The Yorkshire Coast

Mick's got over two weeks holiday to take before the end of March so he's taking a full week off later on in the month and he's taking the rest of the holiday he's due as odd days scattered throughout March, the first of which was taken yesterday. Typical then that the gorgeous weather we'd had in February came to an end, though it wasn't too bad, we avoided any rain. We decided to hop over to the coast to catch our first glimpse of the sea this year.

No one was more happy than Archie, he loves it at the seaside, all that open space to run around in and lots of smelly seaweed to sniff out.

Our first port of call was Bridlington, a place my mum and dad used to take me when I was a child. In fact, I think I've mentioned before that my first steps were taken on Bridlington beach. It's a wonder I didn't hurt my toes on all the stones, though there's plenty of sand too.

Archie looks to be asking if he can go in the sea, he loves paddling.

There were quite a few cormorants about, three of which were balancing on this buoy.

It wasn't long before Archie was getting his feet wet...

...and rolling in the sand to dry off. Just look at that sandy nose!

It was quite chilly when we first arrived but we soon warmed up once we started walking, it was a pleasant day for this time of year even though the mercury wasn't quite reaching the temperatures it had in February.

Archie was in and out of the sea as we wandered along the sand.

I think these seagulls were waiting to see if there were any picnics about, still a bit too cold for that I think.

There were lots of boats in the harbour yesterday.

We spent a couple of hours in Bridlington before travelling a little further north to Filey. The sun had put in an appearance by the time we got there.

Archie enjoyed a bit more rolling on the beach. You wouldn't believe that it's less than six weeks since he was last groomed, he looks like a big woolly bear with his thick winter coat. If I'd known we were going to have such a mild February I'd have asked for a shorter cut. As it is, he's ready for another trim already.

A little further north and we were in Scarborough to finish off our day. The weather was turning decidedly chilly and it was looking rather dull too.

I was surprised that most of the shops and amusement arcades were open with it being out of season, especially midweek, I thought the resort would have closed down for the winter. We visited one of the seafood stalls and purchased a couple of crab sticks for Archie for a treat, he loves them.

Scarborough Castle stands atop high cliffs overlooking the North Sea. The old town, with it's narrow cobbled streets, is nestled below.

Looking from the beach across to the pier you can see Scarborough Lighthouse. You can walk to the end of the pier but we didn't bother yesterday.

I've been wanting to visit the coast for a while so it was nice that we got to spend the day there yesterday. Archie was worn out by the time we got home and slept soundly all night. I'm looking forward to some more lovely days out this month whilst Mick's on holiday. Let's hope the weather cooperates.