Jo’s Monday walk : Peaceful Staithes

Shall we start with a bench?

Shall we start with a bench view, in Staithes?

You can probably guess how this post is going to go, from my opening shot.  This month Jude is featuring benches ‘by the beach’ in her Bench challenge.  It just so happens that on a windy, partially sunny day this week I had the good fortune to be in Staithes.  It’s one of North Yorkshire’s more characterful seaside villages, with houses tumbling pell-mell down the cliffs. And, importantly, it has a good collection of benches.

Shall I share them now, then we can go walking?

A 'plaice' to bear in mind for your lunchtime fish and chips?

A ‘plaice’ to bear in mind for your lunchtime fish and chips?

Click on any image to see the galleries in detail 

Here are a few of the pub benches
And this is the beach they look down on
Or you can look in the opposite direction
There are benches for those who just like a view
Benches for readers
And even for those who like to be near the icecream van
Everything looks better in the sunshine but those railings do need a coat of paint

Everything looks better in the sunshine but those railings do need a coat of paint

Now that we’ve established where you can eat, or just sit and enjoy the view, let’s go back up to the clifftop where my walk starts.  There’s a car park up there and a nice little TI- not always open because it’s staffed by volunteers. (another job I’d like!)

A map is always helpful

A map is always helpful

As Jude will know, we are in James Cook territory.  Cook had his first employment in Staithes, for a local merchant named William Sanderson, whose quayside shop was destroyed by a violent storm in the early 19th century. Materials from this shop may have been used in the construction of the new premises in Church St., now known as Cook’s Cottage.  A footpath leads off to your right from the top of the village and descends gently between a hodge podge of houses. Beyond the rooftops the cliffs stand guard, keeping a watchful eye on the sea.

Little garden niches hug the cottages
Some grander than others
With a garden wall and a frog
The sea waits patiently below

Below, the sea waits patiently

Descending, the steps squeeze between the houses
Some nicely manicured
Others sharing their garden indiscriminately
Many with a nautical theme
Like this porthole
Communal living
In a confined space
Reminders of the sea, a constant

In the harbour there’s a sense of drama.  These cliffs can both shelter and entrap.  Today not even the chimes of the icecream van disturb the peace, but a wind whips the sand in little flurries. I try to capture the movement with my camera but it craftily eludes me.

Can you feel the motion in the sand?

Can you feel the motion in the sand?

And yet, looking back, all is calm

And yet, looking back, all is calm

The boats sleeping peacefully on the shore

The boats sleeping peacefully on the shore

The baskets, empty

The baskets, empty

Time to climb back up to the cliff top.  Dawdle up Church St. and, if you like, pop into the Arts and Crafts Centre.  It has a lovely little garden at the rear.

Follow the sign
And here’s the pretty garden
And another bench (but not beside the beach)
The crafts are lovely too

The crafts are lovely too

On the cliff top you can join the Cleveland Way– 110 miles of walking, much of it beside the sea. I don’t suggest that you do all of it right now, but I can give you a glimpse of what you might find up there.  It stretches from the hub of Helmsley- a totally different kind of village- inland and down the coast to Filey.  I spent most of my childhood holidays on this coast and I love to return.

Church St.- home to Cook’s Cottage and the Arts and Crafts Centre
Heading for the cliff top
The gorse is blooming
I like these National Trust signs
And these guys were lovely
Completely intent on the job in hand

It was blustery on the cliff tops so I didn’t stay long.  A path off to your left will bring you round behind the village and back to the car park, or you can simply retrace your steps.  Another Monday, another walk!  I hope you’ve enjoyed this one, and please don’t forget to seek out those benches for Jude.

walking logo

Again I have some wonderful shares for you so thank you very much to all who support me and contribute.  You are my happy band of walkers.  Details of how you can join in Jo’s Monday walks are on the logo above.  Time to rest those weary legs and put the kettle on for a good read.

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I can always make time for a day trip.  How about you?  The company’s good!

Day Tripper

It’s many years since I was in beautiful Salzburg.  Debbie had much better weather :

Sunny Stroll along the Salzach

Blossom to die for! (or is that a tad melodramatic?)  Gorgeous, anyway!  Thanks, Violet :

Sakura in the sunshine

Speaking of sunshine, anyone been to Scotland lately?  Cheers, Anabel!

Sunny Dunny : Dunbar

I know that Jude loves the Cornish beaches and sunshine, but the gardens?  Just fabulous!

Garden Portrait : Tremenheere

And while we’re looking at Spring sunshine, let’s visit Meg in Warsaw and those cute ladybugs of hers!

Another day of Spring glory

Praga is a little known area in Warsaw.  This guided tour is fascinating.

Across to the Dark Side

More conjectures and Thames footpath with Geoff :

The Thames Path- Bablock Hythe to Oxford

And Amy, enjoying nature and sharing so beautifully :

Monday Walk 

Prepare yourselves!  It’s tumbling time!  You’ll enjoy this terrific post from Yvette (did you catch the icecream man, hon?)

Force of Nature- walk with Jo

A little more sedately, Jaspa tackles some history, ‘down Panama way’ :

A stroll through Old Panama City, Part 1- Panama Viejo

Down in the southern hemisphere, thoughts are turning to Autumn :

Day 3 of the road trip and we revisit Eastwoodhill 

Brilliant, aren’t they?  I hope you have a happy week.  It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK next weekend but I’ll still be here.  Hope that you will be too.

