So, this is Yorkshire
26th
So, we left Sycamore cottage CL and pointed the van towards the Humber bridge, unfortunately the Satnag decided to take us the long way around the Humber into Hull because Andy had left it set to navigate omitting toll roads and the Humber bridge has a toll, £1.50 !
We stopped and reprogrammed it and soon we were crossing the bridge into the east riding of Yorkshire.
We drove around the southern most part of the city and out to our first stop north of the Humber, a pub stop at Roos arms.
///puzzle.whirlwind.reframe
We pulled into the car park through a narrow gateway and parked at the back, out of the way. Andy went into the pub and checked that it was ok to stay and then we both went in and sat next to the roaring log fire and had a pint.
We went for a walk around the village and later on in the evening returned to the pub for a few more drinks. The local farmers were in tonight and it got noisy. A nice old chap came over and had a chat and told us his story!
We returned to the van well lubricated and with glowing faces from the log burner and settle in for the night.
27th
A lovely quiet night! We got the van ready and popped into the pub to say thank you and then we hit the road.
Today we are going to continue our journey towards Scarborough where we will meet up with Dave, (Andys ex-bass player) and his wife Bernie who have recently moved to Scarborough from Essex, but for tonight we are going to go 'off grid' and park in a layby!
We had found a layby on the A614 ///unfit.glow.cleaner which was part of the old A614 before they built the new road and this one was called Bracey bridge.There are a lot of these places around and they are usually frequented by the HGV lorry drivers for their tacho breaks.
As it was still only lunch time we decided to spend a few hours at Bridlington where we could walk along the prom.
We left the Roos arms and headed for Bridlington sea front hoping to park in the Park and Ride but when we got there the entrance to the car park area was closed, so we turned around and found a place along the sea front ///museum.eggplants.tissue and paid via the MiPermit app.
We walked along the prom and had a sea food platter each which was beautiful and then on the way back to the van we treated ourselves to a couple of portions of chips. Had to be done!
It was soon time to go and check out our park up for tonightat Braceys bridge layby ///unfit.glow.kleener and so we set off down the road and were soon there.
This looked like a good place to stay for the night so, after taking some photos of the van and the area we settled down for the evening.
28th
The traffic noise from the main road wasn't too bad and there were on a few vehicles using the layby during the night and none of them were a nuisance, (Doggers and boy racers) and although we are on 'alert' when we use this type of overnight stops we managed to get some sleep and woke up ready for the day and what ever it would bring.
We left the Bracey bridge layby, pulling into the car park at Burton Agnes hall, ///sweeper.cover.overhear an English Heritage site but when we got there it was closed even though the website said that it was open.
We continued our journey to The Poachers Barn pub stop, ///darkest.swelling.mandolin
We had contacted the pub stop and were invited to stay there for tonight but on the way we stopped for a break at Filey cliffs
///nuzzled.encroached.jigging
where we stayed for a very windy hour!
The journey was easy and we were soon pulling into the over flow car park. Andy popped into the pub to pay and the landlady said there was no charge! He said that we would pop in for a few drinks later and she was more than happy with that!
We let Dave and Bernie know that we were here and Dave collected us from the pub, where we had sneaked in for a pint, and he drove us back to their new house where they cooked us a meal and plied us with booze all evening.
We sat and chatted for hours and then realising the time was already 23:30, we called it a night and Dave drove us back to our van and we said our goodbye.
We want to thank Dave and Bernie for that lovely evening.
29th
Apart from the high winds we had a quiet night but when Andy eventually opened his eyes in the morning he realised that perhaps that final pint last night was 'a pint too far'! A slight headache.
We decided to walk down to Cayton beach
///retail.boxing.neckline
as Bernie said that she would be walking their dog there this morning so off we trotted and found ourselves at The Salty dog cafe, right on the beach where we had a hot drink and Andy got himself a bacon roll for breakfast.
We continued our walk along the very windy and beautiful beach which, at this time of year, was a haven for dogs who were loving chasing the balls that their owners threw for them.
We noted the erosion which was obvious along this part of the beach and the pill box which had sucommed to it leaving it now stranded in peices on the beach.
Bernie had driven Dave to the station so that he could get to Elland road to watch the Leeds match and so she would be later than expected at the beach so we started walking uo the very steep pathway to the top road and headed back to the van, then we saw Bernie walking towards us with the dog. We had used all of our energy getting back up the hill and decided not to join Bernie on her dog walk so, we said our goodbyes and carried on, stopping at the Osgodby memorial garden on the way.
We needed a rest after that walk and that's what we did until it was time to go the pub for a couple of pints whilst (Andy) watched the football.
30th
Today we are moving inland to a place on the north York moors national park called Goathland which is the village where the program 'Heartbeat' was filmed and where we have booked a spot at a CAMPRA site called the Goathland community hub
///exploring.plus.snored
We left the Poachers Barn and headed north west towards the moors and we were soon enjoying a completly different type of scenery. The roads also became very winding and hilly and we got to a particular spot where we had to change down to 1st gear as the van, pulling the trailer, really struggled to climb the 25% incline!
We found the hub and pulled into the gravel car park and filled with water. This looks like a good spot and we felt safe and secure here for our next two nights.
We were the only van on the site and it was so quiet! We decided to go for a walk to the village where 'Heartbeat' was filmed and then onto the Mallyan waterfall.
On the way back to the van we stopped off at Goathland railway station and checked out the steam trains.
By the time we got back to the van we were shattered and we just fell into bed and slept well.
31st
Andy woke up first and immediately checked the temperature and discovered that it was 4 degrees inside the van! Diesel heater on and set to warp factor ten to warm the place up otherwise there would be divorce in the air when Sue woke up!
Bikes out today, Andy wanted to take a look at the Flyingdales RAF station which had the massive ballistic missile detection radar.
On the way we checked a different route out of the village as we didn't fancy our chances getting back up the 25% gradient that we came down on the way in!
There was a low bridge but we watched a bin lorry and a motorhome squeeze under it so we felt that we had a fair chance too.
The bikes did well getting up the hills and we got to the base where although we couldn't get close we got some shots before heading back to the river where we stopped and had a picnic with the sheep!
On the way back from the river we stopped in the village for mochas and and a caramel shortbread before returning to the van where we discovered that we had neighbours.
As the steam train passed quite close to the park up Andy sent the drone up and followed it along the track for a while.
1st April
After another peaceful night we got on with the day and whilst Andy got on with the blue jobs, empty grey and black waste etc. Sue got the van ready for the road. We had discussed the hills and the vans weight and decided to empty the clean water tank too and leave only around 30 or 40 litres on board to help the Mac shack get up the hill.
We set off down the road and climbed the first hill quite easily and turned the corner to the low bridge, slowing right down to creep under and waiting for the scraping noise as the roof met the brickwork! We got through without any damage and we actually had more room than it looked at first.
Andy then put his foot down to get a run up to the hill which was populated by the grazing sheep on the verges and we both breathed a sigh of releif as we reached the summit.
We carried on to the Revolution washing machines near Coulby Newham ///??? where we spent a few hours doing our washing and drying having a McDonalds to pass the time.
Washing and drying done we continued our journey and were soon pulling into the pub stop at The Old Farmhouse pub ///playroom.fruity.zest and parked in the corner of the large car park.
It would be rude not to have a drink in the pub as they were allowing us to park overnight for free so we chose a table and stated with a couple of Aspalls cider.
From here we will be moving further north over the northern Pennines and into the Northumberland national park to investigate Hadrians wall and the famous Sycamore gap all on the next page, "Northumberland national park".