Days out from Harrogate - Flamborough Head, Scarborough

We set out from Harrogate with rain on the wind and headed for the coast road via York, arriving at Flamborough Head in brilliant sunshine.   We had some friends visiting with us and they decided to be adventurous and headed off down the cliffs to the beach.  They were dismayed to find rather than black sand and rock as they had imagined, the beach was covered in sea weed and very slippery.  But they loved the views and enjoyed the steep walk down and back up.  The tide was fully out.  

Meanwhile we turned our attention to the cliffs in the opposite direction and were rewarded with hundreds of seals basking in the sun.

I love Flamborough for its amazing cliffs, great seascape, the sense of a wilderness, the fact it is always windswept even on the hottest of summer days, and a sense of being one with nature.  All of this despite the August crowds! There’s so much space it’s easy to escape!  We had a walk along the cliff tops meeting very few people.  It was a great place to take a dog, ours found plenty to entertain him - lots of interesting smells!.

We returned to the restaurant for fish and chips - I was thrilled to discover they do gluten free!  Well fed we headed for Scarborough.  First to find parking near St Marys Church and the Castle.  We had no problem.  We headed to the church yard and Anne Brontes grave.  Anne came to Scarborough several times in the hope of achieving a cure, eventually she died here and Charlotte chose her grave site up here on the cliffs close to the Castle. It rounded off our Bronte tour which we had started in Haworth. (see previous blog).

Next we continued up the hill to the Castle which is managed by English Heritage.   I usually come in the winter.  This is my favourite part of Scarborough.  Away from the crowds and noise of the seafront and port.

The Norman Castle Keep dominates Scarborough. There are wonderful views over the town and port below.

No visit would have been complete without a walk along at least one of the famous strands,  so we headed for North Bay.  It was getting late and people were packing up, it was an ideal time to amble along the beach.  It had been a hot day and we could see from the castle the South Bay had been very crowded.  The North Bay is used more by locals and surfers. We saw the deserted sand castles and earth works left by the days engineers.  North Bay does not have the fun fair and arcades of the South Bay..  Tired we headed back to the car and were back in Harrogate in good time for dinner. Our guests thoroughly  enjoyed their day.  Flamborough and Scarborough had been on their bucket list - they were not disappointed! Just wished we could have had more time!  Told them they need to come back and bring their friends!