A Voyage to Yorkshire and the Great Piratical Wedding!

Blackbeard's Tea Party are having a hell of a year - a trip to Spain for the Costa Del Folk festival already under their piratical belts, there's appearances at Cropredy and Glastonbury Festivals in the offing, plus the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo.  On Saturday, however, it was  ... 

... and being band auntie and cousins, off we went to Filey for the weekend.

Up to this point, my experience of the Yorkshire coast had been confined to a day trip travelling from Staithes to Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay to Scarborough about 35 years ago, so I was keen to spend a little more time in this beautiful part of the world.  Arriving on Friday night at our guest house, we dumped our glad rags and went straight onto the beach.

Oh, and it was lovely.

We walked along the beach as far as a World War II pillbox, sat rather incongruously on the sand near Hunmanby Gap. (Apparently, lots of pillboxes have fallen from the cliffs along the east coast of England due to coastal erosion - this one is pretty intact if that's the case here.)

On our return we admired the local birds ... 

... and met up with the final two members of our party.

All present and correct, we could proceed to the wedding at Wold Top Brewery the following day. 

This was never going to be a run-of-the-mill occasion and whilst there were some traditional bits, there were also stilt-walking drummers, the rest of the band all being best men, a toast in the groom's own, specially brewed beer ...

... sword dancing by Black Swan Rapper ... 

... pirate-themed eats ... 

... a galleon wedding cake ... 

... and a first dance that was actually playing the violin with bow and drumsticks.  (Yes, marterteral tears were shed.)

I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll ... (well, not quite)

Congratulations to my favourite nephew and his lovely bride.  I know you'll continue to be astounding together.

Back in Filey, a new day and another walk on the beach, this time in the opposite direction to Filey Brigg.

 

It was exciting to get to the end and see a whole new part of the coast come into view, over to Scarborough. 

It reminded me a bit of Worm's Head at Rhossili on the Gower, only on a smaller scale.

 

  

Yorkshire, as far as beauty goes, you are up there with my beloved West Country, almost.  Hope to be back before long.  

A-Kennet & Avoning

Time to to visit Dru, who was poised to move NB Eve from the marina at Foxhangers to Sells Green, a couple of miles to the west. (I'm not sure whether you have upstream or downstream on canals, there being little of that sort of thing going on.)  Except that we decided to take the scenic route and go via the Barge Inn at Seend, which would mean retracing our chugs (Eve's engine is very chuggy in a throaty, dieselly sort of way) a short distance after the imbitition of cider. 

I took a couple of young men along with me.

I am not getting on!

I am not getting on!

I am not getting on until she does because she's the only one who knows what she's doing!

OK, I'll get on now

There seemed to have been a big spill of petrol or oil or something at the marina which was a shame. A beautiful, hideous shame.  

But we were soon clear of it and on our way, past lush banks of early blooming comfrey ...

... and NB Lenin ... 

... and through a couple of locks ...

... but though it brightened from time to time, it still kept bloody raining. 

Get back on board this minute -

and mind that willow tree!

A quick return to Foxhangers in the Moggie to retrieve my decidedly less picturesque car and we left Dru with a view of the famous flight of locks at Caen Hill in the background.  (Probably too small to see in this size photo.) 

Good to see her back on the water and settling into her new life.