7 October 2017

Scarborough

Scarborough was England's first true seaside resort.  It was attracting  wealthy visitors from the end of the seventeenth century But in the middle of  the nineteenth century the railway line from York began to bring in visitors from Yorkshire's industrial towns and cities. Mass tourism had begun.

Throughout that time there was a farm on Irton Moor just west of Scarborough. It is called Riggs Head and it still exists today. It was here that my ancestors on my father's side lived and worked. They never owned the farm, they just lived there as farm workers raising their families through several generations. In documents, my great great grandfather was described as a rabbit catcher and his place of residence was indeed Riggs Head.

Naturally, I feel a special bond with Scarborough and its environs. Though I have never lived there myself, I sense there's still some Scarborough in my blood. My late father could recall childhood visits to Riggs Head in the nineteen twenties though by that time his own father had left the land to become a railway worker based fifteen miles away in Malton.

This afternoon, Shirley and I are driving up to Scarborough for a couple of nights. I have booked a little apartment overlooking the town's famous cricket ground. The weather forecast isn't too bad for early October. 

I hope we'll walk on the beach, visit the castle on the headland and perhaps drive up to Riggs Head even though I  know it is has changed a lot through the passage of time. Hopefully, we'll have a nice Sunday lunch somewhere.

Below, an old railway poster anticipates our brief sojourn in "The Queen of the Yorkshire Coast".

27 comments:

  1. That looks like a lovely place to visit; doesn't look like it's changed all that much from the poster. It's nice to see a town retain it's quaint charm, especially on the waterfront.

    Hope you enjoy your time there!

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    1. It has remained a popular place to visit through the years. I once saw Eric Clapton there playing as Derek and the Dominoes at The Penthouse Club.

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  2. My wife still talks about "going down to Scarborough" when she was a kid.

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    1. I wonder if she rode a donkey on the beach.

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  3. A friend of mine made a journey to the place where her ancestors had settled, and she said it was quietly thrilling to stand on the land where they had lived. And while I haven't had that experience, I understood what she was saying. I hope you get to walk the land where your folks came from.

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    1. No public footpaths cross the land as far as I know but I hope I will see the farm from the lane that passes to the south of it.

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  4. I used to live in Scarborough. Great place but bloody cold in winter.

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    1. I guess you had to wear thermal underwear like Nora Batty.

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  5. Scarbie!!! It was Steve and my favourite place for a holiday, and we usually spent a week there every summer. Since his death, I have not (yet) been back. I keep telling myself, one day...
    We always stayed at a B&B in North Bay and did lots and lots of walking. Visiting the castle was a "must", and we often had tea/coffee and cake at St. Mary's just below the castle. One of our favourite places for Sunday lunch was The Albion: home-cooked meals, big portions.

    I hope Shirley won't pull her back like the lady on the poster obviously has done. Enjoy the weekend and come back with plenty of pictures for me to get all nostalgic about!

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    1. Ha-ha! I hadn't noticed that the lady in the poster has lumbago! Thank you for the tip about "The Albion". We will try to go there on Sunday.

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    2. A little research tells me that "The Albion" is now closed and has been turned into holiday flats so we shall have to find somewhere else for Sunday dinner.

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  6. I hope you're having a great time! I love that old railway poster. Scarborough has been on my list of places to visit. (And did it inspire Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" song?)

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    1. I don't think Paul Simon ever visited Scarborough. He was taught that song by an English folk musician - possibly Martin Carthy. By the way, I haven't left home yet. I posted this blogpost at 1.00am this morning. We'll be leaving in a couple of hours.

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  7. Never been to Scarborough, although not for the want of trying. Enjoy your break and researching your roots.

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    1. We don't let southern nancies into Scarborough I am afraid ADDY. Try Bognor Regis instead.

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  8. Have fun! I know you'll bring back plenty of photos to share.

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    1. You can read me like a book Jennifer! A photo book.

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  9. One of my favourite seaside towns....i used to go there alot when i lived in york

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    1. I guess you could ride here on a train. As The Beatles sang, you were a "day tripper".

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  10. Scarborough is for real? Well of course, I should have known. Do you feel obligated to gather ye some parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme? I love the way you got the two images to line up, Scarborough now and Scarborough of yore.

    I'm off to go look at a map.

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    1. I am sitting in Scarborough now on my birthday morn drinking parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme tea. It tastes awful!

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  11. Now I have Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" going through my mind!

    Have a lovely weekend, Yorkie. :)

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    1. "Scarborough Fair" going through your mind? You mean in one ear and out the other?

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  12. We have a nearby beach called Scarborough. It looks a bit like your Scarborough in that it is not a beach with waves ( a surf beach ) but a bay beach. Same sort of sand too not the lovely whit sand of our surfing beaches. It was the sort of beach we went to when we were kids and the surf was too far and we didn't like the waves or deep water. No one much goes there for the beach these days but it is popular for sailing and sitting in the park looking out to sea.

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    1. And there was me imagining you were once a surf chick Helen! Like those lady lifeguards in "Bay Watch". Rip curling on the waves.

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  13. Oddly I have been to Scarborough WA but not, so far as I can recall to Scarborough, Yorkshire.

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  14. I have Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" going through my mind!


    แตกใน xxx

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