The drive from Buxton on Wednesday was in excellent warm bright and dry weather; the roads, while busy, were not too clogged up. There were occasional minor traffic jams, and I arrived at my “hotel” just before 6pm, having left Buxton almost five hours earlier. When I set off, the sat-nav estimated my time of arrival to be 16.00hrs. After a break for lunch, and having dropped off a family heirloom at Penrose’s (near Chatsworth) for restoration, I was now expected to arrive at 17.08hrs. This grew later mainly as a result of occasional slow moving traffic and a second “comfort stop”. I have described, already, my hotel accommodation. The following day, I would meet a cruise table companion from my World Voyage of last year, Martin Narey, who lives in North Yorkshire. He had devised an excellent itinerary for much of the day, which took in a ride from Whitby to Goathland, steam hauled, a walk back to Grosmont, around four miles along the original railway which, originally was “horse-drawn” operated and, hopefully back to Whitby by train, in time for fish and chips at the best fish and chips shop in the U.K. We missed the train “by a long shot” and returned to Whitby by taxi. Even after 3pm, the queue for the cafe stretched out on to the pavement. Service, however, was rapid and we didn’t have to wait long to be seated and “plaice” our order with the waitress. All too soon, a most pleasant day had passed and I had been taken back to my hotel. An item in my collection was a framed and glazed auction poster for a house in Sandsend, an area of Whitby dated in the 1890s. This, I thought, might be an appropriate present for my friends in Whitby. It will soon be on display much nearer to its place of origin than ever it was in Buxton. All that was yesterday. Today, I achieved what I had set out to do some time ago, and travelled both ways the entire length of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Whitby to Pickering.My fish and chip lunch prevented me from wanting an evening meal, although I had walked into Whitby from my hotel in an attempt to develop an appetite. In the end, I bought a light snack from the Co-op situated on former railway land, once part of Whitby station.
Usually, I take numerous photographs both on my phone and with my small camera. But today, I merely wanted to enjoy the wooded undulating and sometimes dramatic scenery which still feels unspoiled. I did take a few pictures. At Pickering, I had three hours to explore (and eat!). Prominent at the top of one of a hill, in Pickering’s town centre, stands the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Originally, a Saxon church, it was rebuilt by the Normans in the 11th Century. I had stumbled across a phenomenal piece of (now) well preserved and highly important piece of history. Father Antony Pritchett is the 31st priest since the church’s establishment in the 11th century. At 3pm, I was once again on board a steam train heading back to Whitby. At Grosmont, the ex- Southern Railway Schools Class No. 926 which I think I last saw at Steamtown USA, was replaced by a Class 25 diesel locomotive, reminding me of my early train driving career. Tomorrow, I drive home at my leisure ensuring I am back in good time to familiarise myself with the passage I am reading in church the following day.
Here are a few pictures.
(Written the following morning, 18/5/19).The first picture illustrates a cast iron North Eastern Railway (pre 1923) trespass notice, still in place decades after the railway to which it applied had been dismantled. It now marks the commencement of a walk along this former track bed from Goathland to Grosmont.Picture 2. Typical pleasant scenery along this walk (approximately 4 miles)Picture 3. A restored rare class 101 three car diesel multiple unit; I used to drive these and similar units between Buxton and Manchester Piccadilly/Oxford Road. (1980-around 2001)Pictures 4 and 5. The restored medieval wall paintings inside the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Pickering, taken during a three hour visit to the town. (17th May 2019).Picture 6. The market town of Pickering.Pictures 7 and 8 The grade 2 listed Pickering railway station with its overall roof thankfully intact.Pictures 9 and 10 Journey’s End, Whitby.It’s time to pack and drive home.Probably, the next writings will chart my imminent meanderings across North America, nd elsewhere, at the end of this month.DN.
David's Cruise 