South Shields 12July09 Part III

On Sunday, June 28th, left Dunswell at 9:20 after a very nice continental breakfast in my room. There was bananas, yogurt, cereal, juice, croissant, jams, tea or coffee. I cycled to Berveley (A1174) to Bridlington (A1035/A165) and stopped for lunch at 11:30. It was an overcast day and the route was quite hilly. I had hoped to make it to Whitby but by 2:00 I had only made it as far as Scaroborough. It was starting to get a big foggy so I decided to stop for the day. I found a nice hotel for £30/night with a nice view looking down a street towards the sea front. I put my bike away in a passageway below the stairs and took my bags up to my room. I went back down to the bar and asked about internet access (no luck) and a launderette (just down the street but closed on Sundays). So I had to settle for a beer. A small bus load of senior citizens arrived but otherwise I seemed to be the only guest in the hotel. I went for a walk into the centre of town to find a place to have dinner. It felt like a ghost town and of course with the fog coming in pretty thick I had an uncomfortable feeling. I managed to find an Italian restaurant and had a pleasant meal. I decided to walk back along the sea front to return to my hotel. By this time it was really getting quite foggy and I could barely make out some people down below on the beach walking their dogs. I made it to the funicular which was still in operation and after paying 70p rode up to the top of the embankment and walked up to my hotel. Had a glass of red wine to calm my nerves before going off to bed. Dunswell to Caistor 68.42 kms Time 4:03:04
Monday, 29June09. Before setting off for Whitby I decided to go to the lauderette and do some laundry. While there I met a mother and her 30 year old son who were also getting their laundry done before heading off to Whitby. I asked them to watch out for me as I would be cycling there. I set off for Whitby at 10:45, a bit late in the day, but it was only a 35 kms trip according to my GPS. What a ride though. There were several very steep hills 3 of which I had to get off my bike and walk. A cyclist with a small satchel on the back of his bag passed me on one of the hills. I later on caught up to him when I stopped at a holiday trailer park cafe for lunch. We had a nice chat and he warned my that there were still a couple more wicked hills to go before arriving in Whitby. I arrived in Whitby at 2:00 and headed straight for the T.I.C. to see if I could get some information on B&Bs for the night. On the way out I ran into the son who I had met at the launderette in Scarborough. He was quite pleased to see that I had arrived safely and said he would let his Mom know. Whitby was a far more interesting looking seaside resort compared to Scarborough and the weather was much improved. What a crowd of people wandering about the sea front. I had to get off my bike and walk it was so crowded. At the T.I.C. I was told that most of the B&Bs were located up Chubbhill Road so hopped on my bike and headed over there. By this time I was pretty tired and rather than try to go up to the top of Chubbhill to find a cheaper hotel stopped at the first one I came up to. Instead of £35 I ended up paying £40 but it was worth it to avoid having to cycle up one more hill. After settling in for the evening I walked into town for dinner. I was amazed to see that all the people had disappeared!!! and all the shops had closed with the exception of a couple hotel bars/restaurants. I managed to get some fish (Whitby Cod) and chips for dinner. Walked back to Big Sky B&B and watched a bit of Wimbledon on the telly. Scarborough to Whitby, N. Yorkshire 35.62 kms Time 2:28:29