Another trip from the south of 'Albion' to the north, driving through parts of England.

We had a comfortable crossing from Hoek van Holland ('Hook') to Harwich. Looking forward to a trip with a multitude
of photo opportunities I had packed my camera bag with a selection of my cameras: The Sony A7IV for the 200-600mm (birding!) zoomlens. The Panasonic FZ1000.II for many subjects 'varied', the Leica Q2 for up close and personal and
the small Canon S120 for in the car, easy to grab. I was surprised to find all of my cameras I brought with me
had replaced those I brought in 2019 (UK2019) on a similar trip!☺

Approaching the docks.
Must state here I enjoyed the crossing with Stena more than DFDS (Newcastle - IJmuiden) on our way home.

We stayed in the Essex Golf & Country Club, conveniently located on only a 45 minutes drive
from where we docked in Harwich. What fun it is located on a former WW2 airfield!

I hadn't known there was WW2 history to enjoy here if I hadn't stayed here. But the stay had its faults: twice I woke
up during the night due some sort of generator nearby being activated, the dismissive attitude of the receptionist
in the morning when I reported this (the receptionist upon checkin was much nicer!) and the breakfast in the morning
was a distinct let down.

Only 9 days on British soil and our planning called for quite a varied 'menu'! 'D-Day 80', the 80th anniversary commemorating the WW2 invasion of Normandy, determined the start of our itinerary. I thought the tickets for
the event at Duxford that weekend too expensive (UKL 50 p.p.) and opted for the preceeding friday May 31st at
North Weald with Aero Legends, only UKL 30,- p.p. SEE MY REPORT OF D-DAY 80 @NORTH WEALD.
The rest of the itinerary called for visits to a friend, a day in London and a day in York, castles, pubs, and birding.
It's all here for you to enjoy!

Only 5 'Daks' were present (and one between the hangars): 3 from the US (2 were stranded en route) and 2 'locals'.

D-DAY 80 @NORTH WEALD

One DC-3 was in VIP configuration and indeed for sale!
D-DAY 80 @NORTH WEALD

Heading into London for the day.

I am always looking for opportunities to enrich my #OnReading series.

Amersham's railway station lacks glamorous appeal.

For unknown reasons the 'Mainline Chiltern' did not run that day, we asked the stationmaster but he did not know.
The train would have taken slightly more than 30 minutes, the tube took an hour to Piccadilly Circus.

For a varied report (including pictures illustrating the CL Final between Real Madrid - Dortmund supporters)
see my page LONDON & YORK.

Fast forward to an en route stop in Nottingham, for lunch and the castle.

'Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem', built in 1189, is known as
England's oldest surviving inn. The staff at the bar weren't the brightest.

More about the lace industry further down this report.

NOTTINGHAM CASTLE (MUSEUM)

Nottingham is of course well known for the Robin Hood legend!

Recorded Friar Tuck for my #OnReading series.

It was warm, the sun burning down, inactivity seemed attractive but we did not have the time.

The gatehouse to the castle on the hill

The castle was converted to a palace and later converted to a gallery / museum

A clear illustration on how the castle overlooked the countryside, aptly named 'castle rock'

Nottingham's medieval castle was converted to Ducal Palace in 1679, the museum openened in 1878

'Today, Cluny Lace Company is the only company in England still making lace on Nottingham machines.'

Salt-glazing. 'The kilns, techniques and processes became a closely guarded secret, as the pots sold across the UK,
Europe and North America. Nottingham Ware was popular well into the 19th century.'

'Each bear pot was unique, thwon in two halves, with arms, legs, chain links and other features moddelled by hand.
The fur was formed by grinding once-fired clay in to chips.'

The museum's art gallery, the centrepiece of the former Midland Counties Art Museum.

'Market Place, Nottingham, c.1920 - by Nottingham artist Arthur Spooner.'
'On this bright and busy market day people are browsing and chatting. Part of the market square is in the shadow,
which maks the colours of the fruit and vegetable stalls caught by the sunlight appear even more vibrant in contrast.'

One for my #LOOK series.

Parliamentarian forces battling against the Royalists.

This This historic centre seemed nice but we had to make tracks, heading up further north, to York.

Our stay for 3 nights: the Aldwark Manor Estate

It so happened again that my wife's birthday was again abroad... It seemed a good idea to celebrate it with a luxury stay!

Aldwark Manor Estate Hotel may have been a bit above our station, but it was worth it.

I would like to stay here again, I enjoyed the massive bar in The Squadron Bar!

In the 'Elements' restaurant we enjoyed fine breakfasts & dinner.

Daytrip to York, only a 30 minutes drive from our hotel, through a nice countryside. Parked at the Q-Park Shambles.

A shortcut into town, along the river Foss

Clifford's Tower. Next time we'll climb it, I promise!

This photo and the one below show different street scenes, my general impression York wasn't (yet) overrun by tourists

See my report on our visit to York on my LONDON & YORK

Heading for the coastal cliffs I felt again very pleased with driving through Britain with its nice countryside.

Far away views and driving through small towns with historic churches. Lovely!

Our goal for the morning: RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Gannets were found in enormous quantities!

While I came for the Puffins (they seem to be the marketing tool for all the bird reserves), they were now present
in disappointing numbers and sometimes hard to find or make out. But I came to love the Gannets!

The cliffs here are very high, my 200-600mm zoomlens did not reach to the birds on the water.
For an extensive report seem my page on BIRDING 2024

SCARBOROUGH CASTLE

For an afternoon visits we drove a little north, to Scarborough Castle.

The weather had turned, we walked up the gate with our umbrellas deployed but by the time
we had purchased our tickets, 5 minutes later, it was dry! The clouds added to the atmosphere.

The history of Scarborough Castle is clearly displayed in several signs. Well done.

