I have just returned to the Yorkshire fishing port and tourist attraction of Whitby for the first time in years With an increased number of drinking establishments in the town since I last was here, our visit only took in a small proportion of them. Read on to see how it all went.... The weather forecast was not good for the weekend, with high winds and heavy showers courtesy of Storm Boelo due to land early on Saturday evening. With its position on the north east coast of Yorkshire, Whitby was expected to be very much in the firing line. Not deterred, 7 of us were going over for the weekend to help one of the guys, Karl, celebrate his upcoming birthday. We left Brighouse at around 9.30 on Saturday morning, with Suggs driving us over via minibus. Aussie Tony and myself were getting picked up at the Dusty Miller in Hove Edge where we are all regulars, and having already collected Pete and Tony, after picking up Alex and Karl himself before leaving Brighouse, we were on our way. Kar...
Join me as I take a tour around the northern reaches of England's most northerly county where, amongst the historical towns and villages, and stunning coastline, there are some rather splendid pubs and beers.... After a great day before in Newcastle, and then following a good night's sleep and breakfast, I left the toon behind, heading out of the city centre late morning and up the Ponteland Road to join the A1 on my way further north. Driving up, the road north through Northumberland was busier than I would have expected, particularly considering it was a Sunday. And I have to say this stretch of the Great North Road is not my favourite, as it alternates between dual carriageway and single track, so traffic would bunch for a while and then speed off, and then converge again, whilst the general drift of the road is not the easiest to negotiate. The countryside was unfailingly pleasant though, with the odd sea view off to the right, and bright blue skies overhead, so I wasn'...