North Promenade

The weather was better than expected with hazy blue skies, sun and a light breeze. I left the harbour and headed for the Bayside Fun Park. There weren’t any people having fun at the place, although it was only 10:00. I walked along a pleasant promenade. The tide was in and initially the sea was bouncing off the promenade’s walls. There were quite a few people about: dog walkers, joggers and people just passing the day. Looking northwards I could see where the promenade ran out and the low cliffs started. These ran around the bay and changed to white as they turned towards Flamborough. I thought I could see the notch in the cliffs at the location of Danes Dyke, but I may have been wrong;  it was still a long way away. 

Cliff Walking

The promenade finished and I followed a footpath up to the grassy area at the top of the low cliffs. There was a split in the path here; one of the paths gradually branching away to Sewerby Hall and the one I followed, stuck to the edge of the cliff. Judging by the number of people heading to Sewerby Hall, it looked like a popular destination for holidaymakers. I guess it was only 2 miles from town and offered an easy walk. The Georgian Hall also has gardens and a small zoo to keep the family entertained. For those that didn’t fancy the walk from the town centre, they could always hop on to one of the Land Trains. These ran to schedule along the northern promenade to the Hall. It wasn’t rail based transport, just simple carriages pulled by an electric car shaped as a railway engine. I vaguely remember these being around during my family holidays, but they would have used petrol/diesel engines in those days. I looked back along the cliffs to Bridlington. It was a fine view, with the town having a backdrop of a windfarm. As soon as I left the Sewerby Hall area, the number of walkers diminished until I seemed to have the footpath to myself. I was pretty sure I could detect the nick in the cliff of Danes Dyke. It wasn’t far away now. Indeed it wasn’t long before I reached the wooded area of its valley. 

Danes Dyke

Danes Dyke is a 2 mile long ditch and bank earthwork that runs north to south and isolates a seaward 5 square miles of headland. The bank was constructed using chalk rubble, earth and stacked turf. Despite its name, it is thought that it’s prehistoric in origin. Evidence of human occupation across the headland dates back to the Mesolisthic, or Middle Stone Age period (10,000-4000 BC). Bronze Age arrowheads have been found during excavations. It would have made the enclosed area easy to defend since the longer seaward sides consisted of high cliffs. It must have been quite an undertaking to dig a 2 mile ditch though. I followed a footpath along the edge of the valley and this brought me down to sea level. There were a few people out on the beach, but the tide was in and so they weren’t venturing very far. The shoreline consisted of large white stones that looked a bit like oversized yoghurt coated raisins. I headed back into the woodland and walked up a trail to the carpark. This was the place I last visited 4 years ago and was my turnaround point for the day. I had to traverse the valley before getting back to the clifftop path again. Once I reached the clifftop path, I started retracing my steps southwards. 

Return To Brid

My toe was throbbing from my running injury. I was using today as a test as to how the recovery was going. At least it was easy walking along the footpath. I gave it a rest when I reached the area around Sewerby Hall. There was a coffee cabin setup next to the path and so I stopped for a drink, a bun and a rest at one of its patio tables. My toe felt a bit better after a 15 minute rest and so I continued my journey southwards. Back on the promenade I approached a group of people looking out to sea. Unless this was some mass participation joke, I presumed there was something out there worth looking at. I couldn’t see anything but water though. Listening into conversations I deduced that a dolphin or a porpoise had made an appearance. Just as I was about to give up, a dolphin jumped fully out of the sea and dived back in again. I promptly got my camera out and set it up with a fast shutter speed. I waited for it to reappear. I waited. And I waited. I waited when even the last bystander had given up and departed long ago. I only gave up when the Pirate Ship and Tourist Speed Boat from Bridlington harbour sped over the area where I’d last seen the dolphin. It definitely wasn’t going to appear now with that machinery flying about. I packed my camera away and moved on. I heard the Bayside Fun Park before seeing it. At first I thought Brid must be hosting a rave, but it was just the background music for the punters on the joy rides. I wondered how nearby residents coped with the racket; it seemed deafening. There were a few people fishing along the north harbour wall and it reminded me of those childhood fishing days fish. There was a cry from one of the teenage lads and he hauled quite a large Whiting on to the wall. The spawny get, I never managed to catch anything like that with my Dad. 

South Promenade

I’d made good time back to the town centre and so I decided to expand my walk with an out-and-back walk along the South Promenade. My toe was throbbing, but I could walk okay. The skies had turned grey, although it didn’t look like it would rain. The South Promenade had text embedded into the pavement which added a distraction to the long plod. The artwork is known as the Nautical Mile and includes historical fact and poetic elements. Some parts invite you to look at something or do something. I thought it was quite good. I followed somebody who was clearly homeless down the promenade. I wondered where he was heading since looking at the OS map, there wouldn’t be much shelter south of Bridlington. The promenade finished at a large carpark and holiday camp. This must have been the location of the chalets when we visited in the 1970s. The carpark and beach felt familiar. I spotted an England Coast Path fingerpost pointing north and south. This surprised me since the last time I looked on the Natural England - England Coast Path route, this point was where the path ended southwards for a long stretch. Later research revealed the footpath has now been opened, continuing all the way around Spurn Point to the Humber Bridge. Crikey, I thought I was getting towards the end of my England Coast Path - North East Venture, but it looked like I’d now got quite a lot more to do. I looked down the coast. The high coastal cliffs that I’d enjoyed along the edge of the North York Moors had now disappeared. It would all be low level stuff between here and Spurn Point. 

Return

The afternoon got duller as I progressed back northwards to Bridlington’s town centre. I was a little early for my train back to Scarborough and my digs, and so I nipped into a Cooplands and got a coffee and vegan sausage roll. I sat at one of the shop’s outside tin tables. As I munched on my pastry, I heard a rumpus stage right. A large middle aged woman appeared on a mobility scooter and proceeded to drive around in circles on the pavement in front of me.
‘YOU DOZY F^&*($£G C$%T. WHY DON’T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU’RE F^&*($£G GOING!’ she shouted. She then vocalised more profanities, some new to my lexicon, whilst continuing to drive around in circles. She then exited stage left. Another middle aged woman on a mobility scooter, swearing at high volume, entered stage right at high speed and immediately exited stage left. I then saw the chase continue at high speed along a nearby pavement. I looked at the two other families that were sitting at the tables outside Cooplands. They seemed completely unperturbed about what had just happened and were talking about something rather mundane. I guess this was just a normal day in Bridlington.    

The walk had been a good test for my toe. It throbbed, but at least I was able to walk a reasonable distance. It was nice to return to a childhood haunt, although I doubt I would return to Bridlington for a seaside holiday in the future. The town’s promenades and northern cliffs provided easy walking and good views. I saw this walk as a step towards the conclusion of my England Coast Path - North East Venture completion, but now I’d found out that a long new section had opened to the south. 'Take one step at a time' I thought.