I went to bed late last night after all my night time photography shenanigans. Of course, that didn't mean my body would allow me to sleep in this morning. Still, I took my time getting ready as there were only a couple of things on my list for this final day.
After much fluffing around I headed towards Oxford street going along the river bank as far as I could. I've seen the growth on this bridge before and it amazes me how it survives.
The tide was out and I wondered where each of these fragments would have originated from.
The pedestrian crossing lights in Trafalgar Square now have a variety of different inclusive symbols instead of the traditional green man. I saw just about every combination you could imagine. This was just one.
Near Oxford street is the Photographer's Gallery. Unfortunately, it was smaller than I had expected/hoped, but it was still interesting and I particularly liked an exhibition by Sophie Calle. I bought a couple of books from their book shop afterwards.
Following the gallery I slowly made my way back to the Thames. I popped through Carnaby Street to do a little bit of shopping.
Then I made my way back along the bank, stopping a couple of times for a drink and to soak up the atmosphere. I should have made more time for this and will remember for the future. I passed a guy who was making huge bubbles for the crowd. I tried to capture some with my camera but it wasn't easy.
When I got back to the hotel it was time to pack before going out. Last night an advert for a play at the Battersea Arts Centre just happened to pop up in my Facebook feed and the first night just happened to be tonight so I though "why not". I caught the Northern Line from London Bridge to Clapham South and then walked about 20min to the theatre.
The play was fantastic. Really smart and ingenious in the way that they use light to allow them to change quickly back and forth between scenes. Here's a link if you're interested in knowing more.
I got back to the hotel by about 9:30pm. I will try to get to bed soon. I need to be up early in the morning so I can get to the airport in plenty of time. My flight departs at 9:15am. I will be a bit sad to leave, but I'm also very ready to go home.
Today it was time to move on to my final destination in this adventure, London. Unfortunately I didn't plan today's journey very well. I purchased the train tickets first back in March in order to secure advance first class tickets at a good price. I purposely chose trains towards the end of the day so I could maximise my stay in the Lake District by doing an activity this morning. However, when it came to booking a car I found myself having to return the car before 1:00pm because it's a Saturday. That was nearly 3 hours ahead of my train departure.
As there was very little point in returning the car earlier, I took my time getting ready this morning, aiming to check out close to 11:00am. Packing was the usual challenge and one holiday experience I won't miss.
I headed back to Carlisle shortly before 11:00am. I decided that I would take the route with major roads this time following the A66 and then the M6. This provided a very easy and pleasant driving experience.
After returning the car I headed to the train station. I decided to enquire whether I could exchange my tickets for an earlier service. Unfortunately, because I had managed to get such cheap advance tickets in the first place, to change them now would have been ridiculously expensive. Also unfortunately, Carlisle railway station doesn't have any facility for leaving your luggage so you can head off for a bit. My only choice was to wait it out at the station. But at least that was a nice opportunity to read over the notes I've been keeping for this trip and skim through some of the books I've purchased.
This weekend there is maintenance on the west coast line which seemed to cause some chaos at Carlisle with bus services and announcements going off all over the place. When I first purchased my tickets there had been a note that the service might be affected by maintenance, but luckily for me the east cost line I had selected escaped the works.
The first train from Carlisle to Leeds departed at 3:49pm. The train arrived in Leeds on time despite having to stop for a fallen branch across the line. At Leeds I transferred to the 6:45pm Virgin Trains service to London Kings Cross. All up, that's nearly 5 1/2 hours of train travel.
Funnily, the first train, which was a Northern service, was a very ordinary train but smooth ride. The second train, which was the much swisher Virgin Trains service, was really bumpy. Of course, I think it was a much faster train, but surprising all the same.
There are a number of walks around Grasmere, including ones that take you towards another lake. After yesterday morning's experience I decided to set out on a similar adventure this morning. I was out of the hotel by 5:30am. This time there were a few other people out and about by then, so I didn't feel quite so freakish. This morning was a clear blue sky, so the mist was more patchy. But it created some beautiful effects in the woodlands.
