Helmsley in North Yorkshire is a delightful place and I am sorry to be leaving
It's 8.30am on Sunday morning, day 15 on my Round the Coast in 80 days road trip, and in Helmsley market square the church bells are pealing while competing with the roar and throbbing of motorbike engines.
The bikes are huge and expensive, BMW and Harleys, and their riders strutting their stuff like modern day Vikings. Cafes are already open for breakfast. By lunchtime the market square will be crammed with them. Why? Why here? The B1257.
Tragically some of the riders have the new look of Sunday bikers who sit behind a desk in a bank in Leeds all week. They are the ones who may not make it safely home tonight. Fingers crossed lads and may angels ride pillion.
Helmsley has some kind of meeting this week to stop the Government licensing Fracking in their neighbourhood. The locals are very worried. I can't understand why there is a need to frack in Yorkshire or anywhere else for that matter.
Just convert cars to run on rape seed oil. Job done!
There is a place near here close to my heart. It is the smallest turf maze in Europe. It was on my way back to the coast so I detoured to find it. It is on the top of a hill near the village of Dalby, and not signposted.
These are rare and historically precious. I was bitterly disappointed to discover that, whereas in the past it has been beautifully maintained by North Yorkshire Council, sadly this was not at all the case today.
I sent them a plea citing the fact that I had recommended them to Eastbourne Borough Council as part of my bid to have one constructed in Eastbourne new town centre. I am awaiting their response.
Got to County Durham and tried to reach the coast but at Easingham Colliery got to a dead end and kept being funnelled back onto the A19 so gave up. Sorry folks. Saw nothing much of the county but the A19 instead.
Once I got to Northumbria I was in serious sand dune country.
This is not my next Airbnb stop…this is Seaton Delaval Hall where I spent the afternoon.
No point having National Trust membership and not taking advantage of it.
The best bit was the Seaton sluice Ukulele Band who were there entertaining the visitors.
Perhaps I will take it on with my local Age Concern group after all.
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is my home for the next three days in a flat, called appropriately Bolthole by The Sea. My host Elaine is welcoming and the flat light and bright.
It's just two minutes walk from the sea. I am looking forward to spending some time exploring this bit of the coast.
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