Sculpture in Staithes

All through winter, guests at Dunsley Cottage and visitors to Staithes have been in for a surprise: an extra bench on the promenade above the beach, forming part of an exquisite artwork. Relative Treats, a steel sculpture by Durham-based artist Ray Londsale, is a life-sized model of a grandmother and her grand-daughter. Portraying the link between generations, it shows the woman offering her open handbag to the child, who searches for sweets for herself, and a painkiller for her Gran.
 The detail is breathtaking: the lines on one face and youth on the other; the warm hat clamped onto one head and the bouncy ponytail of the child; the creases on clothing and angle of strained coat buttons, and especially the body language between the two.
 Relative Treats is on display, courtesy of Scarborough Borough Council and Ray Londsale, until April 19th. It is an absolute delight: don't miss it!

Romance at Dunsley

Dunsley, our holiday cottage in Staithes, is a much-loved destination for romantic escapes. We have been delighted to host couples for honeymoons, wedding anniversaries, birthdays, special occasions such as celebrating retirement, even marriage proposals.

 So, we thought we would offer something extra-special: the option to have the ultimate in romantic gestures waiting for you and your loved one, when you arrive at your new home-from-home.

FRENCH CHAMPAGNE & SWISS CHOCOLATE: £25

Louis Danremont Champagne, Grand Reserve: we buy this in small quantities in France - you won't find it in a UK supermarket, that's for sure! Dry and delicious, served chilled in one of our special champagne flutes

Swiss chocolate hearts: 20 individually wrapped hearts in a ribbon-tied box. Choose from gold foil hearts with a silver ribbon or red foil hearts with gold ribbon.

BOUQUET OF BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS: £30

Delight your loved one with a hand-tied bouquet of seasonal blooms. Let us know any favourite colours and,our florist will do her best to include them. Flowers can be presented in an open bouquet, or boxed so they can be easily taken home with you.

 

Wonderful country pub

On the advice of friends in Staithes, we've just paid a visit to The Fox Inn, in Roxby. We were staying at Dunsley, our romantic holiday cottage in Staithes, for Duncan's birthday. It's about 7 minutes drive inland from the coast, through Dalehouse and right up onto the moor top. A small, very traditional country pub in a tiny village, it was taken on just over a year ago by Carl and Alison: Carl works the bar and front of house, while Alison conjures up fab food in the background. The restaurant is quite small, with a wood burning stove; ditto the bar. Emphasis is more on service, food and atmosphere, than decor. There's a strong local customer base - I had to duck beneath a gent playing darts, to reach the toilets! There was one real ale when we visited (January 30th), an excellent Black Sheep. The food is wonderful: well priced, beautifully cooked and presented, and interesting. We had tiger prawns in a Thai dressing - fat prawns, well cooked, perfectly seasoned - and fish-3-ways as starters; then one of the day's specials, pork fillet in Stilton sauce, and chicken stuffed with cream cheese and garlic in a roast pepper and tomato sauce. Veg were spot-on and we had home-made chips and new potatoes. Duncan managed a dessert - a really superb, light, apple strudel with ice cream. Add a bottle of wine, 2 beers, and the bill was just £55. Bargain! We will definitely be back! Thanks, Carl and Ali, for a lovely evening for Duncan's birthday.
The Fox Inn, Roxby, TS13 5EB, Tel: 01947 840548. Closed Tuesdays.

Breakfast in Staithes

A guest at Dunsley holiday cottage asked me recently if there was anywhere in Staithes that served breakfast: it would save shopping for supplies on their first morning of a three-day weekend break. I offered the two cafes - Seadrift on the harbour and The Tea Shop on Bank Top, both opening at 10am, but it was more like coffee and cakes, than real breakfast. Then, a couple of weeks ago, fantastic news! The Endeavour Restaurant was taken over by Vicky from the fabulous Whitby Seafish smokehouse (behind the council car park on Bank Top), renamed The Endeavour Kitchen, and now open for breakfast! Hurray! Full English, bacon butties, kippers and more (including lunches, afternoon tea, supper) are now available from 8am to 8pm Wednesday to Saturday. On Sunday, it's breakfast 8am-12 noon, then Sunday lunch - roast beef with all the trimmings - until 4pm. We peeped in the window today and saw lots of happy people enjoying lunch; we can't wait to go ourselves: first visit will definitely be breakfast. More at www.endeavourkitchen.com; it's on the High Street opposite the Royal George, about 30 seconds walk from Dunsley.

