Castle Howard
Caption: In 1940 a fire broke out which lead to the destruction of the imposing dome. It was rebuilt in the 1960s and the paintings, originally by Antonio Pellegrini, were recreated.
Picture of Castle Howard
Caption: The dome interior
Picture of Captain Cook Memorial
Caption: Captain Cook
Whalebone Arch
Caption: On Friday we stayed in Whitby to do a little more exploring.
Although born in Middlesbrough, Captain James Cook has strong ties to Whitby. He became an apprentice in the merchant navy there and two of his ships were also built there. Looking at his statue, it appears to be a popular resting place for birds.
Another notable landmark on the West Cliff is the Whalebone Arch. The current bones came from Alaska in 2002.
Picture of Whalebone Arch
Picture of Whitby Abbey
Caption: Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey
Caption: Whitby Abbey was established in 657AD. It met its match 900 years later when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.
It still manages to be awe-inspiring with the remains giving a strong sense of just how imposing the Abbey must have been.
Picture of Whitby Abbey
Picture of Whitby Abbey
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: National Railway Museum, York
National Railway Museum York
Caption: On the way home on Saturday, we stopped off at the National Railway Museum in York. It's a train enthusiast's dream!
On Monday I had bought a model kit of the City of Truro locomotive from the shop at the Grosmont engine sheds. Imagine my surprise upon seeing the real one in pride of place in the Museum.
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: City of Truro. Built in Swindon in 1903. It remained in service until 1931. It is one of the contenders to be the first steam train to travel at over 100 miles per hour.
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: I naively thought this was the genuine Stephenson's Rocket, but apparently that is at the Science Museum in London.
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: George V was the first person to have a bath on a train. I'm not sure if they meant the first person to have one installed or the first person to use one. Either way, the logistics of having a bath on a train must be interesting. I assume they were only used when the train was stationary, otherwise water would be sloshing everywhere.
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: I love the 1936 documentary about a mail train featuring a poem by WH Auden and music by Benjamin Britten, so I was rather excited to see an actual mail train.
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: This is the Night Mail crossing the border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
The shop at the corner and the girl next door.
WH Auden
Picture of National Railway Museum York
Caption: Finally, meet Laddie the Airedale Terrier who collected money for good causes at Waterloo Station. He raised over £5000 during his working life in the 1940s and 1950s.
Yorkshire
Caption: That was our Yorkshire holiday. If you've made it through to the end then I admire your fortitude and thank you very much for reading my first ever Steller story.
