Great North Fun Day 5

We left Stockton behind and headed for the hills. Quite literally. As you head south through Middlesbrough the Yorkshire Dales begin to loom large and you become very aware that you're driving a 3.5tonne brick.

En route to our campsite we stopped off for lunch overlooking a beautiful bay, our first views of the sea this trip. It's not easy finding parking for a motorhome but we spied a couple of MHs at the far end of the bay in an off road area clearly signposted "No Admittance. No Parking" but as there were also 'no gates' we figured maybe they weren't really all that serious. (See, only 5 days and already we're turning into hippies with scant regard for 'the man' and his rules!).

View from the campsite

After several attempts we finally found the campsite. This time we're in a field on a hill just outside Whitby with the most stunning views of the bay and the Abbey. Not so much "Far From the Madding Crowd" as "Quite Some Distance From the Madding Crowd and Rather a Long Way Uphill Too".  It took us 30 mins to cycle into Whitby and 90 mins to get back - a journey which wasn't helped by me losing half my gears!

Whitby itself was heaving though it was a little quieter up around the Abbey with the 199 steps leading up there clearly sorting the men from the boys.  After that we took a 25 minute sea cruise which was basically a trip in a boat 12.5 minutes out to sea followed by a rather predictable 12.5 minute return journey. It was enlivened rather by the incoming tide making things a bit choppy but Steve spoiled my fun by suggesting that me balancing on the prow of the boat and belting out "My Heart Will Go On" might make the rest of the passengers feel rather more sea sick than they already were. After landing and getting my land legs back all that stood between me and a toasted teacake were 89 steps up to the top of a lighthouse and the obligatory paddle in the sea.

Compulsory paddling

We're very fond of a pot of tea and a toasted teacake and are thinking of awarding points in a variety of categories to find the best in the UK. Today it was "Terrys" on the seafront. Top marks for price, location and quantity of tea. The teacake was tasty but a little light on currants and the plate wasn't quite big enough - but a good one to start with and a score that will be tough to beat.

Once we dragged our weary bodies back to Delores we crashed out with dinner and some silly Trivial Pursuit" type game. We ended the day curled up in bed with tea and Jaffa Cakes gazing out of our rear window at the views down over Whitby and the Abbey. This is definitely a good way to live and something I could get very used to.