"Staycations" are no hardship to us, the British Isles have so much to offer, especially stunning scenery and more history than you can possibly absorb. In the second week of September 2021, we made our second visit to North Yorkshire, in recent years, staying at the Forest & Vale Hotel in Pickering. Highly recommended, especially the evening meals!
When planning the trip my wife asked if, on the way up to Pickering, we could make a detour and visit the Harlow Carr RHS Gardens, near Scarborough. We did and it was very enjoyable, lots of other people had decided to do the same thing but it is such a vast area, including the Woodland Walks, that we were not conscious of the large numbers as we walked around.
When we were last in Pickering we failed to take a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway; we corrected that this time and took a ride from Pickering to Goathland and return. At Goathland we walked from the station into the village made famous as the location for the popular TV series "Heartbeat" (1992 - 2010). The Aidenfield Garage and Scrips Funeral Directors (sharing the same building) is still there operating as a tourist attraction and shop. My idea was to walk along the Railside way going from Goathland to the next station, Grosmont but to branch off to visit Mallyan Spout (waterfall). The fact that we are both here, safe and well, says much for our fitness. The steep course, along a narrow, often wooded, track could easily double as an SAS assault course. We were fortunate in having fine weather, had it been raining it would have probably been unsafe for us to undertake that walk. Just to put the terrain into perspective, while we were there an Air Rescue Helicopter was hovering overhead. Was someone being rescued, who knows?
Also, when planning the break I had seen a photograph of the picturesque harbour of Staithes on Yorkshire's North Coast. I had to go to Scarborough on a "car" based mission, so, to carry on to Staithes was easily accomplished. Again, the descent to Staithes harbour is very steep and after the previous day's exertions, my wife was happy to stay in the car while I walked down to the harbour to take some photos.
Earlier in the year our youngest son and his family were staying near Bridlington and visited Burton Agnes Hall and Gardens. He gave such a good report that we decided that we would like to visit too. A very good decision as the photographs below might indicate.
Harlow Carr RHS Gardens
Staithes
Burton Agnes House and Gardens
Nick
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