Day 84 Bridlington to Scarborough

 

 Date: Saturday 6^th August 2011   Distance: 36.73Miles

 

Friday 5th August

 

We arrived in a hire car and parked for free by side of the road (charges apply between 9am and 6pm) after driving around Scarborough town centre. Car parks were full and we were lucky to be in the right place when someone moved. The bike stayed locked up inside the car overnight and we stayed in the Travel Lodge where Bob slept soundly but I was kept awake by screaming baby seagulls, on a building roof beside our window.

 

 Opposite the Travel Lodge is the architectural masterpiece built in the shape of a V that is the Grand Hotel. Despite the netting, seagulls nest in nooks and crannies of the 12 floors. It was built in the 1860s quirkily with 4 towers representing the 4 seasons, with 52 chimneys representing weeks in a year and with 365 bedrooms representing the days. Its entrance hall is still very grand but then package holiday tourists in shorts and tee shirts mill about and we eavesdropped on several complaints to the management - too hot rooms and noise among others. It sounds like it has lost its glitz and glamour trying to appeal to the general market. Rooms seem very cheap. We decided to try breakfast here on Sunday.

 

We found a lovely old fashioned cafe for a drink and Bob bought me a crab salad as I hadn’t eaten yet. It was fabulous- see  picture. We found a real ale pub that was buzzing. We got chatting to 2 Ministry of Defence guys while looking out at the lovely harbour as the sun went down. They pointed out their boat and said they were training people for helicopter rescue. This sounds exciting to me but they seemed really impressed with our coast rides and the younger one said we were an inspiration, which is a tremendous boost to the ego when you have just become a pensioner (me not Bob I hasten to add)

 

70 pence each bought us a ticket on the Central Cliff railway to the top, the level of the Travel Lodge. It being old and rickety I was glad to get off it but it’s nice these funiculars are still operating. It is 71 metres long at a gradient of 1 -2 and is operated from the top by electricity these days. There were 5 of these in Scarborough but now only this and the one on the South cliff left. The latter is the oldest one in UK built 1873, which utilised sea water and gas engines through a hydraulic system. It operated by counterbalancing until replacement with electricity and now is fully automatic.

 

Saturday 6th August

 

Tried the Premier Inn- Brewers Fayre for breakfast which was OK and it was a reasonable time -8 am so we could retrieve the car before the traffic wardens arrived. The button hand brake on the car made it difficult to manoeuvre with hill and tight parking. Well done Bob!

 

Surprisingly there was someone at Enterprise before opening time at 9 and he dealt with us really efficiently and quickly. Kindly he wished us luck and we rode the now built tandem to the station on route sheltering from a sudden deluge of rain. A one legged elderly gentleman on a mobility scooter joined us under the archway of a building. He seemed to be impressed with our venture and said we were “old school” and should keep it up so we could live till 100.

 

The train left at 10 and we thought the fares very reasonable for a half hour ride back to Bridlington(£4.10 and £6.30) The flowers at Bridlington were even better than last time and smelt wonderful- probably the hundreds of petunias. A lady from Scotland said it’s the best kept station anywhere in Britain!

 

We walked along the promenade until we could ride, noticing that it wasn’t as glitzy as Scarborough but there were lower key arcades one with horse- racing set up in a tableau instead of the usual bingo.

 

After the prom it was a bridleway to Flamborough Head via a grassy path by golf course by Sewerby Hall, where there were deer and llama hiding from the weather. It was grey but not too wet. As we entered open grassland there were posts marking the bridle way, that wasn’t quite at the coast’s edge. Nettles stung us as the path narrowed and then we entered a wood with slippery paths. Some mountain bikers said they “wouldn’t like to take that up those steps!” What steps? Later on we found out. It was steep but we could push the bike up the side of the steps while our feet had firmer footing . After this, though, we decided to keep to the road.

 

There were places to have “nibbles” at Flamborough but it was too early. We passed the chalk tower that was built in 1673 to hold a coal or brushwood fire on its top, though there is no record that it was used in this way. After 174 ships were lost between 1770 and 1806 off Flamborough Head, the present lighthouse was built.

At Bempton cliffs RSPB nature reserve we watched the gannets giving spectacular aerial shows as they dived down for their fish.

Then we took the B road back from Bempton towards Scarborough and rain sent us with bike into a bus shelter with a gothic air from the slit windows and used, long candles on the window ledge.

 

We arrived at the HoneyPot Inn at Speeton. It used to be a school and so the landlord has put old teddy bears and dolls on every available surface to reflect this. It has a good tap- Wold Top- and hot food! We enjoyed it here.

 

We took a bit of road to the bridleway (not marked on ordinance survey map) to Filey. This took us by caravan parks but then suddenly disappeared over the cliff edge with no fencing to afford protection. Bob thought it funny to ride to the edge. What a scream!

 

On the beach beneath there was Caribbean music with drums and singing and families dancing to the rhythm. It looked fairly impromptu though. The only way down was to take steps again, into the ravine and then out to the promenade where there is a little cafe. We went along the prom until we reached the lifeboat station where there was some-one singing 50s music and 2 middle-aged ladies were enjoying themselves doing a little dance routine while collecting for the lifeboat. Everywhere you looked there were Goldwing motorbikes, immaculately kept, with buckets for money for the RNLI.

 

We stopped at the Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park because we needed the loo. It looked more suited to small children but we dutifully paid our £4 each and looked around.  Shorn alpacas, a lovely golden pheasant and a lot of turkeys, hopefully not for Christmas were near the entrance. Nine ducklings were quite sweet and eco stuff, hands on guess by feeling and information posts were dotted about. The sky went black, the turkeys became agitated, a donkey started braying then the heavens opened with a terrific clap of thunder. Looking out at the tropical rainstorm from the cafe we were pleased to be under shelter and silently thanked our bladders. A baby rook had drowned in a pig bucket which upset the lady owner manning the cafe. We had a long chat until the rain subsided enough for us to leave.

 

We passed a circus and then 2 idiot teenagers decided to try and hijack the tandem, nearly pushing us off but for Bob’s neat swerve. Their ensuing abuse was completely uncalled for but they were the only horrible people we’ve met so far.

 

The cyclepath took us back past the Enterprise car hire place and down into Scarborough with the Grand in the distance. Our legs ached. At the Travel Lodge they put our bike in a meeting room and then we found somewhere to eat near the Harbour- Ivy House. We had house-wine, “spag bol “and steak and chips. Their cakes looked lovely so I had strawberry gateau and Bob had strawberries and cream- All very indulgent!

 

This was the best weather of the day with some blue sky and views out to sea. We walked up by the castle and then out to the North Bay passing St. Mary’s 800 year old church. We walked back by pubs with loud music, eclectic restaurants and the old market building.