Daffodil Walk near Staithes

Spring has finally sprung, and the daffodils are out on the North York Moors. The most famous patch is in Farndale, just 40 minutes’ drive from Staithes and Dunsley holiday cottage (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk).  Small wild daffodils grow in profusion along the river Dove, and the sight draws visitors from all over Britain. The best way to enjoy this wonderful sight is by walking along the footpath from Low Mill to Church Houses. It’s about 2.5km (1.5 miles) each way if you go all the way to Church Houses. The path is mostly level and very well made (it used to be quite boggy but a lot of work has been done on it in recent years), We enjoyed it one evening this week, stopping for a fantastic bar meal (homemade rabbit pie, chips and veg for under £10, really excellent food and great value) at the Feversham Arms at Church Houses. More on the Daffy Walk at www.farndale.org but you need to go soon, before the daffodils disappear for another year! The best route from Staithes to Farndale is to drive over the moors via Grinkle Park, Danby and Castleton to Blakey Rigg, turning right down the steep bank into Farndale just after the Lion Inn pub. You can park at Church Houses (in a field just past the pub) and walk to Low Mill and back, or drive down the dale to Low Mill (which also has a car park) and walk up to Church Houses. Both car parks charge £2 for the day.

 

Mountain biking near Staithes

While Britain has been covered in blizzards, Staithes and our corner of the North Yorkshire coast has had its own weather window. Duncan and I took the chance to go mountain biking from Dunsley holiday cottage (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk), heading inland to explore for a change. We started a couple of kilometres from Staithes at Loftus. A well-kept bridleway took us past the cemetery, over fields and alongside a beck, to Warren Wood (parallel with Grinkle Lane). Then on a farm track via Handale, crossing a steep-sided beck (good descent! Hard little climb!) up to Liverton. On the far side of the beck the bridleway had been diverted around a farmyard but on our old map it showed straight across a field, which was full of very curious horses... we had a good chat with the farmer, who says walkers who are rude get sent back around the diversion! Into Moorsholm, then turned left up the road., The plan was to ride up to the main A171 but the wind was strong and the mud was deep, so we cut across to Mill Beck, along a bridleway that had been used by offroad motorbikes. What a mess. I ended up pushing most of the way through Spring Wood because the mud was just too deep. The hawthorn woods had been flailed and by the time we crossed the stream and climbed up to farmland, we had six punctures between us... finally made it to Moorsholm and rode the tarmac back to Loftus. If we’d done the full route, and escaped the mud and punctures, it would be a great route, so we’ll have another crack at it if summer ever comes. I'll post more routes once the ground dries out...

Duncan is an expert at puncture repair... after Spring Wood

Mud, glorious mud! approaching Moorsholm

 

Super surfing at Staithes

It's been a cracking weekend for surfers at Staithes (2-3 March). Saturday featured big waves in regular sets, providing long rides on decent swells. Sunday looked calmer, but in fact the waves were just as good, with sets being less regular and with more potential for spills! The most action was to the north, with sea access from the harbour reef because of the very low tide, but there were plenty also riding the break to the south, direction Runswick Bay.
Surfers crowded in both days; it's rare to see people running down Staithes' street at 9am, but that was the case on Saturday and Sunday! We were staying at Dunsley cottage (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) and had gone out early to move the car up to the free parking on Cowbar Nab; I've never seen so many vans parked up there, all with surfers frantically climbing into wetsuits. Weather conditions - Saturday was incredible: clear blue sky, no wind. Sunday was duller but quite mild.
 Pictures taken from Cowbar Nab looking north on Saturday, and one from the street looking over the harbour, although the sea state isn't obvious from a distance!

It's snow time

Winter weather has been hammering the North York Moors, with snowdrifts and flurries for extra atmosphere.  Recent guests at Dunsley (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) were hoping for snow on the beach at Staithes; they just missed it, by a couple of days! Driving to Dunsley over the moor via Blakey Ridge this week, we were nearly trapped in snow on the road, and despite Staithes' famous micro-climate, there was snow on the beach, although briefly.
 This picture is of Ralph's Cross, on the moors above Staithes near Blakey. By the time it was dark that evening, there was about 6 inches on the road!

Cleveland Way tea shop!

Walking from Dunsley in Staithes (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) to Runswick Bay on the Cleveland Way clifftop path last weekend, we followed the recommendation of a guest and made the short detour (400m from the coast) to the Ship Inn in Port Mulgrave. What a wonderful place! Once a pub, it is now a cosy tea shop with antiques for sale. It features eclectic pine furniture and comfy sofas, with nice lighting, newspapers and a warm welcome from owners Jane and Tom Gatson. We had roast tomato soup and a bread roll (£3.50), a good chat and a warm-up. It’s open weekends and Bank Holidays 1-6pm in winter, and most of the time in summer.

 

Staithes Christmas tree

Staithes' Christmas tree is in its usual place by the harbour, just above the beach and beside the Cod & Lobster pub. It looks wonderful, especially at night when it's all lit up. If we get lucky and have a clear sky on the next full moon, on December 28, it'll be even better.
 Happy Christmas to all, especially our wonderful guests at Dunsley (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) who have enjoyed the village's hospitality and friendly welcome in 2012. We hope to see some of you again next year! all the best, from Judy and Duncan

Captain Cook: Staithes to New Zealand

Duncan and I have just returned to Yorkshire from a trip to New Zealand, visiting my family. While there, we visited Ship's Cove, a beautiful bay in the remote Marlborough Sounds, at the top of the South Island. It was one of Captain James Cook's favourite places in New Zealand, and he visited it five times: in 1770 with Endeavour, and four more times between 1773 and 1777 with Resolution. It was quite a thrill to make the link between our little house - Dunsley in Staithes (www.dunsleyinstaithes.co.uk) - in the tiny village where Cook was a youngster and spent his first days at sea, and my home country. Sitting on the long flight back to Britain this week, I thought of his many years of maritime discovery; the comparison made a 14-hour flight from Singapore seem a bit shorter! The pics show Ship's Cove with a view into Queen Charlotte Sound, the Cook monument and a close-up of the plaque giving his dates.