Welcome to Lady Levenshulme's Blog.

I’m in Whitby. We travelled up on Friday after a hellish week at work.  Whenever we manage to get away for a day or two, we end up working those days in advance.  On Wednesday we worked sixteen and a half hours and got home at midnight.  So to say it was a little fraught is an understatement.

We arrived a little early on Friday and couldn’t pick up the keys straight away, so we walked down the cliff onto the beach.  Whitby has a beautiful beach. Long and sandy and quite wild.  I don’t know what it is about the sea but it somehow makes things seem better.  We wandered along the water’s edge and the stresses of the week (and of leaving my laptop in the car at the top of the cliff) fell away.  When I was standing there I tried to think of the sound the sea makes, to try to put it into words.  But I couldn’t come up with anything that hadn’t been used beforfe – crashing, roaring – all cliches.

We’re staying at the Metropole again, though in a different apartment this time.  I’m fascinated by this place.  According to our welcome pack it was built in 1897, largely for the wealthy German tourists travelling here at the time.  Many of the original features are still in place – the ballroom, the grand staircase leading to each of the four floors and imposing mirrors and old bells are still in evidence in the corridors.  The rubbish chute is also still functional.  Though I wonder if this had a different function in the hotel’s heyday – laundry perhaps.  Our apartment is spacious and comfortable with sea views out of the kitchen, lounge and bedroom windows.  It’s also split level with a room occupying one of the building’s turrets.  Unfortunately this room isn’t accessible to visitors, which of course makes it all the more appealing.

Today we’re walking into Sandsend along the beach.  It’s about 3 miles, I think. I’m looking forward to that. I’ll post some pics when I get back.  Until later then.

And so here we are in Northumberland.  We finally managed to get away from work for a few days to relax and get some sea air.  Of course these things always start with the inevitable ‘pre-journey row’. Preparations have been left until the last minute.  The house needs to be cleaned as the cat sitter is coming and the packing needs to be done.  Of course the clothes should have been washed in advance to give them enough time to dry, not the night before so that they’re still damp as you’re dragging them off the maiden to put in the cases. And of course the cats know instinctively that you’re going away and immediately start to play up.  On Thursday morning I put down two large bowls of Whiskas Oh So Fishy (their new favourite). Twenty minutes later they’d eaten their way through a day’s worth of food.

And so after, “What on earth are you taking that for,” and “Because I am, get over it,” suddenly you’re on your way.  The computer is off, the out of office messages are set up and the boot is full of books and booze. Now I’m not good with journeys.  Or, to be precise, I’m not good at sitting still for four hours doing nothing.  Generally after about half an hour I’m asking, “How long before we see the sea?” I’d be hopeless on a canal barge.  The thought of spending a week on a journey where you never actually arrive would drive me insane.  But four hours and one mild Haribo haze later we arrived and opened the door to our new home for the next few days.

I haven’t stayed in a caravan since I was a child and so wasn’t sure what to expect.  Everything else in Seahouses was booked and so we thought we’d give it a go.  It’s much more peaceful than I expected. The kids are all back at school and people seem to be quite private.  Not like the caravan park in Towyn where I stayed as a child and my mum and Auntie Irene tut-tutted at a woman who stepped out of her caravan in her dressing gown to go to the shower block. This caravan has two bathrooms, a lounge with flat screen TV and DVD, a fully fitted kitchen with cooker, fridge, freezer and microwave and two bedrooms.  It also has central heating, which has come in handy given the weather over the last few days. Yes,  the walls shake with every gust of wind but that all adds to its charm.

Yesterday we went to Bamburgh to look at the castle and the beach.  This part of the coast is rugged and unspoiled, with wild sea grass, sand dunes and crashing waves. Later today we’re going to Alnwick to look round the second hand book shop and Hogwarts.  But for the next hour I’m content to sit here under the blanket with a cup of tea and Lindor chocolates, while the rain beats against the caravan walls.