165 comments

    1. Ah, Naomi- I really loved your company 🙂 I visited your Weekly Challenge post but didn’t leave a comment because I’d been there before. I smiled and sent you a hug though 🙂

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      1. Hi Jo,
        Thank you for dropping by! I am doing some serious revision on what I hope will be the final draft of a novel, and so I am reposting some oldies for my newer followers. Today I am dedicating myself to editing–cross your fingers for me!

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  3. Beautiful photos, Jo! And you got the motion of the sand! Is that you all wrapped up against the wind in the photo? The sand looks like it would sting bare legs!!

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    1. Nope, not me, Jill 🙂 The sand kept swirling but stopping every time I took aim. The lady walked across just as I’d managed to more or less capture the movement and when I looked back at all my attempts this one was probably the best, so I decided to use it anyway. It was a day for squinting up your eyes. 🙂

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  5. Cleveland Way has me intrigued, Jo. 110 miles of trail sounds amazing! Love your photos, especially the indiscriminately shared garden. Thanks for the lovely walk around James Cook County

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  7. I am mesmerized by that cliff!
    This reminds me of when I spent a couple of days in Whitby, back in the late 80’s, and was desperately trying to figure a way of emigrating.
    No walk for me this week – it’s far too nice to be inside composing my photos….

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  10. Staithes is a very pretty town – another lovely place to go onto my list! Thank you for the walk – it was a breath of fresh air, and lovely blue sky after our wet and blustery day here. The little boats in the craft centre are delightful.

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    1. It’s a nice little spot, Elaine 🙂 Our Monday walk was cancelled because the weather was so dire. I’ve spent much of the day in catch up or watching Chelsea Flower Show.

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  12. Thanks for the visual break during my lunch time, Jo. This village and surrounding area looks like a very relaxing place to visit.

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  13. So the walk first, I love mermaids so I’d have to check her out, as well as the competition in the craft shop. Then I’d collapse in a heap with my fish and chips and enjoy the view with my ice cream. Perfect 🙂

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  14. In my eyes a breathtaking area both the moor and the seaside – always worth a couple of days enjoyment the year around – always reminds me of my native danish Jutland where I spent my study time, the Yorkshire Moor just much much larger – excellent for walk or biking even horse riding… 😀

    Wonderful captures here, my friend – what a walk… 🙂

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    1. It was an ‘out of the blue’ day, Drake. I hadn’t planned it but it was too nice to be indoors and I didn’t have any ‘must do’ jobs. Lucky me! Glad you enjoyed it and many thanks for your company again. 🙂

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  15. Oh it all looks just the same as it did when i visited about eight years ago.we stayed in a cottage called crow tree cottage with amazing views of the colourful roof tops and glistenjng sea.often bobbed into the cod and lobster and walked along the cleveland way to skinningrove and once to runswick bay.x

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  16. Jo, Hub and I just gorged on the Doc Martin series and I’ve fallen in love with these quaint pockets of the coast – everything about these villages is charming and yet you show the reality of that quaintness in the harsh wind, the sometimes limiting cliff boundaries and the lobster traps whuch evoke a precarious profession indeed.

    Jude told me Port Isaac was the setting for the series; now I see from your beautiful array we can poke along the coast and find many pockets to explore. If only I had my airline ticket !!

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    1. To get right around the coast might take you a while, Sammy, even though we are only a small island. It’s all those wriggles in and wriggles out 🙂 🙂 I haven’t been down to Cornwall and Doc Martins territory since I was a youngster (it’s quicker to fly to the Algarve!). Our coastline in the north east is probably as good, but it’s much cooler (hence the need for the Algarve 🙂 )

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      1. Kind of like wriggling along our Maine coast. I have wriggled the Irish ciast many decades ago, but England is yet in tge ‘hope to’ column. I should have visited back when my knees could hike hills.

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  17. Enchanting Jo, and I don’t mean just all those wonderful benches, but the whole village! Looks a little bit like Mousehole with the steps and houses all scruunched together, supporting one another “a hodge podge of houses” as you remarked, and the patches of gardens. I could live there, but I suspect, much like Mousehole, a lot of those are holiday homes. A very beautiful part of Yorkshire. I need to take the OH up there, he’d love fish ‘n chips at the Cod and Lobster 😀

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    1. Richard (A bit of Culture) shouts up for Cornwall too and has some good walks on his, Jude, but I told him today we can rival Cornwall up here. Just maybe not the temperatures 🙂 Runswick Bay along the coast is all holiday cottages now. I think Staithes has a good proportion still lived in. It’s quite a sizeable village with a lovely church and the Captain Cook Hotel (of course) up top. I have quite a few more photos but I try not to send people into a snooze. 🙂

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      3. and here’s one for you for next week:
        http://wp.me/pL5Ms-2Am

        There will be a lighthouse post soon, but as it is not really a walk – only a very short one – I won’t link to your walks, so keep your eyes peeled 🙂
        Jude xx (from the very breezy and somewhat chilly Shires)

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    2. Cheers, Jude 🙂 I don’t know what we did to deserve it but it was glorious here this afternoon! I settled in the garden with a good book and my notepad (so I could look industrious 🙂 )

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  19. Hi Jo,
    Thanks for the wonderful tour. 🙂 I think I need at least two more lives to see all the beautiful places in GB alone that I know of. 😉
    Thinking of fish and chips makes my mouth water. 😉
    Have a great week,
    Pit

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    1. I think so, Pit! 🙂 Even just getting down the coast far enough to visit villages I haven’t seen since I was a kid takes time. I’m running out, too 🙂 Wishing you a happy week!

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