Robin Hood's Bay Victorian Weekend

We were going to visit the Victorian Weekend at Robin Hood's Bay last year but it was the weekend when Storm Darragh hit and that spoilt our plans so we decided to try again this year. 

It was sunny and bright as we set off but heavy rain was forecast later in the day. A thick fog appeared as we headed over the North York Moors but this lifted as we came out the other side and the village of Robin Hood's Bay was bathed in sunshine.

Robin Hood's Bay is an historic fishing village on Yorkshire's east coast. It's known for its steep cobbled lanes.

On the weekend of the 6th and 7th of December, the village turned back the clock for their Victorian Weekend, an annual event established in 1994, where residents and visitors dress up in Victorian costume. We didn't, but plenty did!

There was a real feeling of days gone by with all the period attire, there were even military figures in Victorian costume enjoying a drink and a game of cards in the local hostelry.

A choir was singing carols and another folk group were singing sea shanties.

This lady was playing the concertina. She was really good.

A beck, or small stream, runs through the village and flows into the sea on the slipway.

This culvert, on the very left of the photo, on the beach is the discharge point of the beck. Robin Hood's Bay has a history of smuggling and it's said that there's a whole network of tunnels underneath the village with false walls and disguised openings which were to cover up the flow of goods and make them difficult to track. Apparently, you're able to get from the bottom of the village to the very top without setting foot above ground.

I was expecting it to be a cold day but it was actually rather mild so we decided to have a walk along the beach. Plenty of other people had the same idea as us, and as the tide was out, there were a lot of people rockpooling too.

Robin Hood's Bay is a popular spot for fossil hunters too. Ammonites, belemnites and devil's toenails can all be found here, along with jet. We didn't find any but there's always interesting stones.

We called into The Higgledy Pig, what a great name, where Mick stocked up on some Whitby rum. He's got quite the rum collection from many different places.

I love how quirky the village is with so much to see. I didn't really photograph the many ginnels, snickets and alleyways on this visit but I wrote a post about Robin Hood's Bay last year and you can see more there.

I love a blue plaque, this one is placed on the cottage where Leo Walmsley lived. Leo Walmsley was an author, known for his fictional Bramblewick series, though I've never heard of him myself.

All the cottages in Robin Hood's Bay are so individual, and so are the doors. I loved the wreath here, just simple berries.

And then I saw this one, isn't it fabulous, both the door and the wreath!

Rose Cottage, so pretty.

Before we left we popped into St Stephen's Church.

The church was hosting a Christmas tree festival.

It was a lovely day out but sadly, this was the last Victorian Weekend as the current organisers are stepping down and there's no interest for anyone to take over. The fog swept in once again as we headed for the moors on our way home and the heavy rain, which had been forecast, finally materialised. At least this last Victorian weekend had been able to go ahead and was enjoyed by many.