Roseberry Topping

What a strange world this is!

One week you’re in Edinburgh, meeting a blogger from Cornwall, the next, admiring the beauty of Roseberry Topping on the North York Moors, with a blogger all the way from Australia. When Carol (that’s The Eternal Traveller to you) suggested a stop off on my local patch during her whistle stop tour of England… well, it would have been churlish not to offer the lady a cuppa and a view, wouldn’t it?

Great Ayton seemed the perfect venue for someone interested in Captain Cook, as he spent much of his childhood there. Carol had already been to Whitby, where he served his seaman’s apprenticeship, but Cook was born locally and lived in a farmhouse in Great Ayton. It isn’t possible to visit Cook’s Cottage as it was moved to Melbourne in 1934, and reassembled there brick by brick. Cook received 5 years of paid education in this village and the Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum tells the story of his early life.

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Cook was also known to have loved Roseberry Topping but, as this is a bit of a steep climb, we opted instead to hike up Easby Moor to visit the Monument to him, constructed in 1827. The views are sweeping, across to the Topping and down on Great Ayton itself.

Of course, I needed sustenance, in the form of a very crumbly scone, but Justin Beaver didn’t seem to mind my table manners too much.

Thanks to Carol and her lovely family for keeping us company. Wishing them a safe and happy onward journey.

It’s Saturday again and almost sunny. I hope that wherever you are the weekend is kind to you. I will be back on Monday for one more walk before I head south for a two week break. Take care till then!

P.S. ‘Strictly’ starts again this weekend and I can’t help but remember my good friend Viv, who loved it so. And please don’t forget your six words!

It was like a domestic comedy in our house. “Planes? You don’t have any photos of planes!” After a little remonstrating, we reached the point where I said “No, p-l-a-i-n-s!” And we then agreed that I probably didn’t have any photos of them anyway! I’ve never been fond of flat, open spaces, and my photographic skills are incapable of doing them justice.

But it’s meant to be a challenge, isn’t it, so with grim determination, I set forth.

View from the village of Salir, in the Algarve

Across the valley to the water tower in Salir

The Algarve’s not really the place to hunt for plains, so I moved north to the Alentejo. Wide open skies, they most certainly have here.

View from the castle at Elvas

But, as you can see below, heavy grey clouds don’t really do much for them.

From lofty Monsaraz over the River Guadiana

I know that my Dad’s native Poland has endless flat and forested plains through it’s centre, and I have seen many. Photographic evidence? None. My excuse is that we were usually hurtling along to the next destination at breakneck speed, Polish style.

So I’ll settle for another landscape that I know pretty well, and much nearer home- the Cleveland Hills. I should be out walking this morning but with snow and rain, the ground has become pretty unpleasant and I’m tired of carrying half a field on the bottom of my boots.

Looking out towards Roseberry Topping from Sutton Bank

Roseberry Topping from another angle- it’s ever present in North Yorks

And I think that with that, I may well conceed defeat, admonishing myself to hang out of the car and take some death defying shots on my next trip to Poland.

You should head off to Jakesprinter’s page to see a few more successful attempts on the challenge. Better yet, can I see some of yours? Many thanks, as ever, to the brilliant Jake for sharing his graphics and ideas. Click on the lucky snake logo or links to pay a visit.

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Six word Saturday

What a strange world this is!

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Plains

What a strange world this is!

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