Whitby and The Adventure Overland Show.

Well two days at home and we were all loaded up and off again. This time we were heading for Whitby, an area we had never visited before.   It was off up the M5, M42 and M1.  We were heading for Poolsbrook Caravan Club site for an over night stop. When we arrived the warden greeted us warmly as we knew her when she was at Burrs CC site over the last three years.
The site is a very new one and could do with a lot more tree and bush planting to break up that car park look that the CC are renowned for.

The following morning we were off again up the M1 and A1(M), then round York on to Pickering and finally onto Whitby Holiday Park. www.whitbypark.co.uk 
We could have stayed at the CC site in Whitby, but that would have been several pounds a night more and would have far less in the way of facilities.

The view over Whitby as we descended Blue Bank

The view from the caravan

We were on pitch 70, on the edge of the cliffs with superb sea views. The site was also very busy, as it was pirate weekend in Whitby.

On the Saturday we drove to Staithes, but found that the village was shut for an Arts weekend. So we drove on further up the coast and saw some lovely countryside, but also some very depressing small towns. We finally came to Saltburn by the sea, which was a neat little holiday resort, but more of that later.

On the Monday we set off across the moors to Goathland, which is the village of Adensfield in the Heartbeat series on television.  We really enjoyed our visit to the North Yorkshire Moors  Railway station. It is a beautifully presented twin track station set up how it would have been in the 1950's.
We saw several trains arrive and depart. The noise of the locomotives pulling up the bank from Grosmount to Goathland was something special.

Goathland Station

The actual village of Goathland however was a bit of a disappointment as it was so commercialised.

So we set off across the moors to Pickering which was a really busy market town. From there we headed off towards Scarborough before turning North back to Whitby.

The next day I walked in to Whitby. The path was along the top of the cliffs, past Whitby Abbey and then down 169  steps into town.  Now Whitby had been really busy on Saturday when we drove through it, but it was just as busy on a Tuesday.  It really was absolutely heaving!

The walk down into Whitby

As i walked past the Abbey I spotted this Land Rover Ice Cream van driving up the hill.

Thick fog greeted us on the Wednesday morning, and we had intended to ride the railway, but the weather forestalled that.  We popped out in the Freelander to get some shopping, and the Freelander was not running at all well!  We managed to complete the shopping and got back to the caravan where I rang Land Rover Assistance (LRA).  They promised to send somebody, but rang me back a bit later to say the LRA man could not get to me until the next day, so would I like the AA.  I opted to wait for the LRA man the following morning,

He duly turned up at 9.00 am and fiddled and reprogrammed the ECU. We then went for a test run, and it was still not much better. Whilst he had been fiddling with the car he said that he also drove a Freelander2 and towed a caravan. We got back and he got on to his office and they rang me to say could I get to the Land Rover Main agent in Pickering where a replacement vehicle. a brand new Discovery Sport HSE, complete with tow pack would be there for me, and it was ours to use until the Freelander was fixed.  We could even use it to continue our travels with the caravan, and they would deliver the Freelander back to us when it was fixed, wherever we were in the country.

On the Friday the fog had finally gone, but it was horrifically windy. We drove down the coast to Robin Hoods Bay then on to Scarborough which was a nice place with a lovely beach. Then on to Bridlington, which we were not so keen on.  We then turned back up the coast to Flamborough head, before returning to the caravan.

We headed up the coast to Staithes on Saturday. Staithes was a very quaint little place which was very well worth visiting.

Staithes

  We moved on to Saltburn on Sea, where we managed to park by the beach.  We  sat outside a small cafe, it was 25 degrees C and very sunny, enjoying morning coffee.

We wandered along the front admiring the beach and a smart little pier.

Saltburn on Sea

We drove back over the moors on the A171, where the Discovery Sport was able to stretch its legs!

On Sunday we drove the Dalby Forest trail,  wwwnorthyorkmoors.org.uk which was through Dalby forest. I had hoped that it would be a rough track, but it turned out to be a metalled road. Still a good drive though and we saw some lovely properties on our travels. It would be a super place to cycle and there were lots of places to park up and enjoy the scenery.

It was a bit damp on the Monday, but we still decided to ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
 nymr.co.uk
We got a taxi down into Whitby station for the the 2.00 train to Pickering.  The reason for the Taxi was that it would cost about the same as parking in Whitby.
We enjoyed the journey up to Pickering, which takes 1 hour 40 minutes.

 We  came back on the 4.10 train to Whitby where we bought some superb fish and chips for supper, and took them, via a taxi ride back to the caravan.

On Tuesday I went to Pickering to collect the Freelander and then drove back to Grosmount to visit the sheds of the NYMR.

For those who want to know its number is 37264

We cleared up on the Wednesday morning and set off  for The Firs CC site at Belper. We stopped there for two nights and then headed south to Stratford on Avon Race course for the Adventure Overland show. We met up with our friends, Robert, Steve and Barry there.

Robert, Steve, Barry and Lizzie. In the pot hanging over the fire a whole chicken is roasting

 

We set up our small Landy Town display and enjoyed the show and the continuing good weather.

There were many amazing vehicles on display there.

Forward Control Land Rover that has been converted to a camper van.

I wonder how many gallons to the mile this does?

Towing its own caravan home!

Steve and Barry left on the Sunday, but Robert and us stayed until the Monday when we cleared up and left at about 12 noon.
We had a good run down over the Cotswolds, getting home at about 1.30.