Monday 5th October 2020 – The Magpie Cafe
Before leaving for Whitby we had booked a table at the Magpie Cafe. This is the highly recommended place to go in Whitby for fish and chips. COVID restrictions had made it no longer possible to queue outside for a table. We had been lucky and manged to get a a table booked for the time we wanted.
We all had cod and chips with a side order of mushy peas and I had a started of a couple of oysters – all washed down with Peroni lager.
Tuesday 6th October 2020 – Staithes
Our first place to visit outside of Whitby was Staithes. This is a small village built around a natural harbour. Interestingly the village is divided into two counties by the Staithes Beck. We were directed to park into the alternate car park on page 11. This promised a walk down past Cowbar and a classic view of the beck.
It was a long walk from the car park along Cowbar Lane past the closed path up to headland called Cowbar Nab. This is closed because of erosion and dangerous cliff edges. The descent down into the village was very steep.
To the right you can see Staithes Beck…
… and the narrow bridge across the beck to main half of the village.
We stayed on the North side of the beck and walked past the lifeboat station to beneath Cowbar Nab.
We then came to the North side of the harbour.
Looking across the harbour we could see the Cod and Lobster – our ultimate destination !
After crossing the footbridge over the beck this lady was busy sketching.
Her name was Jo Morton and here is her website.
The High Street in Staithes is both narrow and cobbled with houses close by on both sides.
We sat outside the Cod and Lobster in the sunshine and enjoyed a welcome cup of tea.
In front us we had a great view of the harbour and Cowbar Nab
Along the harbour we watched fishermen loading their boats and came across Captain Cook’s Cottage.
I voluntererd to go back up the north side of the beck to collect the car and come back down the usual way into Staithes to pick everyone up at the other car park. The hill looked even steeper going back up!
Looking back down Cowbar Lane towards Staithes.
