Bamburgh Dunes, Northumberland

The Northumberland Coastal Route has a stretch of coastline that is up there with the best, at least in the UK. A few weeks ago I found myself driving these roads again and one thing is sure, you never seem to tire of them, no matter how often you cover them. Of course the weather plays a big part, as it does no matter where you travel, and this day in particular was fine, with almost clear sky despite the obvious chill in the air. After taking in Amble, Druridge Bay and Craster, I found myself at Bamburgh, just as the sun was preparing to set. I arrived at Bamburgh and headed along the Windings to a secluded car park next to the sand dunes. Bamburgh Castle sat at the top of a massive outcrop, dominating the skyline in front of me. I managed to get my gear set up as the sun threw a massive shaft of light through across the castle. I was alone in the dunes, give or take the odd person or two passing through, although the beach behind me was busy with dog walkers and the like, at low tide. As the sun was ready to set the deep orange hue threw the walls of Bamburgh Castle into fine colour, as was the grasses in front of me, although I had hoped for more movement which I never got due to the lack of wind and breeze. Never mind, the conditions were still ideal so I grabbed a few shots before the sun made its bow. It had been a great day for photography - stops at Warkworth & Alnwick proved more than worthwhile, as you may have seen the results in my recent blog entries. If you want coastline then get yourself to Northumberland, there's more than enough that catches the eye, plus there's even more further north in the shape of Holy Island & Lindisfarne, just take notice of the tides and the safe crossing times over the causeway!

Back soon,
Ash

North Yorkshire Coastal Route - Pt 3

Whitby

Three miles from Sandsend lies the popular town of Whitby, a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the earliest English poet, lived. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages and developed important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learnt seamanship. Tourism started in Whitby in Georgian times and developed with the coming of the railway in 1839. Tourist interest is enhanced by its location surrounded by the high ground of the North York Moors national park and heritage coastline and by association with the horror novel Dracula. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians became fashionable during the 19th century. The abbey ruin at the top of the east cliff is the town's oldest and most prominent landmark with the swing bridge across the River Esk and the harbour sheltered by the grade II listed east and west piers being other significant features. Statues of James Cook and William Scoresby and a whalebone arch all point to a maritime heritage. The town also has a strong literary tradition and has featured in literary works, television and cinema; most famously in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've visited Whitby with the camera in tow. I tend not to have a plan in mind when photographing, preferring to 'Go with the flow' and to see where I end up on each particular day. I mean, one time I will opt to photograph up top, in and around the Abbey. Another time I may find myself in and among the shopping areas, in particular Sandgate (The Old Town), with its many old fashioned shop fronts relating to times gone by, such as Victorian Costume, Whitby Jet and Maritime, amongst others. Today I concentrated on the area known as West Cliff, which overlooks the whole of Whitby and offers excellent views across the Harbour and Piers, as well as Sandgate and the Abbey. BE WARNED - the food part of this Blog entry is coming shortly, so if you're hungry as you read this, I take no blame if you suddenly have the urge to dash out and buy Fish n' Chips. Well, come on . . . no visit to Whitby would be complete without your writer indulging in a Fish Lot, eh. So heed the warning folks - the scran bit is on the way, he he. But before I rabbit on about that I'll fill you in on the photographs I've uploaded here.

Four new photo's, taken at Whitby, North Yorkshire - April 2012.(Click image to enlarge)
1. River Esk, across Sandgate towards the Swing Bridge - taken on West Cliff.
2. The world famous Magpie Restaurant, with NO QUEUE, which must be a first!
3. River Esk, across Sandgate towards the Swing Bridge - taken at ground level.
4. Panoramic stitch - Whitby, from West Cliff.

And finally, Fish and Chips at the Magpie. There was a massive queue at the restaurant door, which is very common no matter which day you visit. Not being a patient soul when me belly is rumbling, I persuaded the other half to dodge the queue and join the much shorter one next door, at the Magpie takeaway. We didn't fancy waiting an hour in the queue, for the restaurant to open its doors to us, so common sense prevailed and it wasn't long before we were at the counter next door, placing our order. Mind you, the Magpie has an excellent reputation for its food, which often means paying a premium to get yer gob round it. Ah well, it's only money and ya can't take it with ya when your number is up, so we filled our boots and done the necessary. Fish n' Chips cost £6.70 each - aye, the robbin' bastards should have worn a mask - Dick Turpin did when he robbed folk! I nearly keeled owa when yon lassie clagged an extra pund on the bill for small tub o' Mushy Peas. When I hoyd salt 'n vinegar on me scran I half expected yon lassie to shout 'That'll be an extra ten bob, mister'. They like cash in the Magpie. But hey, all thoughts of robbery were put firmly to the back of my mind when I took my first bite of that battered cod fillet - it was the Bee's Knee's, mak nee mistake about that. Nee soggy batter, like they dish out at some of these cheap seaside chip shops, this was the Real McCoy and the fish was thick and white - neen o' this grey rubbish that the Pakistani chippy's knock out! Lush chips anarl, norra bit o' fat on them, so ah hoyd the lot down me neck and weshed it doon wi' the usual Coca-Cola. In culinary terms - it doesn't get much better than this, unless it's a full blown Indian meal wi' all the trimmings. Nee wonder The Magpie is number one - no complains from us.

