A Family Gathering in Scarborough

22 - 31 July 2006

Scarborough in the sunshine. Scene of family holidays in the past for many our two families and chosen as the ideal place to gather four generations of our rather complicated family for a week of fun. It's not easy to get so many people together in one place when they are scattered from California to Halifax (UK, not Nova Scotia)and we have a little chuckle when people ask if we will be moving nearer the children when we retire - possibly a light ship in mid-Atlantic would do the trick?

Eventually, after nearly a year of planning we managed to collect 15 in one place, with ages ranging from 81 to 3. Even then, not everyone could make the full week and various people had to leave early or arrive late, but we were so pleased to see them for whatever time they could manage.

The pictures below show some of the highlights and we've tried to make sure everyone is identified at some point.

Enjoy!

The North Bay which is the quiet part of Scarborough , looking down from the castle on the left and towards the castle on the right. A beach which is washed by the sea at every tide and so has lovely firm sand which cuts down on sand in the sandwiches.

There is a panoramic photo of South Bay on the second page of this web site - see the panel to the left.

There's plenty to do in Scarborough and lots to see - though I don't think anyone tried out the rather smelly waters from the spring (bottom middle photo) which were at one time considered therapeutic.

We rented these beautiful four cottages at Row Farm, just on the edge of the town. As you can see from the pictures, it is a beautiful little complex with a courtyard and, behind the single storey cottage on the left, is an orchard where we ate most evenings. Each family unit had a cottage with separate garden, where they could retreat, though there was a lot of visiting to and fro.

Top left : Joy and Simon. Joy is Alan's Mother's cousin and Simon is his grandson - don't anyone ask what Simon and Joy's relationship is, please. Thanks to Dave for the photo.

Top centre : No seaside holiday is complete without time on the beach.

Top Right : Vicky (R) and Rosie (L) - rather wet! An impromptu dip in the sea, fully clothed.

Bottom left : Alan, Tara and Simon concentrate on their sand castle. Dave's photo.

Bottom middle : Tara and Simon test the waters.

Bottom Right : Mike and Pat - another wet pair.

Relaxing at the cottages. Clockwise from top left – Mike, Tara, Fish and chips on the first night, More of the family enjoying fish and chips, Jay.

The barbecue on the Sunday evening. Jay and Mike cooked for us all and we sat around eating and drinking till late before the younger members of the party started a noisy and animated game of Spy Alley.

Bottom left : Daniel, Luke and Simon – the rising generation. Following round in a clockwise direction : Jay and Mike at the barbecues, Mike, the clan, Rosie and Pat, Luke, Vickie.

In the centre, the stars of the show - kebabs!

The North York Moors Railway. Steam trains!

Bottom right is Jay on his first experience of driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road for him as he drove the minibus on winding English roads. He took the group photo.

Carrying on via a boring diesel train, we spent most of the day in Whitby where the 199 steps to St Hild’s Abbey were climbed by the younger members, before returning on the railway to drive home.

On the Tuesday, Joy left us and Katheryn and Orion (bottom left) arrived, meeting us in York for a day’s sightseeing.

We just had to have tea in Betty's before the drive back to Scarborough.

Grandad Alan and Simon, Rosie and Daniel, An Italian restaurant in Scarborough - included to show Dave who is more often behind a camera than in front of one, Jessica and Simon. Thanks to Dave and Victoria for their photos used.

The South Bay at Scarborough was reached on an open top bus and is a bustling area, packed with amusement arcades and cafés. Towards the far end, a cliff lift takes passengers up to an area of fine crescents and the Rotunda Museum - one of the finest geological museums in England and, sadly, closed for restoration.

Fountains Abbey is one of our favourite places. The largest Monastic ruin in England, it has a history going back to 1132 when a A dispute and riot at St Mary's Abbey in York led 13 monks to leave and seek a more peaceful life. They moved from the Benedictine order to that of the Cistercians but the simple life didn't appear to last and the estate grew to 882 acres (330 hectares) by the time Henry VIII dissolved the Monasteries.

Today peace reigns again and, despite 300,000 visitors a year, the estate is so vast that you can take a solitary walk even in the height of summer.

A few of the other areas at Fountains Abbey and The Studley Royal Estate

The group of us who visited Fountains Abbey, just before we headed for Scarborough once more.

Vickie, Jay and Jessica set off home for Kentucky on the Friday and on the Saturday, the rest packed up and then visited Scarborough Castle where there was a medieval tournament and then to Peasholme Park to witness the miniature naval battle - no longer The Royal Navy against the Germans, but against an unnamed enemy.

Since 1927 (except when hostilities moved to the bigger stage during World War II) the battle has been held twice weekly.

The ships are scale models around 6 metres long, the main ones having a young man sat inside operating battery-powered propellors and pyrotechnics simulating explosions.

Dave, Tara and Simon travelled back to Halifax for an extra day and visited the Eureka! Museum on the Sunday before facing the delights of a baggage handling problem at Manchester Airport on the Monday on their way back to California.

Tired but happy! A lovely holiday and there are plans afoot to repeat it in the West Country in two years time.

Watch this space.

PS Have a look at the second page listed in the panel to the left - a panoramic photo of South Bay, Scarborough.