After my peaceful (if early) start to the day I made my plans and headed off in the car. First destination was Windermere to then walk to Orrest Head, a lookout above the village. I managed to find my way there successfully and the driving was relatively easy.
From the car park my sources indicated it would be a couple of hours walking to and from the lookout so I was prepared for a hike. And although it was quite a hike up the side of the hill, it only took about 30min each way. The view was breathtaking. You could see all of (lake) Windermere which is so long I couldn't fit it into one shot.
And the views away from the lake were just as beautiful.
It was a popular spot, though I realised later that many were in a group together.
After Orrest Head, I had decided to visit Ullswater. I would have a couple of choices of activity including boat cruise and walking. I plugged in Glenridding, the town at the bottom of Ullswater, into the sat nav and blindly followed the directions. Soon I realised it was taking me on exactly the kind of narrow, bendy roads I had desperately wanted to avoid.
But there was no turning back so I decided to go for it. Luckily there wasn't much traffic which certainly reduced the stress. The road was narrow, often walled on both sides and frequently twisting and turning. Furthermore, it was climbing. I later discovered it was taking me though Kirkstone Pass which is the highest pass open to traffic in the Lake District. Not only was the road treacherous, but in the highest parts there were goats and sheep wandering across and along the road at times. It required massive amounts of concentration. It also epitomised what was hugely frustrating about driving today. I knew I was driving through breathtaking scenery, I could sense the views all around me, but I dare not take my eyes off the road for a second.
Luckily on this occassion, there was a parking stop at the top of the pass which allowed me to get some shots. The road I had driven on is the winding one in the distant middle of the picture.
After pausing to take photos I continued on and made it to Glenridding. By this time it was coming up to 1:00pm. The weather was sunny and very warm. I decided against walking and settled on a cruise on the lake instead. The next cruise was at 2:20pm so I wandered and had some lunch while I waited.
The cruise was very nice, with great scenery, but I must admit it wasn't that dissimilar to the Windermere cruise I did last year. I got a little bored towards the end.
There was a smattering of sailing going on.
Our boat was in the same style as this other one we passed.
At Howtown there were lots of children engaged in various activities. I assume it was some kind of scouting site or similar.
Near the end of the cruise we passed this guy. He was a fair way into the middle of the lake paddling along. He handled the wake from our boat expertly.
The cruise ended about 4:45pm. I decided it was time to get back to the hotel. When I punched Grasmere into the sat nav it was going to take me back through the Kirkstone Pass. There was no way I was going that. So I did some research of my own. By asking the sat nav to go via Troutbeck it picked a different route that appeared to be better, if a little longer. Of course, I wouldn't know until I started.
Turns out it was a much better route and for the most part very easy. It still required massive concentration and I was still teased by epic scenery in my peripheral vision. I'm going to plan to see some of it properly tomorrow.
As I wandered on my early morning walk I reflected on how I was feeling. Obviously, I'd love to stay in the UK longer, but I think by next week I will feel ready to return home. It feels like I have been away for much longer than 4 weeks.
Seeing the Larpool Viaduct inspired me to make a "small" diversion when I reached the end of the train line at Whitby. By this time it was around 1:30pm. My original plan for the day had been to spend the afternoon exploring Whitby, grab some dinner there and hopefully take advantage of the early evening light before catching the last bus back to Scarborough. But now I really wanted to find the viaduct and explore it a bit. At the time it seemed easy enough and shouldn't impact my overall plan.
On my map it appeared easy to get near where the viaduct was and I estimated it should only take 30-60min to get there. As I walked away from Whitby there were opportunities to take some snaps.
I managed to find the viaduct quite easily. It used to carry trains across the valley when the train line ran from Whitby to Scarborough. Now it's part of a bike and walking trail.
On one side the river bends as it heads towards Whitby.
On the other side I could see the train line that carried me earlier. I knew there was a walking trail on the river side of the track. I just needed to figure out how to get there!
I found one walking track off the viaduct and weaving below. Totally unexpectedly, I came across this horse hitched to a tree with no one else in sight. At the end of the day I would see the same horse with rider as the bus turned into Robin Hood's Bay on the way back to Scarborough.
