04/09/2009, Somewhere in England....
A busy few weeks have passed since climbing Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire. After a great time spent in the Dales, we travelled up to Aberdeen by train to meet up with Clare and Donald, our first trip to their house; they have only lived there about 10 years! The view from the train was quite spectacular as we headed up the east coast of England and over the border into Scotland and we really appreciated letting 'the train take the strain' giving us more time to enjoy the trip. Our surprise trip organised by Donald to Braemar, staying in the Invercauld Arms Hotel, was a fantastic location to embark on a number of walks and visits around the area. In addition, we managed to get as far north as Portknockie to see Bow Fiddle Rock, Cullen, and Balmedie, and as far south to Arbroath, the Montrose Basin, and Stonehaven, many of which I passed when sailing around the coast of Britain in the summer of 2007. Time went by all too quickly Up North, and before long, we were on the Megabus for our 14 hour trip from Aberdeen to London (for £15 each!). Back now again at mum's in Bexleyheath, we have been catching up with Aunty Val, Grandad (97 in October!), and a few other friends who live in the local area. Off to London tomorrow with some surprises planned for Tracey's birthday. Luckily, abseiling off Nelson's Column, and bungee jumping off the BT Tower were fully booked, so we shall be staying closer to Earth on this occasion....!
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08/08/2009, Newton-under-Roseberry, North Yorkshire
Time to stretch the legs again today and set off up the 1000 ft hill at Newton-under-Roseberry, North Yorkshire, knowns as 'Roseberry Topping'. The unusual shape of this hill is due to a geological fault and a mining collapse early in the 20th century. With the sun out, lunch packed, and water bottles filled, Tracey, Sara and I set out towards Captain Cook's monument before retracing our footsteps and heading up to the summit of Roseberry Topping. All in all, a swift 2 hour round trip walk which gave us some excellent views across Teeside and the Yorkshire Dales. It also was a great excuse to clear out the cobwebs as we recovered from a very late night in Whitby listening to The Yabbers in The Resolution.....great band!
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05/08/2009, Esk Valley, Whitby
Up at 5am, and off to St Pancras to hunt down the Megabus that would be taking us to York for.... 3 pounds each!! Our first surprise of the day was that the megabus was in fact...a train, well, up as far as East Midlands airport. So we were somewhat bemused when we were told we would be catching the Megabus from Platform 4! Leaving spot on time, and arriving in York 5 minutes early, we cannot understand how such a great service can operate for so little - highly recommended, but don't tell too many friends! Visiting Tracey's family in Esk Valley, we met up with Sir Nigel Gresley, the engine that is, not the man (designer of some of England's finest steam engines), visiting Pickering by steam train, catching up with the family in general, and spent today getting drenched whilst walking to Glaisdale. A very pleasant walk, despite the weather, which seems to be inextricably attached to us as we travel around the country.
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