Sunday April 24th 2011 - Part 2 - A visit to Bridlington

Leaving Scarborough behind I drove back down the A165 and past the turn off to Centenary Way, heading for the completely fresh territory of Bridlington, which is about the same distance south of Filey as Scarborough is north of it. I had never been there before and didn't know what to expect, although more than once I had been told it was nice, so I was really looking forward to seeing it for myself. I did wonder if I would have any trouble finding somewhere to park but I needn't have worried - following the relevant signs led me to a huge cliff top car park at the north end of the bay, and with plenty of free spaces I could take my pick. The charges were reasonable too, so after feeding the meter I gave the dogs a drink and set off to explore new ground.

An opening at the far side of the car park led onto a tarmac slope which in turn led down to the promenade and a wide expanse of flat wet sand which glistened in the sunlight. Further along the sand was broken up by evenly spaced wooden breakwaters, and closer to the promenade was a long stretch of gleaming white stones. Although the promenade was quite busy the beach at that point contained only a handful of families, and the whole scene was very attractive - if this was Bridlington then I liked it so far.



The promenade was split into an upper and lower level, attractively divided by a steep grassy bank of cultivated shrubs and bushes, and with bench seats set at intervals. About halfway along was a kiosk-type ice cream and snack bar with several tables shaded by brightly coloured parasols, and a bit further on I came to the hustle and bustle of the colourful promenade fairground. I spent several minutes watching the log-shaped boats going round the Jungle River ride, and as an experiment decided to test the sports shot facility on my camera, which I had never really used before - and I was happy to see that it worked well, 'freezing' the boats as they rapidly descended the steep slope to the watersplash.

Further along from the fairground the promenade turned a corner and I came to the harbour with its many fishing boats moored alongside the piers and a row of cafes, gift shops and ice cream places along the promenade. I walked right round to the far side of the harbour and back, stopping several times to take shots of the boats - by the time I had got back almost to the fairground it was 6pm and I was feeling rather peckish, so I chose a cafe which didn't look too busy, fastened the dogs to a suitable anchor point near a table, and after looking at a menu went inside to order. I opted to treat myself to an all-day breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived - two large slices of bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, egg, fried bread, bread and butter and large mug of milky coffee, all for £4.40. Can't be bad!

With my hunger satisfied I unfastened the dogs and made my way back along the promenade towards the van, but turning down a slope onto the beach - the dogs had been good and they deserved a run so I walked out to the water's edge where they could play without having too many people around. As soon as I let them off the lead Sophie went mad, running round in ever-increasing circles and generally having the time of her life, while Sugar played with some seaweed near the water. Then Sophie found a small crab and they both spent several minutes burying it and digging it up again before deciding that once it was dead it was no longer any fun.

With their little game over we walked back up the beach to the promenade then with them both back on their leads made our way back to the van, stopping briefly to take my final three photos of the day. My first visit to Bridlington had been a good one, it was a nice little place and I would certainly make a return visit another time.

The drive back to Centenary Way was an easy one and didn't take long, and once settled back in the awning it was time to relax. The dogs must have certainly been tired after all their walking, first round Scarborough and then round Bridlington, as apart from their very brief late night circuit of the site they never moved from their bed all evening.

With no tv or laptop to keep myself occupied I spent the evening reading my book till my eyes decided they didn't want to stay open for much longer - snuggling into my cosy bed my mind drifted over possible plans for the following day, but I didn't get very far before sleep finally overtook my thoughts and I became dead to the world.