I continued on my mission to get to the river side train track. My map app had some tracks marked on it so I had a strong feeling I was going to succeed. In the end it became clear my only option would be to walk to the nearest village Ruswarp where there was a crossing across the train line.
Before reaching the crossing and getting on the river side of the train track.
Although it was a long and unplanned walk, it was lovely and I made sure I paced myself to enjoy the journey and not just anticipate the destination.
Eventually I made it to the viaduct and it was worth it. 36m high, 279m long, 13 arches and 5,000,000 bricks, it was very impressive.
From there I continued on the river track back to Whitby. I noticed the triangles of the roofs on the buildings on one side of the town as they cascaded down to the northern bank of the river.
Captain Cook came from around this area so there are quite a few Captain Cook themed museums and buildings in Whitby.
Whitby contains a number of streets preserved in time and thankfully devoid of parked traffic. I wandered around as I headed towards the famous abbey on the southern side of the river.
Leading to the abbey are the famous 199 steps.
At the top of the steps is St Mary's church and graveyard. It struck me that these stones were like the souls of the departed still looking down and keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the town below. I can't decide whether that's comforting or creepy.
Next to the church are the ruins of Whitby Abey. These ruins date from the Benedictine abbey constructed around the 13th century. I hadn't been all that interested in exploring the abbey because it seemed quite decayed. But since I was there I decided to get a ticket and look around.
The lush green grass was like a luxurious carpet connecting the ruins.
I was surprised at how substantial the abbey had been.
By this time it was about 5:00pm. My original plan would have involved finding some dinner and then wandering around to do some photography in the late afternoon/early evening light. But I was exhausted. The extra walking to find Larpool Viaduct had not been in my plan and I'd used up my energy. The light was starting to look fantastic, beautifully lighting up the sides of the buildings but I couldn't bear the thought of wandering around for another hour taking pictures. I decided to listen to my body and head back earlier than planned.
I caught the 5:43pm X93 bus back to Scarborough. On the way back the light on the fields and moors was better than I had seen so far, but I just couldn't get the camera out. I was done. I have one more day here tomorrow so I will probably try to hatch a better plan.
After Robin Hood's Bay, I decided to head to Staithes. This was another village I had seen gorgeous photos of. I took the bus from Robin Hood's Bay on to Whitby then caught the 12:43pm X4 bus towards Middleborough. The timetable indicated that it would stop at Staithes. The bus was similar to those in Wales in that it announced each bus stop. I eagerly watched and awaited Staithes. It didn't happen. I realised quite quickly that I'd missed the stop and got off. I had a short wait before a bus came the other way and I realised the mistake. The timetable said Staithes, but the actual stop was shown as Dalehouse - Captain Cooks Close. No wonder I missed it the first time!
Like Robin Hood's Bay, there was a walk down to the village.
And more gorgeous streets and pathways.
I was able to walk out to the breakwater to get some shots back towards the village.
And then I climbed a path on one of the hills to the side of the village to get a bird's eye view.
As beautiful as both Robin Hood's Bay and Staithes were, reality didn't match the images I had seen back at home. I've come to realise that those pictures benefit from perfect lighting and timing and a bit of photoshop touching up. Very glad I visited both though.
I walked back to catch the 3:34pm bus back to Whitby but realised when I got there that the particular service only operates after 28 May. Luckily the next was only at 4:04pm. I bumped into 3 gentlemen who had made the same mistake. My "insider" knowledge sparked a nice chat while we waited together. From Whitby I took the 5:06pm X93 bus back to Scarborough. After a very long day it was nice to have a delicious meal in the restaurant.
The hotel is really nice - service is great and the view is amazing. But the hotel is old and you can hear every movement in every room around you. Being Saturday yesterday, last night it was ridiculously noisy as people were getting ready for the night. But after that it was all good.
I woke first just before 5:00am. I was eager to check out the sunrise so I couldn't resist opening the curtains a bit. It was beautiful, if less colourful than I had hoped. I tried to get some extra sleep but once my brain is awakened, that's it for me. I was up for a sumptuous breakfast at 7:30am.
