Beningbrough, York

With the weather continuing to be warm, and the colours of autumn at their best, we are still getting out and about.

We had an unexpected visit from our friends from Plymouth, Ray and Carolyn, who had towed their caravan up to Yorkshire to stay on a small site near Selby. They had never ventured this far north before so we had so much we wanted to show them. They arrived at our house on Sunday, after getting permission from the site owner to leave their caravan unattended for one night. This was a concession to them, and the maximum allowed, as apparently the lady does not like her visitors to leave their vans unattended through the night. We had booked a table at 'The Seabirds' pub in Flamborough and after an excellent lunch took a much needed walk around the Sculpture Park at South Landing before returning to Bridlington and our harbour. As teatime approached we then made for Sewerby Park to show them the wonderful gardens still looking good especially in the late sun. Then it was home and an evening of catching up on the news, especially about China as this is where we met last year, before retiring.

In the middle of the night we heard them moving around and then all went quiet again. At breakfast next morning we discovered the bed had broken! "We weren't doing anything - we were asleep" was their comment as they apologised. Not a problem as the bed was quite old and we were only sorry they had had their sleep disturbed. It turned out Ray slept on the padding from our sun loungers that I had not yet stored away for winter and Carolyn slept on the small sofa in our hobbies room. If I had only told them, when showing them around, that this was actually a sofa bed!

So we were all up early, which was just as well, as we were going to show them the highlights of Whitby and sample fish and chips in the 'Duke of York' pub overlooking Whitby harbour and the entrance to the marina. We parked up at the Abbey where a strong cold wind was blowing. (So much warmer in Bridlington.) Still as we descended the steps leading down to the narrow streets of the older part of Whitby it felt warmer. We had said we were going to buy some kippers from 'Fortunes' where the fish was still smoked on the premises.

Whilst waiting to enter the small shop Ray and I saw the smoke and dripping tar coming from the upper doors of the adjoining smokehouse. We all came away with a large amount of fish only Carolyn was worried about how many of the cats living on the caravan site would congregate around their van as she cooked their breakfast next day!

After our early lunch, you have to get in early if you want a table by the windows, we left Whitby for Lealholm for a walk around the village. But first we took after afternoon tea in a small tea room by 'Poets Cottage' garden centre. Our route around the village took us to the river. On crossing the stepping stones Carolyn informed us that they had recently visited a stately home where they were not allowed to cross a bridge because their was no safety railings and someone might fall in. So she was pleased to be able to get across the fast lowing river without health and safety stepping in! Back in the car we continued our journey south driving over the North Yorkshire moorland where the vast expanse of purple heather was now a dull shade of brown. Into Rosedale Abbey and out on the Scarborough to Pickering road passing several caravan sites, each one looking like an ideal site for them. In Thornton le Dale Ray asked if we could stop as we had passed a garage full of vintage cars. There was an adjoining museum but time prevented us from visiting. However it was fate we stopped as in the window was a large poster advertising a caravan site not too far away. With some lovely views of the site Carolyn made a note of the telephone number and we guess they will be returning to 'our' Yorkshire in the future. We arrived back home around 5pm and after giving them details of the scenic route back to York we said our goodbyes still laughing about the broken bed!

A few days later we too travelled over to York to visit Beningbrough Hall and gardens. We had to pass along narrow country roads following the signs for the car park entrance to the Hall which

eventually took us through the lovely village of

Beningbrough. Again there was another long drive to reach the car park where already there appeared to be a lot of visitors and the gates had only just opened.

We explored the gardens before going to view the house. Lots of fruit trees as well as vegetables, again the produce was used in the restaurant and sold in the farm shop too, creating a colourful display along with the garden flowers.

A party of young school children were paying a visit and so some of the guides had dressed in period costume.

In one part of the garden children from neighbouring schools and playgroups had been encouraged to plant sunflowers. I hadn't realised how many varieties there were and was able to collect some of the fallen seed from one of the giant variety to see if I could produce the same result in my garden next year.

At lunchtime we decided to visit one of the pubs in the village rather than eat in the 'Garden Restaurant'. We had hoped to visit the small pub set in neat terraced gardens but today it was closed until the evening. Thankfully the other pub was open and we had a pleasant surprise at the surroundings and the menu. A gastro pub and an excellent meal.

Back to the house where once again the audio guide system was provided but this time it was free! The house's speciality is the vast display of portraits shown in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. Set in the various rooms we looked at some familiar faces but most were unfamiliar to us anyway. Visitors were keen to have a go at creating the 'virtual portrait' 18th century style using modern technology so we didn't linger in this large room.

In certain rooms some of the large showcases contained wonderful displays of porcelain. For me it was the bathroom that was the biggest surprise. It looked so modern in this 18th century building. The washbasin and tap could have been designed today. It's so frustrating that we cannot take photos.

Back into the gardens and the outbuildings where we discovered the laundry rooms. All the mod cons of the day were on display such as mangles, irons including a very large mechanical devise in the centre of the room and linen. Apparently there are monthly walks through the gardens and 'meet the laundry maid'. Again another pleasant visit to one of our National treasures.

We decided to call and see Andy and Sue who used to be the landlords of our local pub in Bridlington and now run the 'Spread Eagle' in York. Unfortunately the traffic in York was horrendous and it took about an hour to reach our destination only to find it was shut! Today Andy was having a new central heating system installed. We emailed him when we got home. His reply was he wouldn't have let me in anyway as I wouldn't have made him a chocolate cake!