From Kenya to the Yorkshire Dales

both are equally stunning, in very different ways.

I’m sorry this post is a bit late. Every time I wanted to sit down to write I always seemed to find something else to do. Washing up, ironing, sorting out cupboards, sewing, dusting, deep cleaning of the bathroom, I guess things that needed my attention but also I saw them as a comfort, a way of keeping busy and not thinking too much! I could have easily left all these chores till I finished writing my blog but no, they seemed to take priority over my writing and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s procrastination or maybe avoidance.

I was also physically exhausted. Last week I drove the equivalent to driving all the way to Warsaw, just over 1,200 miles. The most that I have ever driven in such a short space of time. It’s just as well that I like driving!!! My shoulders and upper back would probably disagree!

I went with my sister in law to visit our friend who had recently moved out of London. The journey up was a proper road trip, it took around six hours and felt like like we were in the film, ‘Withnail and I.’ Luckily we didn’t break down as I don’t remember renewing my AA membership! The good thing is that the time flew by as we talked and caught up with each other’s news. It was shortly before midnight that we arrived in a village in the middle of a National Park in the middle of North Yorkshire. We were all pleased to see each other and relieved that we made it, there was nothing else for it but to open up a of bottle of Prosecco or two. I think we also had some dodgy Eastern European spirit of some description that tasted very sweet but was most probably very lethal especially mixed with Prosecco. I have no recollection of actually going to bed, but I know I did because I woke up in it in the morning and I was also wearing my pyjamas. Result!

Over the next couple of days we travelled around North Yorkshire, (there was a lot of sheep) and discovered local market towns and villages. We also ended up driving through the Moors on our way to the coast visiting Helmsley along the way, an amazing town that I could easily have stayed in and not travelled any further. We stopped there by chance as we needed to powder our noses and had a good look at all the bikers that had descended on the square. There was an awful lot of leather but I have to admit bodies were squeezed into them, all middle aged and definitely going through some midlife crisis. We were very impressed by their motorbikes though. Not that I am into motorbikes, or hairy bikers but maybe after my trip on the back of one in Kenya, something may have stirred inside me. Perhaps deep down I may be a bit of a biker at heart and not quite know it.

We drove along the coast starting in Scarborough, a place I have wanted to visit since playing Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair over and over at Uni (usually playing chess.) Scarborough is fantastic, a great Victorian Spa town with wonderful buildings and a fantastic vibe. We then drove towards Robin Hoods Bay which had a spectacular view down a very steep road and an equally spectacular beach.

Our next stop was Whitby. There we visited the ruined Abbey which apparently was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. We also went to see where he lived, (that’s Bram Stoker, not Dracula) and I felt really inspired myself and hoped that something might just rub off on me like a talent for writing maybe or an idea for a great horror book. It was really nice knowing about this connection in Whitby as last year I had visited Bran Castle in Transylvania which I don’t think that Bram Stoker actually did!! Just wanted to add that I didn’t see a single bat in Whitby.

Our final destination was Saltburn. By now the sun had started to set and the light was simply amazing. I couldn’t stop taking photos. There was a wonderful pier and a beach that stretched for miles. As an amateur photographer I was in my element. The light in this part of the UK seemed different. I don’t know whether it was in my head or in my eyes in this case, but the light was just fantastic and great for taking photos. Saltburn also has the best Fish Restaurant. Not sure whether that is true or not but we had already eaten in Whitby a bit earlier so can’t really back that fact up.

The drive around North Yorkshire was unbelievable. Every corner, every turning, every hill we went over presented itself with yet another photo opportunity. It was like having a work of art constantly moving all the time. I lost count at how many times I had said. ‘Oh my God.’

Last year when our friend boldly announced that she was moving up North to North Yorkshire, I gave her the typical Southern response. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ I couldn’t understand why, now I do. She doesn’t live in the middle of nowhere, she lives in the middle of somewhere. Somewhere that is simply so stunning and so beautiful that I have no idea where the phrase: ‘It’s grim up North’ came from because it doesn’t really fit the description. I’m convinced it may have been made up by Northerners to keep the Southerners out.

It was hard to make the drive back to London but now I have a great excuse to visit my friend and explore more of the area and see some more stunning scenery, take shed more photos, commune with the sheep and stalk the dodgy bikers and in all honesty wish that I actually lived there.

When I got back home I had a day at home before I set off to complete my 1,200 miles in the car with a trip to see my mum in Devon. She has Alzheimer’s and is being cared for in a Polish Care home in Newton Abbott. I have a piece about this that I have been working on so will post it next time.

In the meantime, if you are interested, the guy that assaulted me in October pleaded guilty at the pre trial a few days ago so now it doesn’t have to go to a full trial which could have taken up to two years as apparently there is such a backlog in the courts.

Feeling extremely relieved as the thought of going to court filled me with dread and fear. Not sure if it was because of how long it was going to hang over my head or because of the idea of being cross examined in court. Whatever the reason it was going to take over a chunk of my life. A chunk of my life that I don’t have time to give over to something like this. I can now breath….

Thank you for sticking with me and reading this blog. Till next time. Jo xx