24th July,2013....Scarborough and Abbeywatch!

What a difference in weather directly opposite Barrow on the east coast. We were in Scarborough earlier in the week, complete with sea mist so thick we couldn't see the sea from our hotel window and it was only 50 yards away!!

The iconic Grand Hotel... we didn't stay there though.. not grand enough for us!! We stayed in the Crown Spa Hotel, which was really lovely!

Sea mist covers the castle and it was only 11am!

 

 

 

 

A local lady we were talking to said that their weather rolled in with the tide, and was unique to that piece of headland...very strange! As we got to Harrogate and the Dales on the way back, the mist was gone and the light was more like we were used to! Very hot at the Abbey today though!

 

 

You can't beat Barrow as a holiday destination, or a place to live...Scarborough was packed and covered in seagull muck...which is a moot point at the moment in our town too...I'm a bit torn on the subject. The gulls are only doing what nature intended, but we don't want the town to end up like Scarborough....as it is set into cliffs, the different types of gulls nest on any ledges anywhere...windowsills, bridges, shop signs...they were everywhere!

 

 

 

Lovely and clean and natural down here today though...give me Barrow anytime!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th July, 2013...23 degrees celsius in the shade!

Phew.... no Hillman weddings this weekend, but a whole gang of them during the next week, so we joined in with the picnic atmosphere at the Abbey!

 

( Not a Steve Hillman wedding....how rude!!)

 

The swifts finally sat still for long enough to have their photo taken.. it's weird how they dive bomb you when you are nowhere near their nests??

 

 

Frankie met up with some friends from his class, who were also trying to complete the Neil Doherty Bronze Challenge... they only have a few activities to go now!

 

 

It was ironic to see Buddhist Monks inside the Abbey instead of Cistercian Monks...how life changes!!

 

 

I do love a touch of irony... read Sam Byers' Idiopathy if you do too!

 

 

Such hot weather requires some gentle sea breezes, so we also visited the Dock Museum today. I know the carpark has been reset for visitors to free up the other land for building, which is bad enough, but the whole outside space is looking just a little bit scruffy, and a tad smelly too. The Museum itself is excellent, as always, but tourists see the outside first-the paths need weeding and the litter need sorting??Why has it been left??

 

So hot, even Buddhist Monks need to lie down!!!

CONGRATS TO GRACE AND MIKE WHO GET MARRIED TOMORROW!