Old Jack's Boat and Dunsley!

Old Jack’s Boat, the popular children’s show on CBeebie’s digital TV channel, has been filming again in Staithes. Last week (September 2014) the crew were shooting on the steps from Roxby Beck and in Chapel Yard, outside Dunsley Cottage. “It was a 1930s scene, so we propped fishing nets against any visible modern things like electric junction boxes,” they explained.

 Old Jack’s Boat, first aired in 2013, has enjoyed one full series and some Special episodes. The current filming is for a Special to be aired in March 2015, and there is a good chance Dunsley will feature, even if only in the background...

 The TV show features Bernard Cribbins as Old Jack, a retired fisherman who lives in a little village on the North Yorkshire Coast. Helped along by a cast of colourful characters, Old Jack tells tall stories from inside his old fishing boat ‘Rainbow’. The series is a mix of live action and animation which allows Old Jack to wander along the seabed, visit tropical islands and fly high in the air on balloons always accompanied by his faithful dog, Salty (a Hungarian Vizsla, whose real name is Scuzz).

 Bernard Cribben said: “I’ve filmed in a lot of locations throughout my career, but there’s something about the sea air, the beauty and the friendliness in Staithes that makes it a special place to be.”

 The producers added: “Staithes is a wonderful backdrop to the series and we have retained its name as we wanted the programme to feel rooted in a real place. Every story that Old Jack tells begins with the words , “Once upon a twinkly time The Rainbow set off from Staithes, waved goodbye to Whitby and headed off over the horizon…”

Staithes' ageless jigsaw of houses

The cobbled main street makes Staithes a perfect 1930s location

Boats in Staithes' harbour: not Old Jack's though!

Dunsley Cottage, Chapel Yard

Fabulous heather season

From its position on the edge of the North York Moors national park, Staithes and Dunsley (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) are perfectly placed for easy access onto the moors. The heather display is always worth seeing: our moors are the largest expanse of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. This year, it is particularly good, due to lots of warm weather that has created an incredible growing season on all levels. This photo was taken this week from Blakey Ridge, of the view into Farndale. It's a 20 minute drive from Dunsley, and there are some really good walks from here. Options include easy strolls along the disused railway line around the heads of Rosedale and Farndale (with refreshments at the Lions Inn on Blakey Ridge, the highest pub in England), or more strenuous hikes into and across the valleys. My book - North York Moors, Freedom to Roam - outlines several in this area; there is a copy in Dunsley's bookshelf.
 The heather will last well into September this year, so there's still a chance to enjoy the purple glory!

Weird and wonderful tides

We saw some extraordinary tides at Staithes on Tuesday this week: a low tide of 0.25m (compared with the usual neap of around 2.2m), and a high of 6.11m (compared with 4.35m). It was the combination of Spring tides on a full moon, when the moon was exceptionally close to the earth, with high pressure. It was really quite incredible: at low tide at midday the sea actually retreated out of the harbour, and the rock platform that makes up the surf break to the south was completely exposed. There were people walking all over it, where normally there are fish and seals. To the right, under Cowbar Nab, people were walking in 'the tangles', as the kelp beds are known.
 We were working on the parking platform, making it tidy and getting rid of weeds, and took time out to watch the action. These pictures were taken from the footpath that runs from the parking down to the harbour, at about 12.15pm. The first is across the harbour with the boats high and dry, and the second is the view toward Cowbar, showing the tide at the harbour entrance, instead of inside it!