Open Writing

It’s always wonderful to come back to North Yorkshire. After the harsh blue/brown/yellow palette of summer in Central Chile or the dull panorama of winter in Toronto, the white/grey/green hues are subdued.

After the rugged slopes of the Andes, the Dales seem soft, but their timeless charm is soothing and their neat fields, winding lanes and cosy pubs are a solace for travellers like me in today’s frantic world.

Littlebeck, Lealholme, Danby, Sleights, Staithes, Sandsend and Runswick Bay are just a few of the area’s beautiful stone-cobbled villages. They lie concealed in coastal coves or hidden in inland troughs.

The weather is often uncertain, but when the horizontal planes of the rolling landscape are trapped below the base of Turner- stacked clouds, visiting eyes are torn. Above lie the dramatic heavens, below, cottage clusters dotted amongst the gorse moors. To such we wanderers return … until chill and rain drives us away again!

In Goathland, situated in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, a curt
“You’ll have to have Instant, it’s past four and I’m not putting another jug on!” was the brusque reply to our innocent request for two cups of coffee, when mother and I visited a couple of years ago. Maybe a warning signal should have been picked up at the car park, where the “Pay and Display” system required a whopping $1.50 an hour be deposited in the statutory machine and - no toilet. But the red “Kenco Served Here” sign had flapped promisingly outside the main street teashop. It was the only place open at five o’clock that overcast Tuesday.

With seven hours to go before sunset and given the cutting edge of the afternoon breeze, the denial of the advertised brew was discouraging. Given the expectations of the traveller raised in the traditions of Yorkshire bonhomie, it was completely unexpected.

Maybe the proprietress was tired of customers asking after Mr Herriot and walking away with a Mars Bar or crowding in looking for the Heartbeat cast. She had all sorts on offer; ham sandwiches, pork pies, cream cakes and apple pasties, but filtered coffee and smiles were off.

Driving unrefreshed along the side-vale lanes hemmed with hawthorn and up over the purple moor top, we couldn’t help wondering if ‘Yorkshire Hospitality’ was disappearing or just hiding - along with its villages.

North Yorkshire Tourist Must-Haves - for People visiting from Canada and Chile.
A big purse - lowly fish and chips cost at least $3.99 pounds sterling - if eaten inside with a pot of tea
A small umbrella - it rains quite a bit
A thick jacket - it’s can be very nippy
A thin sweater - the sun does break out
An area map - you don’t want to miss anything
A thermos of coffee and a Kit Kat - in case of Yorkshire inhospitality at picturesque spots

Recommended Coastal Car Parks and Fees per Hour (a couple of years ago)
Danes Dyke - imagine Vikings landing as you tread the treed ravine to the sandy beach - 30p
Flamborough Head - Omo-white lighthouse and grassy surround - 30p
Thornick Bay - steep descent to fabulous chalk cliffs and caves - FREE
Primrose Valley - caravan paradise, cliff-edge parking, cinemascope views. Don’t get out don’t pay
Robin Hood’s Bay - another descent through time to a fishing cove, where a definite must-look is through the telescope in the old lifeboat-house. It gives onto crashing waves at high tide - 50p
Whitby - great area base with its renovated gothic abbey, tall ships and James Cook Trail - $1.00. Shop and spend over $10 in the Co-op down by the harbour and get 2 hours free.
Runswick Bay - bay-top free - bay-bottom car park - worth investing to avoid deadly 137 step climb back - 50p. Bonus - the award-winning beach protection ‘rockery’ you pass to access the sands.

NB: many places recognise the ‘Day Long Park’ ticket - well worth buying if you get an early start and plan to keep stopping ... as you should ... when touring North Yorkshire.

Que le vía bien as they say in South America