April 2026. Staithes. North Yorkshire.
One of the best stretches of coastline anywhere, I reckon. From Scarborough all the way round to the edge of Middlesbrough, with Whitby the big tourist draw and Staithes and Robin Hoods Bay the day trips.
Not much has changed since our last Staithes stagger in 2017, they still haven’t made the descent from the car park at the Captain Cook any easier,
though I notice the football used in the Seahouses XI v Farnes Islands MMXI (seabirds) fixture has finally washed up in Staithes.
It’s an easy village (pop. 783) to love, hard to capture on film,
so I’ll take pictures of shops selling “room spray made with witch hazel“,
and saws.
The highlight are the little alleys, full of art,
and those views from the pubs. You’ll know the Cod & Lobster,
but the new GBG entry (coming up) seems a bit of a mystery, and I’m amazed that us tickers seem to have missed it before.
Before that, enjoy the sea air,
and play on the rocks, as our lads did when we brought them here 20 years ago.
Life was simpler then.
retiredmartin 
Chicago Dave here: very fond memories of Staithes from back in the 70s. Looks the same: beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unchanging, Dave. When I lived in Cambridge no-one had heard of it; in Sheffield a lot of folk holiday on that coast, though generally Scarborough and Filey. Whitby is still gorgeous but has changed a lot.
LikeLike
Maybe seaside settlements change less than inland ones.
Borth last month wasn’t much different from seaside holidays there two-thirds of a century ago, though posh temperance hotel Panyfedwen was demolished and it’s no longer reached by steam train from Wolverhampton Low Level railway station.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That Boulby mine in Staithes is one of the deepest mines in Europe. So deep the European space agency put detectors down there to protect them from cosmic rays
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are a well of interesting information, Prof. There’s a steel mine museum in Loftus that I’m saving for a special occasion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cod and Lobster a decent place.
LikeLike
Cod not cos. The George is a bit cliquey, but is quite atmospheric.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The George coming up, I missed the cliqueyness !
LikeLike
It’s good for that sort of tourist setting. Packed last Thursday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
After that introductory drum roll, I was hoping that the new GBG pub would be the Hare & Hounds. https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/4224/ Lovely Bombardier when I was there in January 2017, and only £1.60 a pint. I can remember telling my Luton mates about it, and they all pulled a face, but it was absolutely gorgeous.
But of course most CAMRA beer scorers pull the same face, so it hasn’t been scored enough to get in the Guide.
LikeLike
I’ll have a picture of the Fox & Hounds coming up which shows Theakston at only £2.20 a pint, so not much worse. It was in the GBG I think.
LikeLike
We watched the lifeboat tractor taking out the boat a few years ago. Mrs TWM told the lifeboat chap next to us that the driver was doing a better job than the bloke the previous night. He turned to me and said, “I hope your wife never needs a rescue, that bloke was me”.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Awkward !
LikeLike
Ive been to the Royal George a few times. The bar area could do with a few less dos and don’ts posters, though.
LikeLike
Did the staff previously run a B&B in Blackpool?
LikeLike
I confess I missed those, Morten ! Any classic “don’ts” ?
LikeLike
“STOP. Please ask to be seated”, “These toilets are for customer use only”, “No drinking at the bar”. The list goes on… (or it did, when I last visited). Good to see the Theakstone is still going strong, though. On balance, I do prefer the Fox and Hounds. And if we’re adventurous, we can always nip up to Lofthus for a taste of old school charm.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Was there July 2016 for a short stay – hardly a soul about and so many houses looked empty, probably many second properties. That’s a great narrow lane.
LikeLike