York, Scarborough, Whitby

The bed and breakfast in York, The Abbey Guest House (www.abbeyghyork.co.uk) was unsatisfactory. They were full and our room had the last shower on the pipeline. There was NO water pressure and showering was impossible. The proprietor was keen to get us to leave as soon as possible to vacate their ‘free car park’ so they could make another 5 pound selling it to all the locals in town for the above mentioned festival. She was quite rude when I strayed into their ‘private area’ to pay them. She was even ruder when I produced a VISA to pay. I imagine some people run bed and breakfasts to meet travellers, most it would seem do it to make money. The two faced appearance of their home was telling, neat and tidy for the paying house guest, the other dishevelled ‘private’ area for the proprietor? I felt sorry for Loofah.
There was ‘freezing fog’ all day. It didn’t get above 0 degrees in York. The market wasn’t up to much, there were too many people to see any stalls, the queue to the Jorvik Centre was out the door, registering to use text car parking on a smart phone without an alphanumeric keypad too frustrating... so we got in the car and drove to Scarborough, a place D remembers from his childhood. The fog only just lifted as we reached the coast. There were quite a few people walking dogs (spotted two border terriers) on the beach, the ambient temperature even with the sun out was still 0! The amusement parlours were open to the cold and empty street. This didn’t stop them polluting the seaside with noise (D: I liked it. It reminded me of childhood experiences especially the flies getting stuck in your candy floss)
We drove on to Whitby. I really liked Whitby. We went to E Botham and Sons (www.botham.co.uk) for afternoon tea. I should explain the tea thing. Tea is quintessentially English, and my thinking is that if we find places that take pride in tea we will also get good English Fare, in the Rick Stein vein. This is why I bought the Best 100 Teashops book. We have had a few poor experiences from the book, copyright 2003. A few places have changed hands and standards have fallen at others. But I have found a new guide, The UK Tea Guild (www.tea.co.uk), a body rewarding people to take pride in tea. E Botham is one of these institutions. The young local waitresses (complete with tongue rings and false eye lashes) wear pinnies, the menu has a long list of cakes and scones, Yorkshire brack (a dense sticky sultana cake that is soaked in tea), gingerbread, scones, and fruitcake (full butter and ale) which come with Wensleydale or Stilton. We both had the special of the day, a giant Yorkshire pudding with steak and mushroom stew inside. It was very good, one of the best meals I have had in England. My tea was also very good (Resolution Blend (named after one of Captain Cook’s ships, he being from around here)). We bought a good supply of biscuits and cakes to take to my cousins in Edinburgh. We walked down past the water, up to the Captain Cook Memorial. The fog, the abbey ruins over on the hill on the other side of the port and the lights all made for a memorable scene.
We, I, drove on to Durham. The fog was very thick and it was impossible to do over 40 mph. The visibility was so poor D was more comfortable with his eyes closed. We arrived in Durham, Saturday night meant much of the accommodation was full. We are staying in our most down market digs thus far. A problem in ‘this country’ is the street names and numbering. Mr Moore (who lives with Mrs Koltai, she ran away from Hungary when the Russians invaded, married a Spaniard, but now lives in Durham with Mr Moore) did his best to describe over the phone how to get here. GPS TomTom did his best, but even so, it’s hard work. Mr Moore stood outside and waved when we drove past.
Tomorrow we will see Durham cathedral and the castle, then on to Morpeth and Pegswood, which is where my father’s mother’s family are from. Then we will drive on to Edinburgh to stay with my intrepid West Coast cousins, the wandering wee Wallaces from Westport.