North by North East

the view from roseberry topping

At the beginning of July I went north east for the second year running for a long weekend’s house party to celebrate a milestone birthday for my oldest friend and Uni roommate and her family (14 of us!) in a large house in Skinningrove, north of Whitby.

Skinningrove was part of large ironstone mining area and in fact where we stayed was the old power house for the mine. The mine entrance was just behind the house and is now closed, but the soil, rocks and riverbed in the village are a lovely rich terracotta colour as a result of all that ironstone There’s a lovely sandy beach which is huge when the tide is out and Skinningrove is also on the Cleveland Way, following the cliffs towards Saltburn one way and Staithes the other.

the beach at skinningrove

We did a lovely coastal cliff walk from Skinningrove to Saltburn and back which gave us fabulous sea views. Saltburn is a wonderful old fashioned Victorian seaside town which was bustling with holidaymakers on its immense sandy beach and in the sea. After a restorative cream tea, we headed back. It was very hot but cooler in the evenings so we had barbecues outside for every meal, enjoying a drink or two and the hot tub! ​

We took an early evening trip to Staithes, a pretty fishing village clustered around a busy harbour and spent a couple of hours watching the boats and the seabirds nesting on the cliffs. We also had a wander round Whitby which I've visited several times before, although I went up and into the Abbey this time and got a different perspective over the town and coast.

SALT BURN from the cleveland way

giant wind chime on the cliff just outside saltburn

just part of SALTbURN’S huge beach

pretty staithes

On my last full day there as some of the others were staying longer, we climbed Roseberry Topping near Great Ayton in fantastically warm weather, something I've wanted to do for a while and which was absolutely beautiful. A fairly stiff climb but straightforward and the views were superb.

It was a really enjoyable weekend in an area I’m really starting to fall in love with. A few days of laughter with good weather, good food and better friends.

roseberry topping

roseberry’s panoramic view