Riding the Rails in Yorkshire and Going Beachside in Whitby. (And SO MANY STAIRS.) 

Here I am, almost a month out from my last post, which I was feeling bad about (based only on my self-imposed desire to blog more)…but then I thought about why that was. In the past few weeks, we spent time with good friends in London before spending four days exploring Scotland. So while I’ve been too busy to post, we’ve had more amazing trips and bonus, I now have a long list of blog posts to write.

On to Part 2 of our half-term break trip… That Friday morning in York we debated going back to the Pluto’s Castle, where they had shut the door in our face the afternoon before. But we had plans to ride the steam train of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, out of and back into the town of Pickering.

Our tickets weren’t until 10:00 and we were sure it wasn’t too far. In reality, we headed out much too late and encountered the worst traffic trying to get there. There’s only one good way to get there, and it’s a two-lane road with lots of busy roundabouts and things get backed up very quickly. (I just mentally added “Write blog post about driving and narrow roads and roundabouts” to my list.)

We pulled into Pickering about 9:57 and Tim dropped Bennett and I off while he and Nate went to find parking. We hurried to pick up our tickets at the window, as the man pointed to the train pulling out of the station. I felt defeated, but he casually said it wasn’t a problem – just to hop on the 11:00 train. Oh, then. No need to freak out – good news for us all! Once I was feeling less panicked, Bennett and I decided to run out of the station to meet Tim and Nate on the sidewalk and shout to them that they needed to RUN! NOW! because the train was waiting for us. Tim picked up Nate and they sprinted toward us before Bennett laughed and said we were joking. Ha. Teaching him well.

With the extra hour, Tim decided to move the car from whatever random spot he had found and move it to the actual parking lot, and the boys and I thought we’d go get a snack. We walked through the picturesque town before finding a little café where they each devoured a scone and I enjoyed a glass of prosecco. I was starting to relax, while keeping a close eye on my watch. No way we were missing the next train too.

We walked back to board the 11:00 train, walking through the rail cars to pick our seats. It was an older train, but in fairly good shape with tables and stiff seats and a drink and snack cart, woo hoo! The boys were excited to hear the whistle of the train as we headed out. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we slid the windows open, much like I remembered from my old school-bus riding days, and we watched the towns turned to country and the moors rise around us.

We took turns standing by the door, peering out to watch the front of the train blow steam and wind around the bends ahead.

The train made several stops, but we had our eyes set on one – Goathland. I had done a little research before and knew this was the stop that was the Hogsmeade station in the Harry Potter movies. While we haven’t watched the movies yet, Bennett is working his way through the books and I knew he would love to see it.

When we arrived in Goathland, we hopped off and climbed the bridge to watch our train leave and another train go in the other direction. For a moment, it felt like we had stepped back into time as the trains whistled and puffed out slowly. (Back in time, except for shooting on my iPhone.)

I had read about a nearby waterfall, but I wasn’t sure where it was. The woman at the gift shop at the station thought it was a 20-30 minutes walk, but she didn’t seem very sure either. We had a couple of hours before the train would be coming back in the other direction, so we started hoofing it…up the hill from the station, into the small town, past the souvenir shops, houses, a few businesses and church…keeping our eyes peeled for a sign for the waterfall. A shop owner assured us we’d see a sign, so we kept walking.

Finally we ran into a couple out walking and asked them for directions. We had of course, passed the small walking path and the *tiny* sign post leading us there. We then descended down A LOT of steps, not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into. We weren’t wearing our hiking boots, which seems to be a common theme for us, but we were in this far and we were going to see this waterfall!

At the base of the stairs was a wooded area with a babbling stream. Other hikers pointed us upstream to the waterfall. Nate took off, scampering like a squirrel over the slippery rocks. I tried to give him freedom while silently praying he didn’t lose his grip. Bennett and Tim walked more steadily, until we finally reached the waterfall, Mallyan Spout.

The waterfall was a pleasant surprise – it wasn’t amazingly tall, but it was impressive. And you could get very close to it, as in, directly underneath. Bennett stuck his hand in the rushing water, commenting this is the closest he’s ever been to a waterfall! We had just been to Aira Force in the Lake District a few weeks before, but this weather was warmer and the mist of the water felt refreshing instead of freezing.

Tim and I were proud we had made it and we all declared it “Worth it!!” – but we also realized we had to now hike back and catch a train, or else we would be stuck in this tiny town without our car. So we started huffing and puffing back up the hill and the dozens and dozens (want to say hundreds but that may be exaggerating?!) of stairs. Luckily, we had about three minutes to spare, allowing the boys enough time to gain their strength back with the procurement of ice cream.

We hopped back on the train, but it was a different one than before. To be honest, I’m not sure this one was an actual steam train. I can tell you it was old, and not quite as cute and quaint as the first train we were on. We were all tired after our hike, so we watched the sun lower in the sky on our way back to Pickering and both Nate and Tim fell asleep. Once back in Pickering, we hiked toward the car before deciding maybe we would just quickly stop off at the nearby castle. When in England, right?

History repeated itself; we were too late to enter. But the sun was setting, so we enjoyed the view over Pickering. The boys ran through the entry grounds of the castle as if it was their own backyard. Finally, we loaded back in the car and headed east toward to the coast and the city of Whitby.

