It's Whitby time again

It's Whitby time of year again, Folk Week is something we don't like to miss! As usual, it took us 2 days to get here :)

Thursday
Set off with our fiends Andrea and Donald, stopped for coffee in Tadcaster, home of many good breweries,where we learnt that the water, so important for brewing, comes out of "popple wells".
Arrived in Pickering at lunchtime and checked in to our lovely but rather quirky hotel where there were sweets and biscuits in the rooms, and the tea and coffee were in empty herb and spice jars. Lunch in the Black Swan, and then a walk round town which is really pretty.
Dinner in the evening was in the White Swan.


Friday
Up bright and early, and off on the steam train to Goathland


Half way there we heard the engine getting slower and eventually it stopped, having run out of steam. We had to wait for about 20 minutes whilst presumably more coal was shovelled in and steam built up again. Goathland of course was the setting for Hogsmeade, and is also Aidensfield in the Heartbeat series.

We had a pint in The Goathland Hotel, aka The Aidensfield Arms, and then walked to Beck Hole, where there is the wonderful pub, The Birch Hall Inn, home of good beer and pork pies and pickle. To our delight, this time we were treated to a corned beef and pickle sandwich!


A lovely walk then to Grosmont, which involves a bit of hill over a tunnel, but you get a great view of the town.


Train back to Pickering, this time a diesel, and dinner was a curry in a local Indian restaurant which was very good.

Saturday
Checked out , and drove to Thornton le Dale to get some chocolate from the lovely little chocolate factory in the village, and then off over the moors to Whitby. Normally the heather is bright purple, but a lot of it looked dead this year. Still got the wonderful view of Whitby as we came over the moors though.

We have a bit of a routine from this point:-)
Coffee in Sherlocks



Shopping in the co-op, lunch in the Duke of York

Which for me, has to be a Whitby crab sandwich


Then pick up the tickets, which this year a wristbands, horrid!! Have to fasten mine so it's easy to remove. Can't abide wearing them all the time.
Then of course the parade of all the dance teams. Gog Magog Molly were the most colourful



And Sheffield City Morris the rudest!


Back for Whitby fish and chips in the cottage, then out to the Spa Theatre to see the Doonans and The Wilsons in concert together. Missed the first bit because it was full, but managed to get in to see The Wilsons, and then the best bit, both families together. What a sound! This isn't the best quality video, but gives you an idea of the sound




Into the ceilidh for the last hour, where the band were Steamchicken, excellent. Then the shortish walk home for a nightcap before bed. We've got quite an assortment of night caps in our drinks cabinet this year.


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