Whitby, we miss you and why we can’t wait to return

From: Philip Simpson, Leeds.
Readers are looking forward to returning to Whitby after the Covid-19 lockdown.Readers are looking forward to returning to Whitby after the Covid-19 lockdown.
Readers are looking forward to returning to Whitby after the Covid-19 lockdown.
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I WAS born in Sleights and now live in Leeds and one of the things I am looking forward to is a trip with my wife to Whitby, one of our favourite places to visit (Susan Briggs, The Yorkshire Post, April 25).

As we near the top of Blue Bank and see Whitby before us, it brings back many happy memories and expectations of a grand day-out.

Readers of The Yorkshire Post are looking forward to returning to Kilnsey Crag.Readers of The Yorkshire Post are looking forward to returning to Kilnsey Crag.
Readers of The Yorkshire Post are looking forward to returning to Kilnsey Crag.
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Our first stop is River Gardens Café. We sit next to the river with tea and home-made cake. There is a chance of seeing a kingfisher or even a steam train. Then a potter around the garden centre.

Then into Whitby – a stroll along the narrow streets, a taste of salt on the lips, seagulls making a noise as if to greet us. We pop into Becketts Café, on Skinner Street – more tea and home-made cake – and are made to feel welcome as if they knew us as friends.

More pottering around, then fish and chips at Hadleys, on Bridge Street. Even though they are busy, a smile greets you.

Reluctant to leave as the day ends, I take a Whitby Gazette to read at home and some fudge from Justins as we reflect (and day dream) on a grand day out in Whitby and more wonderful memories – until the next time.

Whitby's empty streets have been emblematic of the whole county during the Covid-19 lockown.Whitby's empty streets have been emblematic of the whole county during the Covid-19 lockown.
Whitby's empty streets have been emblematic of the whole county during the Covid-19 lockown.

From: Fiona Rusling, Sheffield.

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I AM a second homeowner. I have a home in Swaledale and a home in Sheffield. Which one is my second home? Difficult to say. In a normal working week, we spend Sunday night until Thursday lunchtime in Sheffield, where we work, and Thursday lunchtime until Sunday night, possibly Monday morning, in Swaledale.

Our home in Swaledale is designed around family gatherings and our home in Sheffield is designed for two working people who are out all day and away at the weekend. Lockdown hit when we were in Sheffield with our daughter who was working from home. Now we all are.

So what is top of my wishlist? Space. Watching the seasons spread through the Dale. Caring for my trees in the garden. Seeing the lambs, or is that already too late? Seeing my neighbours again, although the village WhatsApp group is fantastic. Ramsey’s fish and chips on Friday evenings. Reeth market. The flower meadows. The birds on our feeders. The anomalous brilliance of cock pheasants in the fields. Delightful dinners at The CB, the Punchbowl, The Burgoyne. Checking out the Swale which is different every day depending on the weather. Mostly, however, my garden. That’s top of my wishlist.

From: Granville Thwaites, Leeds.

WHEN I was young, my experience of the Yorkshire Dales was limited. However, things changed when I went to secondary school and my form master arranged various trips to the Dales.

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The trip I went on was to Upper Wharfedale. We stopped to admire Kilnsey Crag and later looked round the little church at Hubberholme, then picnicked beside the infant River Wharfe before taking a hike over Cam Fell above Beckermonds and Oughtershaw. It was a wonderful day out, and really opened my eyes to the beautiful and varied countryside that is so close to us yet so other worldly.

A couple of years ago, I returned to Hubberholme with my wife and we stayed at The George Inn. After an amazing Sunday lunch, we walked to Buckden along the riverside footpath in glorious sunshine. It was the day of the annual Buckden charity duck race and we bought tickets, happy we were able to contribute something back to the community.

Back at The George, we had an entertaining evening talking with the landlord and landlady and some of the locals.

Since I retired a few years ago, we have travelled the world. All the places we have visited abroad were amazing but, frankly, nothing can compare with sitting beside the River Wharfe and looking over the lovely hamlet of Hubberholme and the hills beyond.

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The friendliness of the local people was what really made our visit so special and we can’t wait to return once it is deemed safe to do so. I am sure the welcome we will receive will be as warm and friendly as it was before.

From: Angela and Win Stocks, Scholes.

WE would love to visit our favourite Yorkshire Dale, Swaledale, and in particular the hamlet of Muker, and to walk on part of the Pennine Way through a field of wild flowers and follow the path to Crackpot Hall. This was one of James Herriot’s favourite views. We long to be there now.

From: Henry Cobden, Ilkley.

I’M looking forward to supporting our market towns like Masham, and the drive from there to East Witton and Leyburn. A delight.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor

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