Because of our relaxed sunset-watching in Pickering, it was dark as we entered Whitby, but we could see the lights shining over the sea. Beautiful, but we had no idea where we were going. We had rented an Airbnb that was close to the boardwalk, just up an alley. The emails gave vague instructions about where to park and how to get in. In the dark, we could not figure it out and it was difficult to navigate the one-way streets and areas crowded with pedestrians. Finally, we just decided to park wherever we could find, many blocks away.

We hopped out of the car, each pulling rolling suitcases as I held my phone up like a torch – a beacon of light that also narrated step-by-step directions. Eventually, we found it. I don’t know what year the house was built, but it was a few steps off of the main boardwalk and probably served as some sort of butcher or clock-making (?) shop with living quarters above it. I’m just telling you it was old.

Upon opening the front door, there was a small bathroom and a tiny kitchen and stairs. One level up, the living room. More stairs up, the boys’ room. MORE STAIRS, our bedroom. It was historic and cool, but all I could think about was how many stairs I would have to go down (or Bennett & Nate too) when we inevitably had to use the toilet in the middle of the night. The boys thought it was awesome.

We grabbed a quick dinner at a seaside joint, and as the Lionel Richie greatest hits album played overhead, Bennett decided to try the mussels. He loved them. I kept thinking, “Is he joking, is he doing this just to seem grown up or try to impress us or something?” But nope, the kid just really likes mussels. I love that he’s sometimes cautious, until he makes a thoughtful decision and then goes for it.

The next morning we headed out to explore Whitby. I had first volunteered to go out and find coffee, providing me an amazing sunrise view. The weather, for late February on the coast of the North Sea, was gorgeous. The temperature reached into the 60s-70s – Fahrenheit, don’t ask me to convert to Celsius – and it was perfectly sunny. The town was a popular tourist destination during the school break; the narrow streets were packed with people going in and out of shops and restaurants.

We made our way up (so many stairs, again) to the Whitby Abbey. At the top of the stairs is St. Mary’s church and cemetery. These stairs are famously referenced in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The connections between Whitby and Dracula are strong – Whitby provided a lot of inspiration for Stoker’s novel, including the 199 stairs up to the abbey, the graveyard referencing the name of Dracula’s first victim, etc. (I’ll be honest. I haven’t read it, but once you’re in Whitby, it’s hard to ignore the references, especially as you walk by the Dracula museum decked out with spooky music and fanged mannequins.)

We wandered through the graveyard and stepped inside the church. It was founded in 1110, but the interior was mostly built in the 18^thcentury. Not far from that is the Whitby Abbey, which was a 7^thcentury monastery, later becoming a Benedictine abbey. Now, its ruins make a beautiful backdrop, overlooking the shops and homes of Whitby and the North Sea beyond it.

We soon discovered, however, that we couldn’t get into the grounds of the abbey because it was closed for refurbishing/renovation. We weren’t too bothered by this, because you could see it from outside and above a wall, and we were able to get a few photos. So what to do when the abbey is closed? Head to the brewery across the street! The Whitby Brewery was the perfect place to stop for a refreshing drink and snack, enjoying the sun and the views. The tables were made of wooden pallets and Bennett enjoyed finding any random curse word or funny joke written haphazardly on the frame.

On our way back down into town, not far from the abbey and church, we found a large grassy area and said to the boys, “Go RUN.” Tim and I feel that a lot of our time on trips is spent trying to get the boys going in a certain direction, to stay with us, to pay attention and not run into other people, to get to places and see things. So we always try to work in time that the boys can just run around and do whatever they want without us steering or scolding. They had Pokemon battles, played tag, and went nuts. It was great.

The beach was calling us, so we worked our way back through the streets and went down to the area by the pier. The tide was out, Bennett wanted to play football on the beach. He and Tim did that while Nate rolled up his pant legs and put his toes in the sand and I watched him jump the waves as they crashed on the shore.

As the day and the sun faded, we headed up to the pier where we decided to climb the lighthouse for the view. The stairs were narrow and steep, but the view at the top was worth it. The view spanned from the North Sea, over to the church and abbey, overlooking the waterway in Whiby with pretty buildings rising from the coast on either sign. I made the boys take photos as I do, and they reciprocated by taking ones of us too.

Finally, we had to make good on the one thing activity we’d been putting off since we pulled into town. Whitby had a beach town vibe, with a bustling boardwalk with fish and chip shops, ice cream and candy stores, and of course, an arcade. Is there anything more magical to young boys’ eyes and ears than the flash and ringing of games in an arcade? We gave them money and they ran around (I made them play ski ball with me so I could properly BEAT THEM), racing games, and slot games that seemed better suited to casinos. Eventually, we pulled them out of there – riding high on the adrenaline, but exhausted from our trip.

In the quiet of the next morning, happy but exhausted (mostly from climbing so many stairs), we headed home – grateful for the weather, for the exploring, and the time together on another break. I think when I imagined us traveling here, I thought more broadly about our access to greater Europe and the countries there. But we’re finding that there is so much to see and do without leaving the U.K. More adventures to come!