A few miles south of Seahouses is a tiny village called Beadnell. It’s a dry day, so we decided to walk there. Beadnell has a very small harbour.

There are old lime kilns here, used for making fertiliser. They’ve been nicely restored.

The beach is very nice.

We had a drink at a cafe and walked back to Seahouses through the sand dunes. The beaches are stunning, and utterly deserted.

Back in Seahouses the sun has come out and the Holy Island trip boats are busy. We enjoyed ice creams on the quayside.

Tomorrow we head back to Shropshire. It’s miles and miles and I’m not looking forward to the drive, but at least the weather forecast is good.

Yesterday we travelled north. We went over the North Yorkshire moors, and under the Tyne Tunnel. It poured with rain the whole way, and we were very glad to arrive at our digs. This morning we had a good breakfast and drove up the coast to the village of Bamburgh. Bamburgh has 2 major attractions. The first is the castle. Bamburgh was the ancient capital of Northumbria, and the castle was the seat of power.

It’s a hugely impressive structure which dates back to the 11th century. Bamburgh is also the birthplace of a certain Grace Darling. A lighthouse keeper’s daughter, she became a major celebrity during Victorian times for her part in the rescue of survivors from the shipwreck of the paddle steamer Forfarshire. The rest, as they say, is history, and there is a nice museum commemorating her heroics. We spent an hour or so there learning about life as a family of lighthouse keepers back in the 19th century. Here’s the boat she and her father used for the famous rescue.

Grace is also remembered with a memorial in the churchyard of nearby St Aidan’s church. Queen Victoria apparently contributed to the cost.

There’s also a window for her in the church.

Bamburgh.

We had a walk down to the beach through the dunes.

Distant view to Holy Island, with its abbey and lighthouse.

Bamburgh is very nice and the history is fascinating, but as it doesn’t have a harbour there’s no real commercial activity beyond the 2 big tourist attractions. It felt a bit sterile to be honest. In contrast, Seahouses is positively bustling. We’re staying in a bungalow at the Olde Ship Inn, just above the harbour wall.

The harbour is busy, with a mixture of fishing vessels and Farne Islands excursion boats.

A walk on the rocks. It’s a bit breezy!

Eider ducks on the slipway.

We like Seahouses a lot. It’s exactly what a seaside village should be; lots of pubs with good food, at least 4 fish & chip shops, and plenty to do and see.

Nightfall over the harbour. On the horizon, on the right of the photo, you can see the light from Longstone Lighthouse, home of the Darling family and the location of the rescue.

Val’s been hiking in Yorkshire with a bunch of her mates. She has a good room in a nice guesthouse, so I’ve driven up to meet her for a few days. Whitby likes to celebrate its local characters. Here’s Val with ‘Skipper Dora’. Dora Walker was the first female fishing boat skipper on the north east coast.

Captain James Cook needs little introduction; British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Famed for his discovery of Australia, Captain Cook is one of Whitby’s most famous heroes. He began his apprenticeship in the Merchant Navy in Whitby, and he gazes down on the harbour.

Here is a replica of Captain Cook’s ship the ‘Endeavour’.

Whitby is a busy little place, with lots of excursions for visitors on land and on the water.

There’s no marina here, but it is possible to moor a yacht in the harbour. Call the harbourmaster on the radio and he’ll open the swing bridge to let you in.

The oldest part of town is on the opposite side of the river from all the tourist attractions. Narrow cobbled streets.

199 steps lead up to the top of the cliff. It sounds a bit intimidating, but it’s only about as strenuous as walking from our house in Wengen to the Co-op.

At the top of the steps is a church and an abbey. The headstones in the churchyard are very close together. They are memorials to men who were lost at sea.

Whitby abbey was a 7th century monastery which became a Benedictine abbey. Things went well for 800 years until Henry VIII came along and confiscated all the English abbeys, following which it fell into disrepair.

A few more snaps from our walk back to town.

We’ve enjoyed Whitby; the weather has been reasonably kind, and these days the town offers much more than fish & chips and ice cream. Tomorrow we’re heading north to Northumberland.

We had a good evening out in Interlaken last night with Emily and Ali. We visited a couple of pubs and had a terrific curry at the Taj Palace. Val and I spent the night at Emily’s so that we could get an early start towards the airport this morning. Emily’s place is in the old part of Interlaken, just by the river. It’s a lovely spot. Here’s my morning coffee view.

We caught the train towards Geneva. With a change at Bern we were soon descending towards the lake, passing villages surrounded by vineyards. Lake Geneva is absolutely huge. That’s France in the distance on the opposite shore.

We’ve been in Switzerland for more than 5 months, and there’s always one question that pops into our heads on the way back to the U.K.

‘Will the car start?’

Well, it did, which meant I could go out on a hunt for a nutritious dinner. I didn’t have to go far.

Obviously we can’t stay at Chalet Iltis this summer while the renovations are in progress. We will be back in Wengen from time to time, and we’re planning to be doing a lot of travelling in the U.K. and Europe, so please drop by every so often to see what we’re up to. For now though, Au Revoir.