The only sound......

 .....was that of bees buzzing,  as they collected pollen from the flowering heather,  beyond that there was total silence as we briefly stopped on Egton High Moor en route for Rosedale Abbey,  where their is no abbey but only the few remains of a Cistercian monastery.

                                            A brief stop in the heather on Egton High Moor

Once again we were spending a few days in the North Yorkshire Moors staying at the 'Horseshoe Inn' in Levisham,   not in the Morgan but in our Volvo.  While driving there we noticed a sign outside the Middleton Arms public house in Middleton on the A170.  The landlord,  obviously with a sharp sense of humour had temporarily renamed it as "The Vaccinated Arms"!!!!

Needless to say we took the opportunity of travelling on the renowned North Yorkshire Moors Railway in the knowledge that, apart from the fun,  our fare was contributing to the future of this important national resource which is mainly run by volunteers supported also by the National Lottery.

                                                                   Levisham Station

                                                 The 9.20 from Pickering approaching

                                              Our Southern Region Loco at Whitby Station

My wife had reminded me about the vast crowds that flock to Whitby which I must say had escaped my failing memory since our last visit.  Nothing had changed in that respect and just like any attractive fishing town during the summer season it was absolutely heaving,  not only with people,  but people with dogs that contrived it seemed to trip you up with their ridiculous extending leads in the cobbled narrow streets.

                                                                   Whitby Harbour

Enough was enough and we returned to sit at the station for an hour to await our return train.

                                                      Our engine for the return journey

                                                                  Wet at Grosmont

During dinner at our pub a chap from North London said that  his Guide Book suggested that the best time to visit Whitby was on a wet Tuesday afternoon in December when perhaps the 'Strictly Come Dancing' final was on the telly!!!

It is amazing that short breaks such as this make you feel that you have been away much longer and I commend them to everyone but perhaps,  for our sakes,  you might avoid Whitby!!!

                                                 The view from our Garden Room