One can see what strategic significance its location held.

The Keep, built between 1158-1164. Demolished in 1649.

Nice view over Scarborough...

... and the surrounding area

THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIRDS OF PREY @HELMSLEY

By chance we came upon this centre and found ourselves in time for the 11:00 demonstration!
www.ncbp.co.uk/visit-us

The Turkey Vulture coming in for its snack.
We enjoyed 4 demonstrations; the birds display their flying and return for their snack which constitute their meal.
The demonstrators were informative and entertaining. We were thrilled to bits!
See my BIRDING 2024 page

We'll try to come back here, for the birds but also for those castle ruines we noticed on our way out.
And Rievaulx Abbey is nearby but there is only so much one can visit in a day!

NORTH YORK MOORS NATIONAL PARK

Driving east on the A170 we took a turn north, on the A169 for Whitby Abbey. Fascinating countryside.
Only later I noticed there was the North Yorkshire Moors Railway near our turn off at Pickering: plenty to return to!

On the coast we noticed this M.o.D. installation: RAF Fylingdales

WHITBY ABBEY

Whitby Abbey was on my list since 2009, but when we landed in the South we never got this far north. And if we
landed at Newcastle it always felt like a loss of time in a busy schedule to go south for this impressive abbey.
Now at last!

Originally I wanted to visit the Shetland Isles but in February I was already too late for summer bookings and
left it for 2025. This was an improvised plan, booked in april, for D-Day 80 and a visit to a friend of ours we'd
not seen for 7 years thanks to Covid. Birding and yet unseen roads took us further up north.

Whitby Abbey saw less destruction than others during Henry VIII's dissolution, although the structure was later
plundered by the Cholmley family who built a mansion adjacent to the abbey.

'People have lived on the headland at Whitby for at least 3.000 years..'

The Benedictine abbey thrived for centuries as a centre of learning. This 2nd monastery was destroyed by Henry VIII
in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey was bought by Sir Richard Cholmley. It remained in
the Cholmley family and their descendants, the Strickland family. The Strickland family passed it to the UK government
in 1920. The ruins are now owned and maintained by English Heritage.

In December 1914, Whitby Abbey was shelled by the German battlecruisers Von der Tann and Derfflinger,
whose crew "were aiming for the Coastguard Station on the end of the headland." Scarborough and Hartlepool
were also attacked. The abbey buildings sustained considerable damage during the ten-minute attack.

Rain threatened, passing clouds offered room for bright sunshine but also cast it in deep shadows.
A fierce wind was blowing.

We still had to drive 2hrs40 for our B&B in Thropton: the Thropton Demesme Farm B&B. We'd stayed here before.

We were pleasantly welcomed again by Dave and Pauline. It's a fine location to roam the area, e.g. Alnwick & Seahouses.
Nearby Cragside Manor House & Gardens was recommended for a visit, but alas has to await another visit in the area.

In spite of 3 recently built upmarket houses there's still a fine view on the hills.
But here I went for the rainbow. En route we'd had all sorts of weather including hail.

Thropton has a nice pub & restaurant, The Three Wheat Heads. Recently added was a gasstation/SPAR supermarket.

Such a pity Dave & Pauline are considering selling their B&B, they are getting on in age with obvious health issues.

Alnwick is a nice drive from Thropton / Rothbury, we revisited Barter Books in the former trainstation.

This time I found nil photobooks and soon continued to Seahouses fro the booked boattrip.

SEAHOUSES & FARNE ISLANDS

I had booked with Billy Shiel's for the top deck could also protect against the elements and I like an elevated
platform for my photography. Ny numerous recounts (2 remained missing) I learned 89 went on board.

A previous trip, undertaken on a whim, took us around the Farne Island, this time our booking included
landing at Inner Farne, to see the birds up close. We were only allowed 1 hour on land, but it was enough.

So many Puffins here! See more on my BIRDING 2024 Page.

After 2 nights at the B&B -for one day at the Farne Islands- it was time to make our way for the ferry and home.

En route to Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the DFDS ferry we did a morning visit to Prudhoe Castle.

A moment with sunshine bt soon we had rain coming down again

Unfortunately they had the builders in, it may have accounted for the empty rooms, but there was enough to enjoy.

'The present structure was the only entrance to the castle, but has remarkably few featurs to defence.
This may explain the creation of a further tower and barbican (fortified gateway) fronting this gatehouse
in the decades following 1150'. An impressive route into the castle for the guests and visitors these days.

Prudhoe Castle from the grounds

Crossing the railroad into Ovingham (seemed a nice place, next time?) we went for another ruin, Aydon Castle.
But the rain kept falling heavily so instead we opted for the Robin Hood Inn, for warm coffees and scones.

Robin Hood Bar & Restaurant, on the B6318 (parallel to the A69, between Wall Houses and Harlow Hill)

Explore Tripadvisor for (positive) reviews (but mind there are many venues by that name)

It's probably also on a walking trail as we see many hikers taking a break for the dismal weather.

We still had some time before reporting at 15:00 wat the DFDS docks, so we did a quick stop at Newcastle's
Aladdin's Cave. Strictly a cash business, I spent my last tenner for a simple souvenir. Nice place!

Homeward bound, it's been good!
Driving up the ramp at 15:00 we needed to park three abreast, one of us had to climb over the seats.
Also in other respects (food) we found DFDS disappointing versus Stena Line.

Of course it had started to rain again. However the crossing was calm.

A few additions for my #OnReading series (the above on the Stena Line crossing to Harwich)

Two #OnReading taken on the DFDS crossing to IJmuiden

EXTERNAL LINKS:
en.wikipedia.org:_Castles_in_Great_Britain_and_Ireland
www.english-heritage.org.uk