redbeardtravels Blog Posts
- What about Whitby? 10For all the fuss made over sunsets and the 'golden hours' when the sun is low in the sky and producing abundant raking light, there are plenty of photo opportunities after sunset. A 'blue hour' often follows between sunset and dusk, topped off by the...
- What about Whitby? 8Runswick Bay turned out to be the surprise highlight of our Yorkshire trip, a crescent-shaped bay fringed by golden sand with an old fishing village at one end and cliffs pockmarked by caves at the other. The road coming down the steep hill funnelle...
- What about Whitby? 7Another day in Whitby, another day for a walk! After clocking up the miles to Robin Hood's Bay and back, we felt entitled to cheating a bit and saved our bloody stumps by taking the bus a half hour up the road for the start of our next ramble along t...
- What about Whitby? 6What better way to work off those pies and pints than a 12-mile hike? Whitby is surrounded by prime walking country: with non-stop sunshine and 70 degrees the entire week of our stay there was no excuse to sit indoors. With a few hours to spare, ther...
- What about Whitby? 5You won’t go hungry in Whitby. Whether it’s the freshest possible fish and chips, high-class bistro dining or a nightcap at one of the many pubs, there are drinking and eating options to satisfy any hour of the day and every budget. Not to mentio...
- What about Whitby? 4Some 120 years ago while standing in the churchyard on this wind-blown clifftop, Bram Stoker gazed down to the wreck of a Russian ship on the rocks below his perch. Surrounded by crumbling gravestones, Stoker imagined what might have caused the wreck...
- What about Whitby? 3Those early Christians sure knew their real estate. Almost anywhere you wander in Whitby, the ancient remains of the abbey lurk on the horizon. It features in many of my photos from visit. Having said that, in this particular photo the ruins are no...
- What about Whitby? 2On that particular day, crowds were gathering under grey skies two hundred and fifty miles away to the south of us in London, hoping to catch a glimpse of Britain's balding prince as he married his paper plates heiress. Meanwhile in Whitby, it seem...
- Treat yourself to a little luxury...Quite a few of my photographs are featured on The Parlour, a website which I designed for some lovely ladies here in Lancashire who can't wait to knit you something! ...
- What about Whitby?If Mother Nature and a deflated cushion had not intervened, the plan for day two of our Yorkshire camping adventure was for us to pitch our tent in a field on a dairy farm (and taking a shower in a cow shed - needless to say, the tent has long since...
- Gluttons for punishment 2Eye mask? Check. Earplugs? Check and...(fumble around in the dark)...check. Wadded-up sweaty T-shirt for a pillow? Check. With comforts like these, who can resist camping? I must have passed out in a stupor at some point because I remember dreaming...
- Gluttons for punishmentSome people may call me a cheap bastard, but I prefer to think of myself as a 'resourceful red-headed stepchild.' Despite the sleepless night on our first camping expedition, pitching up the tent where we did had much to recommend it: fresh air, love...
- Witch way from here? 2By now it was late afternoon and the light was mellowing. The sky was still clear, a breeze tickled the leaves of the oak tree and swallows swooped about. We had camped near a tiny brook and a tree on the other side was breaking down with apples. A c...
- Witch way from here?Trapped on a hillside in the pitch blackness, the wind whistling through the trees, surrounded by wild animals, with nothing between us and the vermin but two layers of fabric: yes, we had gone CAMPING! A few weeks before we had been in a shop and n...
- Madrid one more time 18Well folks, that about wraps up our trip to Madrid. For our final night in the city we called into one last art gallery, had drinks under the stars, revisited our favourite tapas place and found the city still going strong long after midnight. Comin...
- Toledo practicalities Return tickets to Toledo on the superfast AVE train from Atocha station in Madrid were €18 at the time, when bought the day before (be prepared to queue). The journey takes 30 minutes. Travellers on the train are required to have a seat and...
- Madrid one more time 17Toledo’s old town deserves its UNESCO World Heritage status by virtue of its network of medieval streets: a dense labyrinth of cobbled alleys, stepped streets and dead-ends. It’s a confusing jumble to navigate, compounded by hilly terrain and the...
- Madrid one more time 16Toledo is a bit like Jerusalem in that Jews, Muslims and Christians all endowed the city with prominent religious sights. Sometimes a single building shows influences of all three, like Santa Maria la Blanca which was initially a synagogue (albeit on...
- Madrid one more time 15The fascist dictator General Franco left one admirable legacy to Spain: the cheap three-course lunch. Come midday and practically every eating establishment in the country advertises their menu del dia, a filing lunch with wine on the side. There w...
- Madrid one more time 14For someone who spends most Sunday mornings making pancakes and brewing decaff coffee, on my travels I always make a point to have a look inside the local church. They have free wine!I’ve ticked off quite a few German doms, Italian duomos and Engli...
