Robin Hood's Bay

On our second day of adventuring, we headed back to the coast to a little bay nestled between Whitby and Scarborough. Again, it was brilliantly sunny and unseasonably warm. We aimed to get there at low tide and we were not disappointed. As we descended into the tiny fishing village, we were charmed by the sheer beauty of the steep cliffs. We headed down to the beach and combed through the tide pools where we discovered a few anemones and some small snail-like creatures. some people who were collecting them informed us they were called periwinkles and that they make delightful escargot. The kids were a little repulsed by the thought of eating them! We lingered for about an hour and then headed back towards the village to get some chips. By the time we had finished eating, a sea fret had arisen, and the beach was completely hidden from view. It was amazing how quickly it had come up.

Our tummies full, we got back in the car and headed out to the moors, in search of the Roman road we'd seen on the map. We exited the main highway, into a little hamlet called Goathland, stopping often to allow the local sheep to cross the road.The kids had us laughing when they rolled the windows down and began bleating at them. It must have been a pretty good impression, since the sheep would look right over at them. Following the signs, we continued into the hills, parked the car and then proceeded on foot. We were not prepared for hiking through the muck and the kids pointed out that we really needed farm shoes (I think they meant rubber boots!). We wandered a bit, crossed over the river, mingled with a few of the local sheep, (none of whom could point us in the right direction) but the Roman road was not to be found. We decided we would come better prepared next time.