The view from my "office"

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After being in lockdown since last year...... the FB's are finally back out on the open road again! Drove up towards just south of the Scottish border, but stopped in a lovely little town called Pontefract today for a mid journey stop and some lunch. Some of you may know of it for its history in the licorice industry....... and perhaps the Haribo factory ;)

Pontefract castle is ruins, but free to visit and even a free carpark that had spaces. The flag is at half-mast for obvious reasons. This used to be the second biggest castle in England, second only to Windsor Castle which still stands today.
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Easy to spend a bit of dosh here at the factory outlet...... the guy in front of us spent £810! :eek:
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3kg bags? Why not eh..... but, not for us! You can get 750g bags of 'near expiry' lollies for a steal at £2.50. We may or may not have got one of those with a bucketload of lollies and licorice in it ;)
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Of course when in Pontefract you have to get the obligatory Pontefract Cakes.
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Market Hall in Pontefract.
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Finally arrived at our accommodation overlooking the Northumberland coast, the weather has been pretty good to us today.
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Our Airbnb has a new boiler, installed today after they realised the one in there was shot. The place has a nice wood burner fire and the hosts left us a small gift for an anniversary we have tomorrow.
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The Sydney Harbour........... no, wait, the Tyne Bridge ;) Same architects, same building contractors. This was actually the first, and Sydney is the replica albeit a much larger version! It's about as close as I'll get to Australia for a while I dare say.
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A Geordie sunning himself in the centre of Newcastle, next to Grey's monument. This one seems to be overdressed compared to some of the other lasses we saw merely moments later.....
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A slightly ironic location for the activity being carried out?
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Hartlepool Royal Navy Museum, the town itself is rather ....... interesting ........ but the museum looks really big and no doubt is a good visit. Closed at the moment unfortunately, so next time. They're still doing a lot of restoration work on this paddle steamer. Given it's in Cleveland County I couldn't help but think of it as the Cleveland Steamer.
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The hippest club in town? I bet the guys pull all the girls here!
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After all the excitement of Hartlepool, it was on to nicer surroundings and into the North York Moors National Park.
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The Sydney Harbour........... no, wait, the Tyne Bridge ;) Same architects, same building contractors. This was actually the first, and Sydney is the replica albeit a much larger version! It's about as close as I'll get to Australia for a while I dare say.
View attachment 245180

A Geordie sunning himself in the centre of Newcastle, next to Grey's monument. This one seems to be overdressed compared to some of the other lasses we saw merely moments later.....
View attachment 245181

A slightly ironic location for the activity being carried out?
View attachment 245182

Hartlepool Royal Navy Museum, the town itself is rather ....... interesting ........ but the museum looks really big and no doubt is a good visit. Closed at the moment unfortunately, so next time. They're still doing a lot of restoration work on this paddle steamer. Given it's in Cleveland County I couldn't help but think of it as the Cleveland Steamer.
View attachment 245183

The hippest club in town? I bet the guys pull all the girls here!
View attachment 245184

After all the excitement of Hartlepool, it was on to nicer surroundings and into the North York Moors National Park.
View attachment 245185
View attachment 245187
View attachment 245186

A lovely part of the countryside - enjoy
 
The Sydney Harbour........... no, wait, the Tyne Bridge ;) Same architects, same building contractors. This was actually the first, and Sydney is the replica albeit a much larger version! It's about as close as I'll get to Australia for a while I dare say.
View attachment 245180

A Geordie sunning himself in the centre of Newcastle, next to Grey's monument. This one seems to be overdressed compared to some of the other lasses we saw merely moments later.....
View attachment 245181

A slightly ironic location for the activity being carried out?
View attachment 245182

Hartlepool Royal Navy Museum, the town itself is rather ....... interesting ........ but the museum looks really big and no doubt is a good visit. Closed at the moment unfortunately, so next time. They're still doing a lot of restoration work on this paddle steamer. Given it's in Cleveland County I couldn't help but think of it as the Cleveland Steamer.
View attachment 245183

The hippest club in town? I bet the guys pull all the girls here!
View attachment 245184

After all the excitement of Hartlepool, it was on to nicer surroundings and into the North York Moors National Park.
View attachment 245185
View attachment 245187
View attachment 245186
Sorry! FAKE NEWS! There’s sunshine. Impossible.

ps: lovely fake photos.
 
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Hutton le Hole is a quaint little village on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. Peaceful, quiet, lots of fauna around... Grouse, Pheasants, Sheep, Lamb, Cows, Calves, Rabbits, Chickens, Birds galore (no, not the northern birds!) and some great walks all leaving from the front door of our accommodation. Very quiet here as still not many people travelling, so it was bliss. Mrs FB and I did bring down the average age of the area considerably though!
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The land where the sheep roam free and own the streets.....
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Originally a monastery in AD 654, St Cedd then died of the plague and eventually the site was rebuilt and became a church.
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We stopped for lunch for a pint and some food, a bit of a novel thing to be fed and watered by someone else this year!
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You're not allowed inside other than a quick visit to the bathroom, but it looks pretty cool in there with this room having tankards hanging from the roof and a roaring fire.
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This was taken on my walk to my friend's place round the corner to feed his cat. The sunset looked way better than my phone can take a photo, but I'm still pretty happy how it turned out.

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