Have a Captain Cook at Yorkshire

Summit of Roseberry Topping -
escarpment the result of a collapse
in 1912.

 In a ‘heartbeat’ we were immersed in the North Yorkshire countryside and felt right at home. The connection with James Cook and then our love of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ and ‘Heartbeat’ meant we seemed to be in a familiar environment.

Roseberry Topping taken from the inside
of a shooting hut (interesting addition
for a National Park)

Every place in North Yorkshire seems to want to claim a piece of Captain Cook – Ayton, Whitby, Roseberry Topping to name just a few that we visited. We started our visit to the North York Moors National Park at Roseberry Topping which is a mountain rising from the surrounding plains near Middlesborough. It is claimed that James Cook drew inspiration for travel from his visits to the summit of Roseberry Topping. He apparently made regular trips to the top so we thought we had to do the same. It was a little like heading up Mt Coolum and rewarded us with great 360 degree views to the coast, the Yorkshire Dales and the Captain Cook memorial on an adjoining ridge. While we think it seemed a bit of a stretch to go from Roseberry Topping to sailing the world, it certainly was a wonderful place to spend some time walking through the National Park. It was good to get back to some walking through nature again (in the dry) and we had a great time. Walking in the National Park in England is very different to Australia – apart from birds and insects we say no other wildlife and most people were walking with their dogs (yes in the National Park). Not sure if the two things are related – the lack of wildlife and the presence of dogs. Apparently early in the morning there are sometimes some deer around but that is about the extent of the wildlife around. Again it is very different to all the reptiles, small mammals etc that we see in our Australian National Parks.

Swing bridge in Whitby

After some significant walking we headed for a drive along the North Yorkshire coast passing names we’ve heard from television and also some from Stephen’s heritage. Thomas Harrison and Richard Harrison (Great, great, great grandfather and his son) were from the towns of Ugthorpe and Newton Mulgrave and we found the directions to both. Unfortunately the small lanes heading to the villages meant we were not going to follow them in our motorhome. We did see Ugthorpe Lodge (a very impressive building) which was obviously Richard Harrison’s place and then due to some quirk of history is no longer in the family. Oh well – nice to dream! It was interesting to see that the north coast of Yorkshire has previously been a very industrial area with Ironstone mining and also jet mining (a minor gemstone). To have mining right next to the amazing coast lines was certainly quite astounding.

Whitby abbey - St Hilda established
it and another place which just went
to ruin when Henry VIII closed them
all. 

We headed to Whitby and had a wonderful time exploring such a special little town. Whitby also claims James Cook as the Endeavour was built at Whitby and Cook lived there as an apprentice. So many little lanes and terraces giving the appearance of a jigsaw puzzle again. While it was so cute and delightful now you wonder about its past as it would have been a very rough and tumble place as a port. Some of the small lanes would not have been places to walk if you wanted a quiet night. Whitby itself seems to be stuck in the 1970s – as the stereotypical English seaside resort. Coloured beach huts next to a tiny sandy area, entertainment parlours, merry-go-rounds and fish and chip shops everywhere. It was just so delightful!

Our time with the motorhome is drawing to an end with only a few days to return to Luton. Tomorrow we head off to explore the Yorkshire Dales National Park before heading south.

Love to all

S&E