November 2019 – Cornwall and Yorkshire
We had not planned to do much in November after quite a busy October. However, we found a great offer on a hotel in Newquay Cornwall (The Kilbirnie) so we decided to go for 3 nights. We drove down via Looe for a lunch time walk and a pasty beside the harbour.
We then had a leisurely drive to Newquay. The hotel was great value but would not be our scene in the busy season! The weather was iffy but we walked into town and found a Curry House for supper we were seated by a large window and had a good view of the Newquay fireworks display. The following morning we drove to Truro to visit the Cathedral and wander around the town centre. It was pleasant despite it being cold and showery. We then drove to the village of Frogpool and the Cornish Arms where we met Dave and Pam Nelmes for lunch. It was lovely to catch up with them and enjoy a really pleasant lunch together. The next day brought slightly better weather so we drove to Mevagissey for a nostalgic visit (But we did not have our usual pasty). Our walk was limited because access to the main breakwater was blocked for resurfacing. Nevertheless the weather stayed reasonable for the duration of our walk. After Mevagissey we crossed to the northern coast and spent a pleasant hour walking around Padstow. The good thing about both places was the lack of tourists! We got back to our hotel just after lunch and went for a long walk through Newquay to the headland on the western end of the town. Once again we were fortunate with the weather.
We returned to Fairford for Remembrance Weekend and then left for Yorkshire on Monday morning. The weather forecast was not good and there was much flooding in parts of Yorkshire, We stayed once again at the cottage attached to the Pear Tree Bed and Breakfast in Pickering. Despite the weather and very wet ground we managed walks from Grosmont to Goathland along the track of the old railway line and also our usual Farndale walk. The walk along the Dale beside the river was on a decent path and so quite pleasant given the soaked state of the ground. We came across a couple of lines of quite spectacular fungi. If only we had the confidence to pick and cook them!
Surprisingly, it only rained for the last half a mile of the Farndale walk but we were wearing full wet weather gear and so were perfectly OK. The views were lovely and quite autumnal. Although, to be honest, it would have been better if the weather had been drier and crisper rather than damp.
BUT when we were getting changed in the car park at the end of the walk we were treated to a double rainbow.
On another day we travelled by bus into York and had a lovely lunch with friends who had travelled from Thorner. They had booked a table at a small French restaurant and we were certainly not disappointed. Our other day was spent taking the bus from Pickering to Whitby where we followed our usual pattern of wandering around the town before a leisurely lunch at The Magpie. Notice the lovely view of the Abbey from one of the streets on the other side of the estuary.
We thoroughly enjoyed both of our November breaks!
