Filey Brigg Caravan Site - Days 78 - 84 of our Autumn/Winter Tour

Filey Brigg Caravan Site - Days 78 - 84 of our Autumn/Winter Tour

Monday 29th November 2021 ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ⛅❄️ 

This is what our campsite at Cannock looked like on Sunday after a large dump of snow overnight Friday to Saturday, and then another on Sunday afternoon.  But despite the very cold and icy conditions  we were all packed up and ready to travel by about 10.30 on Monday morning ...... only to find that when John tried to start the car it was as dead as a 'doh doh' ⚰️ 🪦😠

Therefore, we had no choice other than to phone a friend the AA 🛻 but that was easier said than done!  It was impossible to pick up any sort of phone signal from inside the van but I did manage to find one by standing outside 🥶, but as you might guess, when I got through it was only to be told by a mechanical voice that 'there was a large volume of calls and I was in a queue'. 30 minutes later I did actually speak to a real person but only very briefly because before I could state our problem I lost my signal and the call died 🤬!  

So at that point I went to ask for help from  the site wardens who were extremely helpful and let me use their landline.  Unfortunately, that resulted in another 20 minute wait until I could arrange the assistance we needed - and even then I was told it could take until 3pm in the afternoon before anybody would be with us!  

So at that point we decided to settle in and stay at Cannock for another night, but in the event our wait wasn't as bad as forecast because the AA van rolled up at about 1.30pm. Then the chap did the usual checks, told us our battery was flat (which we already knew), and that it was also about knackered and shouldn't be relied upon!  He then jumped back into his van and nipped off to Cannock to fetch us a new one and once that was fitted we were all fixed and  ready for our onward journey to Filey Brigg! 

Tuesday 30th November 2021 ☁☁☁⛅⛅⛅⛅ and much warmer

This morning when we pulled our blinds back we found a lot of the snow had melted just leaving behind muddy patches and large pools of water, but we were quite happy with that and just glad to see the back of all the treacherous ice.  And by 9.30 we were packed up once again and waving goodbye to the site wardens at Cannock as we set of on our 160 mile journey to Filey Brigg Campsite, which happily went without a hitch!  

When we arrived we were directed to a hard standing pitch along the back of the site, and initially we felt a bit disappointed because even though we'd paid to be able to put our awning up this was impossible because the pitch was made of solid concrete pavers and we couldn't peg it down.  But it was no good complaining because the only alternative would have been to pitch on the grass and that was so wet and muddy that it wasn't really an option.  However, in the end it was a VERY good job that we hadn't put it up because overnight the wind picked up with massive ferocity that would probably have damaged the awning or us if we'd had to go out in the dark to try and rescue it!

Wednesday 1st December 2021 🐇🐰🐇 💨🌧️ 💨💨🌧️💨

Well, that was a bad night and the wind and intermittent lashing rain never really abated all day.  It positively howled around the van buffeting and rocking us until we almost felt sea sick, and the bad news was that it was going to continue for most of Wednesday night as well.  

However, we did manage to nip down into Filey for a walk along the prom without getting too wet - but to say the least, it was bracing😂😂!  Our plan had been to go home and have some lunch and then to walk the other way out onto the Brigg, but unfortunately that had to wait for another day because, other than getting soaked to the skin, there was no chance! But 'hey ho' we've still got 12 days to go so🤞 things will get better.

Thursday 2nd December 2021 ⛅⛅⛅🌧️ 💨💨🌧️💨

As expected we had another bad night, and if anything, it was worse than the one before😱!  However, by morning the sun was occasionally peaking through (although the wind still hadn't abated), so we quickly donned our walking boots and nipped out onto the Brigg! 

Filey Brigg

Filey Brigg is a long narrow peninsula of steep cliffs that stick out into the North Sea about a mile north of Filey town.  The landward end of the peninsula is known as Carr Naze whilst the long neck of rock at the seaward end is call the 'Brigg', and since the early 1970's it has been backed by the fields of Filey Brigg Country Park.  

The Brigg also forms the spectacular meeting place of 2 National Trails; to the north The Cleveland Way runs for 110 miles, and the other way the Wolds Way runs 79 miles before it terminates at Hessle near the Humber Bridge, so between the two we should have plenty of choice for coastal path walking (if the weather lets us!)

However, back to today and along the Brigg path we had spectacular views of boiling cauldrons of heaving waves as they pounded up against the shelving rocks on the Scarborough side of the peninsula, but on the other side the water was much calmer as it headed towards Filey beach. 

A Rainbow that was the result of Sea Spray

Along the way there were several info boards telling about the geological formation of the Brigg, and how in times gone by it was much broader than the path we were walking today.  They went on to tell about multiple land slips that had occurred over the years, and as we gazed down towards the waves it was easy to see how the land was being claimed.  However, I found one of fanciful  legends more entertaining!  That explained that the rocks were the bones of a dragon who used to terrorise the area, but it seems he was outsmarted by the townsfolk because they drowned him when he dived into the sea to wash 'parkin' (Yorkshire Cake) from between his teeth!

The Tip of the Brigg

When we got to the end of the Brigg we sat and watched the fierce waves for a short while, but by being still the icy tendrils of wind soon crept down our necks and made us shiver so that ensured we were soon heading home for lunch, but on the way we did manage to do a bit of bird spotting. 

