Up North

We spent a glorious weekend in Scarborough and Whitby in North Yorkshire. It's terrible really, but I am ashamed to say that I haven't travelled all that much in England (it seems I hardly leave London these days), so when I do, I am always so pleasantly overwhelmed by the beauty and vastness of the green spaces that are to be enjoyed outside of this smoky old town.

We stayed in the aptly named Scarborugh Grand Hotel, a stunning an imposing Victorian building built and designed around the concept of time.  It has 4 towers to represent the four seasons, 12 floors for each month, 52 chimneys for the weeks, and 365 rooms for the days of the year. If you were to view it from above you would be able to see that it is also built in the shape of a V for Victoria.

Scarborough itself, although full of old pretty buildings and features and a lovely beach, suffers from the typical seaside town infliction of tacky arcades and crappy shops that seem to take away from the enjoyment of the original aesthetic.

Whitby on the other hand, just half an hour drive away, has an entirely different atmosphere. The town is known for its twice annual Goth Weekend, one of which takes this coming weekend, and flocking of Bram Stoker tourists, who flock to the Abbey that inspired the superb Dracula tale. As it was Halloween, and the Bram Stoker festival, the town was full of all types of brilliantly attired and costumed people, from Goths,  steam punks and characters that seem to have walked straight out of Stoker's novel. The atmosphere created by this varied crowd was positively electric and the little town had the feel of inclusiveness for everyone, young and old alike.

What was interesting for us as we wandered around watching the goths and steampunks get asked to pose for photos on every corner, was that for once, we weren't the strangest dressed people there! Although we were actually asked to pose for a photo by one couple who notice us anyway.

Here is a small (!) selection of our holiday snaps........

I hope to see some of you this Saturday at the Ric Rac Club. It's going to be a fab night, so if standing out in the cold staring up at the sky isn't your bag, The Vintage Mafia will have plenty of sparkly bits to keep you entertained.

Toodle pip!