Embarkation day - Here is our view of our ship, the Norwegian Jade, from our hotel window -

More later .....

Today was a day of train travel. Our first train from Filey to Doncaster was late enough that we almost missed our connection. Fortunately, the station in Doncaster is small. It's not quite as small as the Filey Station here -

Our last train from Birmingham to Southampton Central was sooooo crowded. Luckily, we had reserved seats; there were people standing all along the way.

We arrived at our hotel in Southampton just as the sun was setting. Here is a view from our window (with Norman's reflection as a bonus) -

Our cruise leaves tomorrow late afternoon:)

Day 11 was windy again. We left Scarborough behind -

The hike was rumored to be short and easy; we did not find it so as the wind blew as hard as yesterday. The sun was out though, and the coast was picturesque -

We turned to look back at Scarborough in the far distance -

Finally, we could see the end of the Cleveland Way and the spit of land beyond it -

 

And a not very good selfie at the Cleveland Way sign at the end -

The sign says it is 109 miles, but my Fitbit says it was more like 125 counting walking to accommodations and dinners.

Tomorrow is a day of train travel to Southampton!

Day 10 was a VERY windy walk from Ravenscar to Scarborough. According to my Fitbit, it was our longest walk of the trip, just over 16 miles and 39,000 steps. We looked back on Raven Hall under a menacing sky -

 

Due to a landslip, we were diverted into the trees (out of the wind) -

 

When we got back to the coast, we walked by a Coast Guard Station and this Radar Installation  -

 

 

The views along the rugged coast vary but are always beautiful -

 

Except for our detour into the woods, we battled strong wind all day; it was hard to walk straight along the path with the wind constantly blowing out to sea; we ate lunch at a bench in the wind; there was no escaping it -

 

Finally, we made it to Scarborough, but we still had three miles to walk around the point where these castle remains are -

Tomorrow's walk should be around 10 miles. And we hope the wind is more cooperative. Still, we are thankful to have avoided rain for the last few days.

 

Before we leave day 8, here are some photos of last night's dinner at the Fisherman's Wife in Whitby -

Scallops from the Shetland Islands

Haddock with shrimp and sea beans

Mixed seafood curry

We left Whitby after breakfast at the No. 7 Guest House. There are 199 steps up to the Abbey (after the 40 or so steps down to the river). Here is a picture looking back at Whitby and our lodgings -

A little farther along, we could see the Whitby breakwater as we looked back at the coast behind us - 

And farther along, we spotted this wreck in the foreground of the photo -

We passed an old fog horn station and lighthouse (both can now be rented as holiday lodgings) -

The day was beautiful, and we enjoyed wonderful views of the coast -

Finally, we came to Robin Hood's Bay. It is a charming old town built on the hillside. This picture is looking back as we walked on to Ravenscar -

The Raven Hall Hotel is the only one in town. We have a lovely view from the window in our room -

While eating dinner, we saw these rooks flying homeward as the shadows fell -

Back at our room, the sunset was beautiful, the end of a wonderful day -

Day 8 in Whitby - After a latish breakfast, we set off for a bus tour of the city. Whitby became more than a sea town when railroad baron, George Stephenson, opened a horse-drawn rail line from Whitby to Pickering in 1836. There are many fine old buildings including a Royal Crescent that Stephenson planned to mimic and rival that of Bath.

Certainly one of the main highlights of Whitby is Whitby Abbey, or the remains of it. The ruins are a Heritage Site and are striking. Here are some pictures -

These ruins date from the 13th century and are on the site of the first abbey founded by St. Hilda in the 7th century. That abbey was destroyed by invading Vikings in the 9th century.

When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the Abbey land was sold to his friend Richard Cholmley who used stones from the Abbey buildings to build his house (now the visitor's center) -

St. Mary the Virgin of Whitby is just below on the same hill. It was built in the 12th century to provide a place of worship for the lay people who worked at the abbey. Here is the three-decker pulpit -

And an altar guild member polishing the brass eagle -

Later on our bus tour, we visited the replica of Captain Cook's ship, the Endeavor -

Tomorrow our hike begins with the 199 steps up to the Abbey. We have enjoyed our day of rest!

Our shortest day, day 7, began with a hike across the beach at low tide (there is nothing to do at high tide except wait) -

 

Before long, and many, many steps up, we were looking back on the beach at Runswick Bay -

 

 

We came to a way marker that told us of our progress to Filey (the end) -

All along were beautiful views of the coast and sea on this cold rainy day -

 

This is Sandsend, the small town before Whitby where we are tonight -

 

 

Tomorrow is a day of rest and exploring Whitby and doing laundry!

Here are a couple of photos from the dining room of the Spa Hotel taken last night at dinner -

Day 6 was cool and breezy but no rain. We left the Spa Hotel after an early breakfast. Here is a not-so-good picture -

Just down the road and up the hill was the beginning of the coastal portion of the Cleveland Way -

And a view back to Saltburn and the Spa Hotel -

We passed some artwork as we walked along the cliff edge -

And a fan house for the old Guibal Ironworks. These fans provided fresh air for the miners working in the shaft -

The iron mining was important for several hundred years. The jetty at Skinning Grove was built to support the ironworks (the British tried to blow up the jetty during WWII to keep it from aiding the Germans, but it proved difficult to destroy) -

All along our walk, we had beautiful views of the coast -

We walked through the town of Straithes, crossing Straithes Beck by footbridge -

The Cliffside takes a beating from the North Sea -

As we walked farther, we could see the town and its breakwater (and no wonder we had to descend to the town and then climb back out of it to the cliff tops) -

And here is today's tree with red berries -

Any guesses? We also saw something of the cabbage family growing wild - wild kale?

Tonight we are staying at The Firs in Runswick Bay -

Tomorrow is our shortest day!