Captain's Log

Bridlington

I stepped on to the railway platform and joined the stream of other passengers who were heading for the exit. A couple in their 20s were trying to make progress the other way. The man had a can of beer in one hand and was holding the leads of two dogs in the other. The dogs suddenly decided that they wanted to follow the other people towards the exit. This unbalanced the man and he tumbled over backwards onto his back. Fair play to him, he didn’t spill a drop of beer from the can. He tried to sit up, but the dogs pulled hard on their leads like Alaskan Huskies. Departing passengers walked around him like flowing water around a rock. Like everybody else, I thought about stepping in to help him, but he was seemingly pissed and I thought it would be more trouble than it was worth. Welcome to Bridlington! 

Cooplands was only a short distance from the Railway Station. It was midday and very busy. There wasn’t a spare table inside and so I sat at the last spare table outside. As soon as I sat down, the couple at the next table each lit up a cigarette. I was downwind of them. It had been that long since I’d actually seen anybody smoking that I'd forgotten people still did it. 

Bridlington is Mobility Scooter City. The last time I sat outside this Cooplands (see Captain’s Log, Bridlington’s Promenades And Danes Dyke), I’d witnessed a road rage incident between two elderly women on mobility scooters. The language that they used would have made my mother blush…there again, maybe it wouldn’t. There wasn’t any similar entertainment today, although I was finding it hard to see with all the smoke and my streaming eyes. There were plenty of youngsters strolling along with pushchairs. They looked so young, I found it hard to believe that they could be legally parents. One such father-youngster combo started heading for the Cooplands entrance and I’m pretty sure you could have interchanged who was sitting in the pushchair and who was pushing, without incurring any additional curiosity from onlookers. They came out of the entrance about 5 minutes later. The youngster had a cookie in his hands and the young lad was eating a pasty. It’s best to start them young. 

I was on Yorkshire’s east coast in order to make some progress on my England Coast Path North East Venture. I’d walk from Bridlington to Hornsea tomorrow. I still had the afternoon to fill and so I’d looked on TripAdvisor as to the 10 best things to do in Bridlington. Near the top was a walk around the Old Town of Bridlington. I’ve been to Brid a few times, but I couldn’t remember visiting the Old Town and so I thought it would be worth a punt. Somebody had put an Old Town trail on the internet and knowing no better, I decided to follow that. 

Old Town Approach

I followed the busy Hilderthorpe Road past a B&M and a Lidl. The Gypsy Race nature reserve had been built between the retail outlet carparks and the road. It was only 30 metres or so wide. I looked in the vegetation to see if I could see any wildlife, but there was none visible. I turned right on to Station Road and a bridge took me across the railway line. I joined Quay Road and followed it towards the Old Town. There were plenty of small shops along the road. The road was quite busy and, to be honest, the walk along it wasn’t that inspiring. There were a couple of buildings that looked interesting, but mostly the road was unremarkable. One building of interest was the Roxy Amusement Arcade And Cafe which displayed the odd architectural flourish. It was about 15 to 20 minutes walk from the sea front and so it seemed an odd place to have an amusement arcade. The doors were shut and the exterior decor looked rather tired. I assumed it was closed down. I was therefore surprised to find the doors open when I returned down the road later in the day, with the lights and noise of its machines escaping into the street. I’d walked so far now, I wondered when I’d actually reach the Old Town. My GPS told me to turn left down South Back Lane. Maybe the promised old houses and cobbled streets would start now.  

Old Town - Don't Panic!

Well they didn’t. South Back Lane turned out to be another unremarkable road, although it was pleasantly less busy than the previous one. My GPS then told me to turn into a housing estate. If you would call 1950s housing stock ‘old’ then maybe I had reached the Old Town. There were no cobbled roads though. This was turning into a magical mystery tour, although I have to say that I found it more of a mystery than magical. I came across a water fountain dedicated to Humphry Sandwith, a 19th century fellow from the town. There was no water running in it.    

I started walking east along Westgate. Things started to look more promising. Houses appeared a little older. Eventually I reached a junction with a road called the Market Place. I presumed the Old Town was from this point since the shops further down the road looked a bit oldy-worldly. The ambience of the area was destroyed somewhat by a mobility scooter on the other side of the road that had an alarm going off. An elderly man and woman were standing next to it scratching their heads. Another woman on my side of the street shouted some instructions to them, but they still didn’t seem to know what to do. The woman drove her scooter off the pavement and headed towards them. I moved on quickly; I didn’t want to get involved. 

In 2016 the High Street in the Old Town was twinned with Walmington-on-Sea as it was used as a film location for the Dad’s Army film. There was a St. George’s Day parade scene in the film and hundreds of local residents appeared as extras. Maybe they should have used the streets on Bridlington's seafront since I’d seen plenty of England flags in the windows of houses and up lampposts. 

I wasn’t really sure what to make of the Old Town. It seemed to consist of about 300 metres of one street. There were a few cafes and pubs along it. There were a plethora of antique shops. There were also a couple of galleries. Maybe I’d set my expectations a little too high. It was pleasant enough, but I just didn’t find it captivating in any way. Within 5 minutes, I’d got to the end of the street and finished my tour of the Old Town. I crossed the B1423 and headed along Baylegate 

Bayle Museum And Bridlington Priory Church

Things improved when I reached the Bayle Museum which was located in the Bayle Gate. I spent an enjoyable time touring this small, unique museum. Further details of my visit can be found in the Captain’s Log, Bridlington Bayle Museum.     

A little further on from the Bayle Museum was the magnificent Bridlington Priory Church. It was located on the site of an Augustinian Priory founded in 1133 which was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was difficult to get a good picture of the church due to the many trees in the surrounding area. I had planned to go inside and have a look around, but this was scuppered when I spotted a couple of funeral cars parked near the entrance gates. I could hear some singing drifting out of its front doors. I doubted whether the people inside would appreciate somebody pottering about and taking photos during a funeral service. I’d have to revisit at another time. It certainly looked like an interesting building. 

Leaving The Old Town

My Old Town Trail now took me through another housing estate. This one was more modern than the one I’d walked through earlier. It was just as unremarkable though. I couldn’t really see the point of walking around here unless you were a resident or you just wanted to stretch your legs. The route brought me back on to Quay Road and so I followed it back to the start of my walk.   

This definitely had been an odd walk. Half of it had been through housing estates. The street forming the Old Town was okay, but it hadn’t been that long. The Bayle Museum was definitely worth visiting though and the Priory Church would be worth a gander too, assuming you can catch it on a day when there aren’t any funerals or marriages. If you are stuck for something to do and you’ve already walked Bridlington’s promenades, then I guess the Old Town is worth pottering around. Don’t expect too much though.