Stealing time...

As the weather has been so glorious and we haven't really spent much time together as a family this summer, we decided to be a bit naughty today and take Mike out of school so we could all go to Whitby for the day.

We had a frustrating journey to the north east coast, mainly because of all the roadworks on the M1. We crawled along at 50mph for one long stretch without seeing a single person working! Although there were patches of fog on the way up, the weather, when we arrived in Whitby at midday, was stunning.

I honestly thought the town would be quiet but it was packed...with people of a certain generation! We parked easily by the harbour and set off to stroll into town passing numerous fish and chip restaurants, amusement arcades and shops selling candyfloss and rock.

There were also quite a few boats advertising trips so we teased Sophie about that! As the tide was out they weren't going anywhere for a while, but we did see one trip advertising whale watching!

Whitby is famous because of its connection to Dracula and we passed by a shop advertising the Dracula experience. Thankfully none of us felt like going in!

Making our way to the pier we walked along the length of the wooden walkway which scared the living daylights out of me! There were large gaps between the planks and although I knew it was impossible to fall between them I still hated the sensation!

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it felt lovely and warm in the sunshine. There were a few people on the beach and some children were even having donkey rides!

After our walk along the pier Sophie and I went onto the beach so she could dip her toes into the North Sea.

It was freezing cold! The tide was way out and the different colours of blue were stunning. We were so glad we'd made the decision to come to Whitby as days like this are few and far between and next week the weather is set to change.

After shaking all the sand out of our shoes we walked back into the town as we needed some change for the car park. We went into an amusement arcade as they have change machines and had a short time of pure fun trying to get 2p pieces to fall off the edge of a shelf. Mike loved it and managed to win a lot of pennies (which he immediately put back in) and a necklace for me! We had a good laugh and it was wonderful to see the children enjoying themselves.

After we'd topped up our car park ticket we walked over the swing bridge where there are a maze of cobbled streets. We marvelled at how many pubs and fish restaurants there were and chose to have a late lunch in a cafe we've used before called Hadley's.

Keith and I chose cod and chips which were served with bread and butter and a large pot of tea. The children went for chicken burger and steak pie which they both enjoyed. The fish and chips were cooked in beef dripping, something you rarely see these days.

After our lunch we had a walk along the lovely little streets, peering in at the jewellers' windows where the gemstone Jet is made into beautiful necklaces, rings and bracelets. Jet is the remains of fossilized trees from the Jurassic period and is only found along the North Yorkshire coastline.

Sophie and I bought a little metal house to hang up in the conservatory so now we have one for every month of the year so far.

We also bought some sweets in an old-fashioned sweet shop but managed to avoid a shop that sold
chocolate coffins!

After browsing the shops we returned to the car and on the way Sophie treated us all to an ice-cream. It was lovely to sit and enjoy them in the sun overlooking the harbour.

After enjoying our ice-creams we drove up to the headland to see the ruined abbey. I was under the impression that you could wander around the grounds but it's an English Heritage site and they were charging to go in. We decided not to bother as by now it was quite late and the journey home was weighing on our minds. We had a walk along the paths and admired the views across the town.

I'd wanted to stay and take some photos of the sunset but we decided to head back on the A1 rather than the M1 because of the roadworks. I drove and we had a better journey, stopping in the village of Egmanton at The Old Plough Inn for a drink. As we'd eaten so late we weren't interested in having a meal but there was nowhere to sit and relax so we all had to stand at the bar feeling very much in the way!

Having had just the one drink we set off and arrived back at home at 8.30pm. It had been a long day but what an enjoyable one!