Runswick Bay

Runswick Bay is on the coast of North Yorkshire, just two miles along from Staithes. It was a sunny day when we visited the other week. We again parked at the top of the hill and walked down. 

Runswick has lots of seaside houses and winding paths that you can weave your way through on your way to the beach. I managed to find a sky blue one. The stretch of beach is quite long and if the tide isn’t too far in, you can make it to the caves where you can find ammonites.

Staithes

Staithes is a little seaside village in North Yorkshire. Parking at the top of the cliffs, you make your way down the steep bank until you reach the village where there are a few little shops and places to eat. We walked along the beach as the tide was coming in quite quickly. There’s a smaller beach nearer to the shops that you can walk on too. You can also walk out into the harbour and look back at the village.

Auckland Castle

Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, originally established as a hunting lodge, was built in 1183 before being demolished and rebuilt hundreds of years later. When we arrived at the castle, there was a wedding taking place so part of the castle was closed off. We did get to look around some of the exhibitions, though, including future plans for the place. The rain stopped us from venturing out around the castle very far so I’m hoping to head back in better weather.

White Horse, Sutton Bank

I went to Sutton Bank the other week to see the white horse. I’ve been to one in Wiltshire but surprisingly not to this one before. We parked at the top of the bank and followed the footpath. I took some photos of the view and was surprised to see how close we were to the gliders. They were just feet away from the path. We watched as the plane took them into the air then let them go to glide on their own – something which I wouldn’t dare to ever do, no matter how good a photo it would make! We got to watch them land too, and it was quite a bumpy landing for a couple of them.

Known as the Kilburn White Horse, it is 314 feet long and 228 feet high. You can get a better view of the horse from the picnic area at the bottom of the hill.