And on that note, I shall bid thee farewell til the final part of my North Yorkshire Coast blog - Robin Hood's Bay.
Ash

DISCLAIMER - Should you now be rushing out to order Fish n' Chips, simply blame me and forward the bill to Ashley Corr Photography, where I shall promptly 'Return To Sender'. That is all.

North Yorkshire Coastal Route - Pt 1

Saltburn By The Sea

Another day out by the sea, from Houghton le Spring to Robin Hood's Bay, via the North-Yorkshire coastal route. No car journey from Tyne & Wear to the quiet olde worlde fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay would be the same by taking the 'Route One' path, missing out the towns and views that lie in between. This stretch of coastline has a lot to offer the tourist, if he or she is prepared to go looking for it, so you'd be cheating yourself if you didn't make the effort. I say this because of the picturesque towns and villages that lie along the coast, just waiting to be picked off, one after another. Forty Four miles into the journey we find ourselves at our first stop-off, at Saltburn By The Sea, a town that has retained much of its charm as a Victorian seaside resort. Saltburn has the oldest water-balanced cliff tramway that is still in operation, linking the town with the pier 120 feet below. You can park the car at sea level where the old fishing village straddles Skelton Beck. The Ship Inn remains as a focal point, steeped in smuggling folklore, but there wasn't time to prop up the bar today, opting for Fish n' Chips at lunchtime instead. The takeaway next to the pier car park comes well recommended - trust me.

The fully operational Water Tram Lift and Pier are without doubt the most eye-catching attractions at Saltburn, which is why I decided to photograph them during our one hour pit stop. The weather was fine, although a tad on the windy/chilly side, and the fluffy clouds had me reaching into the 'Tool Box' for my Circular Polariser - a must for these conditions. My first shot shows Saltburn Pier, stretching out towards the North Sea, propping up many a visitor that decided to tread its boards. A stretch of pier railings was adorned with knitted figures to commemorate thesforthcoming Olympic Games in London, although mystery surrounds the origins of this artwork and who was responsible for attaching it to the pier. Rumour spread recently that it was attached to the railings during the early hours when no-one was around to witness it. Dozens of knitted characters, featuring athletes from various disciplines, such as Cycling, Running, Rowing, Fencing and Swimming, covered at least 40 feet of the pier railings - hours of work and effort, from an unknown creator! A small section of it is shown in my second photograph.

After lunch we headed, rather gingerly, up the steps towards the top of the Water Lift tracks. From here there was an excellent view across the bay of Saltburn, including the Beach, Pier and Water Lift, right ahead of us. A brief history of the Water lift...

The two 10 person cars are each fitted with a 1,000 imperial gallons (4,500 L) water tank, and run on parallel standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) funicular railway tracks. Double steel wire ropes are attached to both cars, controlled by a brakeman in the upper station. The car at the top has its water tank filled until its mass exceeds the mass of the car at the bottom. It then travels down the incline, counter-balanced by the mass of the other car, which travels to the top, with the brakeman controlling safety and the speed of travel. When the car reaches the bottom, its water is released thus reducing the mass of the lower car, and pumped back up to the top of the cliff. It is believed that the Cliff Lift opened on Saturday 28 June 1884, but there was a period of inconsistent operation at the start. The opening of the Cliff Lift allowed the pier company to undertake an extension to that structure. The original cars, capable of seating 10-12 passengers, had stained-glass windows. But when the Cliff Lift was refurbished in 1955, the car bodies were replaced without these. When the wholly new aluminium cars were introduced in 1979, modelled on the original design, stained-glass windows were reinstated. Owned since post-World War II by the local council, Marks' design was so good that, beyond maintenance and refurbishment, little has changed since 1884. In 1924 an electrically operated water pump was installed, and in 1998 the main winding wheel was replaced for the first time, together with the installation of a new hydraulic braking system.

The best view across the sands were up top next to the Water lift, as it led the eye straight into the composition, taking me through the frame that was interesting from front to back. Positioning the moving Tram in the composition was pretty straightforward - I thought the shot would balance better with the car at a certain point on the track as I fired the shutter. It worked well, as did another effort with the stationery car at the top, preparing its descent to the promenade below. Many a lazy bugger used the tram lift, opting to dodge the steps, taking the preferred soft option. Mind you, if it wasn't for the lazy folk there would have been no tram movement and ultimately no photographs of it in operation - so maybe I should take back those criticisms and thank myself lucky. Maybe I've just had too much my own way, he he, Fish n' Chips weshed doon wi Coca-Cola - not to be sniffed at. Returning to the car we found we were blocked in by an Ambulance, for a good 30 minutes. Lights flashing, and judging the way the Ambulance was bouncing up and down it seemed someone inside was most definitely in a bad way. Eventually it drove off - lights off and no sirens - not a good sign.

We then headed down the coast to our next anchorage, Staithes - A 9 mile journey to another idyllic fishing village on the North-Yorkshire Coast. Coming next...

Cheers, Ash