Filey

Filey lies on the east coast of England partially protected from the sea by the Filey Brigg.

Please be patient while photos load.

They will open in a new browser window.

20230618

Who know the Leeds train station doesn't open on Sundays until 7:30. Arriving too early, a group of us stood outside the station waiting for the doors to open. Then another 45 minutes passed before the train for York departed. Train schedules apparently changed this week and the Eurail Pass app has yet to be updated. The National Train app was better but also incomplete. Only the train schedules in the station had the correct information. My plan was to go to York then catch the next train to Scarborough on the east coast of England.

Travel went smoothly and the train doors opened on the seaside town of Scarborough on a quiet Sunday morning. Not sure what my next step was to be, I contemplated how not knowing where my head would be resting that night brought no anxiety or concern. Ten in the morning and Scarborough slowly awakened with locals and tourists starting to move about. A short ten minute walk from the station through the village center brings one to the tram and a small park overlooking the beach. Here a bench offered a chance to sit down and plan the day. Scarborough turned out not to be today. I walked back to the station and rode twenty minutes on a train south to Filey.

Filey is smaller than Scarborough and the campground is only a fifteen minute walk from the station. And a Tesco sits next to the train station. Perfect for replenishing food supplies for the next couple of days before pitching the tent. The campground lies right next to Filey Brigg, a peninsula of land jutting southeast out into the North Sea creating a slightly protected bay where Filey sits. The Romans had a watch tower on the spit of land at a time when it was considerably less eroded; the town has long since gone. The Filey Bay was the location of a sea battle on 23 September 1779 between the new American Continental Navy commanded by Paul Jones and the Royal Navy commanded by Captain Richard Pearson. The American Continental Navy won the battle but the vessel with Jones sank. Maybe some of you remember this history lesson from grade school.

The cliffs along the coast are filled with nesting Guilemots. These birds must be related to penguins as they sound the same and swim well, but can also fly.

I walked out to the tip of the Filey Brigg peninsula then looped back just above the waterline to walk along the beach to Filey. The town is simple and charming. Wandering the streets I came across a Caterham car. I'm not qualified to speak about them, but you can obtain one of these British cars as a kit.

After sunshine in the Lake District, the more dour wet weather of the British Isles returned this evening. So far, I've been impressed with the light weight two man tent I purchased for this journey. I did pickup a sleeping bag in Leeds as the system I'd been using left me a chilly at times. Somehow it all fits in my luggage!

I grazed a nettle plant today with my left hand. The reaction has left where it touched numb on the surface, burning deeper, and a little swollen. No plant encounter has been this bad - even poison ivy. I'll watch it.

20230619 - Scarborough

The rain fell cyclically through the night lightly at times then with a crescendo to heavy rain bouncing off the sides of the tent. The 4AM rising sun chased the clouds away leaving a sunny sky of blue with cotton ball white clouds. A perfect day for exploring Scarborough.

Reversing direction today back to the north, I visited the town of Scarborough. Its another seaside village with a Roman signal tower like Filey, spa, and - a castle. But before exploring a coffee, pastry, and clerical work came first.

Where the castle lies has been a place inhabited for over 2000 years. The Romans built a signal/watch tower similar to the one at Filey providing a good vantage point up and down the coast. The castle came onto the scene starting in the 1100's. About half the Keep remains. An artist placed a sculpture on the grounds. It is patterned after the cement shapes used to help protect harbor walls but designed such that a snowfall is required to complete the shape. It was a climate change inspiration to reflect rising sea levels and changing weather patterns.

Near the entrance ramp to the castle lies a small cemetery with the grave of Anne Bronte. Anne Bronte? Researching it, she was a poet and novelist living between 1820 and 1849. The novel she wrote, The Tenant of Windfell Hall is credited with being one of the first feminist works. I'll have to read it.

The beach at Scarborough sports the usual seaside sugar shops, high cholesterol comfort foods, and amusement rides. A couple of the buildings just off the beach stretch back several hundred years with one having been one of the first public houses (bars) in Scarborough.

Some calamine lotion purchased at a local pharmacy gave relief to the partially numb and tingling rash on my left hand.

I sat just enjoying the view later in the afternoon and planning the next few days travel before the 15 minute return ride back to Filey on the train.