Saturday 5 June 2010

The American Suburbanite in Whitby...

Had a great day at the sea side this week. The weather was sunny and warm and the breeze was soft and gentle. I walked barefoot at the beach and felt the sand between my toes... such a lovely feeling. Who needs an expensive pedicure when you can walk on the beach for free. I even dipped my toes in the North Sea! It was half term for the school children though and the place was packed, absolutely heaving. People everywhere, sick children (which I could have done without) and your typical novice at the sea side. Loads of sun burnt skin, poor English skin does not cope well with the sun, however low the UV factor seems to be compared to other parts of the world. Whitby has a number of historical and heritage sites. They stake claim to Captain Cook and Dracula! We did not get sucked into any of the typically tacky seaside attractions, just window shopped the Whitby Jet jewelers, had a meal of fish-n-chips and snacked on an ice cream cone. After our walk around Whitby, we drove to Robin Hood's Bay. Here, we witnessed the completion of a coast to coast cycle and walk. The walkers were taking their pebble from the West Coast of England and throwing it into the sea at the East Coast. It is a 200 mile journey, and something I think I would like to complete before leaving the UK... The coastline in Robin Hood's Bay is much rockier than at Whitby. We took advantage of the low tide and explored the tide pools. In just a short while we found tons of snails and limpets, a chiton (I think), a crab, some small goby like fish, and a couple of shrimp. I am sure there was much more there, but it was a short visit as it was already early evening when we arrived. This was a place I could spend a whole day checking for little critters under rocks and sea weed. I look forward to spending more time on the coast of my new little island home.

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