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Not fishing in Whitby

Posted by on Thursday 18 August 2011 in goals | 8 comments

I’ve had “go sea fishing” in the North Sea on my goal list last year but faff and disorganisation meant it didn’t happen, so it was pushed onto my goal list for this year. Eight months through the year, faff and disorganisation were at risk of having their way with things again, so rather than postpone any longer, we decided to go risk going in the busy summer holiday period yesterday.

We found an afternoon “taster trip”, took the doggie to her granny & pop-pops’ house for the day (she’s their granddog) and organised our schedule with a good hour/hour-and-a-half buffer zone between getting there and needing to go to the boat, just in case we got lost, got stuck in traffic or had trouble finding a parking space. That hour/hour-and-a-half buffer zone would have covered one or two of those eventualities but, as it turned out, not all three. It took us nearly twice as long to get there as it should have done, and we missed the boat (literally) by about ten minutes. Somewhat annoying.

Lemons/lemonade – we were in Whitby, my favourite seaside town (sorry Southport, you might have birthed me but your sea is, frankly, a bit rubbish) and had already mentally committed to having an afternoon off so we played tourists: a walk on the beach, fish & chips, donuts, some casual jet jewellery window shopping and some serious seagull watching. We parked at the Abbey so got to have a distant gaze at that too.

I also indulged my craft bone with a visit to Bobbins, the mostly yarn/some antiques shop in the shopping area on the east of the harbour. I stroked various yarns before buying some King Cole Riot DK (very nice, even though it’s 70% acrylic).

It’s a shame we didn’t get to go fishing but we still had a jolly pleasant afternoon in the sunshine. We were hoping to actually go fishing next Wednesday but as the Whitby Folk Festival starts next Monday, I suspect it’ll be too busy for us – but we will get there, we will eventually, we will!

(Photo from a previous wintery trip to Whitby – we didn’t think it would be sensible to take an expensive camera out on a fishing trip so didn’t have one yesterday. Imagine the same shot with a brighter blue sky and about a hundred times as many people :) )

UK people – have you been to Whitby? What are your favourite spots there – any recommendations for places to eat/drink for when we do return to fish?

8 Comments

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  1. Mo

    We were at the Coast yesterday too! But didn’t venture into the Hotspots, too busy for us at this time of year :)
    We love Whitby too!

  2. Hazel

    We love Whitby too- memories of some very happy holidays there, just DH and I before the children came along. (Those two statements aren’t connected. I don’t think…)

    Too long ago to give you any suggestions, I’m afraid. We had our first 2 dogs when we camped there, and were so worried that dog #2 (a Great Dane X Lurcher, so not small) wouldn’t settle in the tent we walked him miles along the beach and back. When we finally let him in our 3 man tent he was so knackered he lay down right in the middle and refused to move!

    Hope you finally get some fishing. My ‘Catch Crayfish’ reminder on my to-do list has been a bit like that too; hopefully this weekend…

  3. louisa

    Mo: it was too busy for us too really. We realised about a year ago that our favourite holidays/days out are to reasonably deserted places – taking a holiday from people :)

    Hazel: haha, tired doggy! We haven’t been crayfishing for ages – I wonder if that should go on my goal list too…! :)

  4. Cat

    You should try Marie Antionette’s for gorgeous cakes (Church Street on the way up to the abbey), Trencher’s for the best fish and chips (harbour side) and also venture a couple more miles to Robin Hood’s Bay for it’s quaint streets and rock-pooling on the beach. We camped at Whitby this weekend for 3 nights and it’s me favourite seaside resort too

    • louisa

      Ooh, thanks for all the suggestions Cat – will definitely try out Trenchers and at least drool at the window of Marie Antoinette’s next time we go. We like Staithes the other way up the coast from Whitby but I do want to go to Robin Hood’s Bay at some point – rock pooling rules :)

  5. Su

    I don’t have a favourite seaside spot, but Louisa, I have to agree with you, the sea at Southport is something of a disappointment! The last dog I had loved water, so I took him to see the sea, or so I thought! A full hours worth of walking, towards what should have been the sea, and I still couldn’t see it, so we gave up & went home. Poor thing never did get to see the sea!

    • louisa

      Heh, poor dog. At least we got Lily out to the sea last time we went – we went on at Birkdale (south from the pier) and it was still a 20minute walk from the edge-of-beach car park to the sea. That was not far off high tide too.

      I lived in Southport for 18 years and have been visiting for the last 14 and I think that’s possibly the third time I’ve been in the sea there.

      I have vague recollections that the closer you get to Formby point (Ainsdale, Freshfield near the squirrels or Formby itself), the beach/sea ratio is better but I think my brain is just tricking me to prevent me from actually registering how crap my hometown is when it comes to maritime enjoyments ;)

  6. Bertiewhite

    I knew somebody would say “Trenchers”. Yes Trenchers is very good if you don’t mind paying around £9 for just a not-very-big portion of Fish & Chips.

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