O I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside...
Interesting things spied on the way to Scarborough:
Daffodils everywhere. Along the roadside, in the parks, they grow like weeds. And they're all in full bloom right now. So are the trees. I had to ask my uncle what the ones with the huge flowers were. I don't think I've seen magnolias bloom before.
York. The bus went through the centre of town, and stopped at the rail station, which is one of those wonderful old sandstone edifices. When we passed it again on the way home, after sunset, it was all lit up like something out of a fairytale. York is full of interesting little streets that have been there forever. I made a mental note to have a proper visit at some future date.
Scagglethorpe. The most ridiculously northern name for a place that I have ever witnessed. I can't help imagining some sort of grudge or rivalry with one of the nearby villages over whose name was more authentically Yorkshire. Clearly Scagglethorpe pwn'd them, whoever they may be (Rillington perhaps? That sounds suitably posh...).
Animals. The bus passed a pig farm, and some of the pigs had piglets. Even I have to admit that piglets are cute. On the trip back, around dusk, there seemed to be rabbits everywhere. Not the jack-rabbits I'm used to, these were proper little Peter Cottontail lookalikes. They were adorable. (Aside: I can't wait until I meet my first hedgehog!)
There seemed to be a lot of corvids about. I remembered that they were the King's birds, and for a moment, the trees twisted imperceptibly, and I seemed to see into some other, wilder place. Even in the bright spring sunshine, it isn't difficult to imagine a dark figure lingering somewhere just out of sight, or catch glimpses of the ragged black cloak between crooked, bare branches.
Then at last I reached Scarborough, and there it was, the sea:
I had a proper look around:
Spotted some buccaneers:
Then made good use of my camera's waterproof feature:
I played in the sand, and had a picnic of peanut butter and bananas on crackers, and enjoyed the sunshine and the fresh air. After dinner, I wandered up the beach.
The waterfront is all casinos and bars, bright lights, garish colours and noise. Mercifully, tourist season has not yet hit. I found a toy shop and bought a kite. The wind had died down, and my kite seemed to be inside out, but eventually I got it to work, and had fun running along the sand to keep it airborne.
I collected some seaweed to experiment with in making soup.
Then the sun began to sink, and I decided it was time for an ice cream before catching the bus.
Oh, also? This:
All in all, a fantastic day.