Whitby

With this good weather we have been having we headed for the seaside, to the busy town of Whitby. We lose track of what day it is most of the time, until we turn up somewhere and realise it is the weekend and everyone else is out exploring with us for a change.

Whitby was a cool place - although it did seem to have a different feel depending on what side of the river you where on... South side - old cobbled streets, antique shops, old inns and tea shops, plus the ruined Abbey. North side - perhaps a bit commercial? Fish and chip shops, amusement arcades, Dracula 'experiences'! But all in all we liked it a lot.

We were staying in Lythe, a small village just outside Whitby. It was freezing once the sun went down, so we spent the evening playing cards in the local pub. When we got back to the tent that evening, we got the binoculars out as the night sky was amazing. We were right next to the sea and the North York Moors national park, so not a lot of light pollution. The Milky Way was a bright band across the sky, and we had a good look at Jupiter with it's moons, the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters, as well as the Andromeda galaxy (and you could see it with the naked eye - always a sign of a nice dark site).