A Red Shank

And just 2 of the many hundreds of oyster catches that were grazing on the fields of the park

Friday 3rd December 2021 ⛅⛅☁☁☁☁☁☁

Well, thank goodness for that!  The gale force winds seem to have finally settled. but from our window we can still see what could be snow on the hills beyond Filey.  Additionally, we didn't have to be out long before we noticed a proper winter nip in the air, but that didn't stop us from setting of on another outing!  We wrapped up snug and headed for a car park at the beginning of Scarborough's South Shore and then headed steeply downhill before passing  by the Grand Scarborough Spa which dates back to the Victorian Era.  

 

Queen Victoria watching over Scarborough Town 

Scarborough Lighthouse

After a short walk along the South Beach Prom we sauntered up into the town to do a bit of window shopping before wending our way through some fairly tatty back streets as we headed for the far end of the North Bay.  Then we had the pleasure of traversing along Scarborough's Marine Drive which runs around Scarborough's sticky out bit, where on one side there are steep cliffs where seagulls squawk and where Scarborough Castle is mounted, and on the other, the pounding waves of the North Sea splash up onto the pavement and wet the unwary through to the skin.

It was also here that we reintroduced ourselves to Freddie Gilroy who passed away back in 2008.  The info board told us that he was born into a family of 6 children in County Durham in 1921, and that he was the son of a very poor mining family.  When he reached adulthood he followed in his father's footsteps and became a bricklayer at the local colliery building walls to prevent water from flooding the shafts.  Additionally, he was also a member of the Territorial Army so when the war started he was immediately called up into active service resulting in him initially serving with The Royal Artillery, and then later he became a Regimental Police Officer.  In 1945 he was amongst those who took surrender of a concentration camp near Hamburg which was known as the Bergen Belson, and there he met unimaginable horrors!  Even before they got to the site they were met with the stench of rotting bodies which they could smell from more than 3 miles away, and the camp was riddled with typhus, dysentery and TB which resulted in the death of many thousands of men.  

And after that sobering event we made our way back to South Bay with the intention of finding Harry Ramsden's for posh Fish and Chips ......... and we did get Fish and Chips but not of the variety we wanted.  When we got to the restaurant it was 'no more' 😭, and in it's place  was a Takeaway called Papa's, so as we were hungry we decided it would have to do!  The food wasn't bad but rather than eating outside we were guided to a scruffy dark cafe where we could sit and eat our food, but even that turned out to be a bit on the greasy side!

Then once fed (but not watered) we made our way back towards our car but only to find part of the prom was now being doused with large quantities of seawater as the heavy sea washed up onto it.  Therefore, a long climb was required back up onto Scarborough's high cliffs and that was maybe a good thing because the trail then also took us through the very pretty maze of the Italian Gardens.  

Not really at their best today but I'm sure they would be spectacular in Spring and Summer.

Saturday 4th December 2021  🌞🌞🌞☁☁☂☂☂

Today our short outing was to RSPB's Bempton Cliffs, a place we've visited several times before but we've never seen it as quite as it was today.  And I'm not talking about people, although there wasn't many of them either.  When we've been there before it's always been a screaming metropolis of gannets, razor bills and guillemots as they all compete for nesting space to raise their young, however at this time of year ,they've all disappeared and all that were left were lots of common pigeons and fulmars which some may say are less interesting.   

But during our muddy and chilly walk (the wind was arctic) we learnt a few interesting facts about the latter!  It seems that they have a fancy beak with tube like nostrils that allow them to smell their dinner from 15 miles away - maybe similarly to us smelling fish and chips in Scarborough!  Additionally, fulmars protect themselves by spitting sticky and very stinky stomach oils at their enemies so it would definetely be a mistake to upset one!

 As we walked we once again admired the magnificent cliff formations but we were also saddened to see some of the materials that were woven into the old bird's nests - lots of plastics and other man made materials. 

Sunday 5th December 2021  ⛅⛅⛆ 🌧️ ⛅ ⛅🌧️🌧️🌧️

It was definetely a shower dodging day today so it took us till about 11am to venture out, and then we settled for another walk down into Filey and a bit further beyond.   

As we traversed along Filey Prom we met Finlay - a steel giant sculpture  described as 'High Tide in Short Wellies', and put there to represent the decline of the Filey fishing industry!

Then a little further along we came across 'A Beach Hut'

That had been put there to reflect the heritage of Filey as a posh Edwardian seaside town!  At that time people would bathe in the sea for therapeutic reasons, but it wouldn't have been the 'done thing' to be seen in any state of undress!  Therefore, the hut would have been drawn down to the water's edge so that the occupant could step down into the water thus preserving their dignity. 

Next we tripped down steep steps and then straight back up again into Glen Gardens where we found a wooden structure that we first thought was a seal with a long neck!  However, when we read the info it was identified as a Plesiosaur which had been carved using a chain saw.  Apparently, in 2001 a 149 million year old skeleton of a similar creature had been found close by in the clay soil near Speeton. 

From the park we continued on our way along what looked like a new section of coastal path that ran alongside a golf course, and then because the sky was looking quite 'iffy' we decided to start our homeward trek.  And for that we descended down to the beach and made our way home along the sands, and once again our timing was good because very soon after we closed our door the heavens opened again!

Bye for now 😘

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