I had a rough plan for the day which started by catching the X93 bus at 9:50am. I bought an all day ticket which ended up being a great idea. The bus took me to my first destination Robin Hood's Bay (no relation to Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest).
As with many of the most beautiful fishing villages, there was a walk down first.
Before lots of winding, narrow streets and pathways.
I noticed the huddle of rooftops.
At the water's edge there was a beach to one side.
And cliffs to the other side.
At the end of the visit on the way back up the hill I turned back to see this view. Just perfect.
When I got back to the bus stop there was a bus already waiting so I eagerly jumped on board. After a couple of moments I realised it was pointing the wrong way and would have taken me back to Scarborough. Luckily I was able to hop off before it departed. And even more luckily the right bus arrived soon after. On to my next destination.
The hotel was about 15 min walk from the railway station. It was a bit of a struggle in places, but you never know from the map. The hotel looks lovely and the room will be perfect. It's compact but I have a lovely sea view from the bed.
The weather was lovely and I immediately re-grouped to set off. It's wonderful to get the fresh excitement of exploring each time I arrive somewhere new.
I headed towards the town centre and beach. This is the south beach and you can see the ruins of Scarborough Castle on the hill.
In the opposite direction a series of bays fade into the distance. This is very similar to the view from my window.
In the bay I noticed what looked like a sailing ship. Initially I was excited to see such a ship, but then I noticed it was moving awfully fast. When I zoomed in I realised it was actually a "pirate" motor boat doing short trips into the bay and back.
Beneath a bridge walkway that connects parts of the foreshore I noticed that the pylons were home to a colony of gulls.
The old town has narrow streets and lovely old buildings.
I walked all around the harbour. This is the view looking back to the hotel.
And this is the view looking back to the town centre.
I continued walking around the cliffs on which the castle is perched. This leads to the north beach.
Numerous residences and guest houses are perched at the top of the cliffs with a fantastic view of the bay. At this stage I noticed the clouds were starting to look quite dark.
I made my way up to cliff to explore a little when the first drops of rain fell. This street is typical of so many with small guesthouses sitting side by side.
The rain got heavier and before long it was pouring. Luckily I had come prepared with jacket and umbrella. It briefly stopped again, giving me an opportunity to devour a delicious cone of icecream on the foreshore before the rain returned heavier than ever. It was time to retreat to the hotel.
It's coming up to 7:30pm now and the rain has passed. There's just puffy clouds, a little bit of light on the cliffs in the distance and the soft sound of waves.
I only had a relatively short stay in Manchester. I could definitely find plenty of other things to do there, so it would be nice to come back and spend some more time at some stage. I packed my bag last night, so this morning was pretty easy going. I had hoped to sleep in until around 7:00am but unfortunately I was wide awake at 5:00am.
The weather was clear and blue and it did occur to me that I could pop outside and take advantage of the weather and Saturday morning to do some photography. But I just didn't feel like it - and I'm trying not to feel guilty about it.
I got to the railway station in plenty of time for my 10:11am train. I had purchased a advance first class ticket which was a very reasonable price. First class can be a bit hit and miss depending on the train company and whether you're travelling during the week or on the weekend. In this instance it was just right. Very comfortable, a single window seat and tea/coffee service to your seat.
Sitting diagonally opposite me for most of the trip were two women. They seemed lovely but didn't stop talking for the whole trip. That doesn't bother me at all, I just don't understand how anyone can keep talking that long. I'd find it exhausting!
The terrain was varied, much of the same lush green pastures and fields I have seen on other trips. I tried to take a few photos but, as usual, timing was critical. This photo was a perfect example of getting the timing wrong!
The journey was just over two hours long and we arrived around 12:30pm. About 1/2 hour before arriving, the lady who had been quietly sitting directly opposite me said something and a conversation ensued. That was lovely, though it soon descended into a long list of bad accommodation experiences she and her family have had. Luckily I'm not staying in the Grand Hotel! That place sounded diabolical - though I doubt it could have been as bad as she made out.
I chose Scarborough as a base to explore some towns and villages on the Yorkshire coast. If time permits, there's a steam railway I hope to try also.