Sutton Bank

Thursday
This morning we drove to Sutton Bank, a spectacular inland cliff, about 140 metres in height, and providing wonderful extensive views.
We walked a loop from the Visitor Centre, along the ridge as far as the Yorkshire Gliding Club, then followed a path down the slope and along at a lower level, coming out below the Kilburn White Horse. (See extra photo) The figure is 318 feet long by 220 ft high, covers about 1.6 acres and is the most northerly hill figure in England. The horse was created by removing the topsoil and exposing the underlying rock and covering it with white limestone chips. It was created in November 1857, and some accounts state that it was done by a local school master John Hodgson and his pupils, together with local volunteers. The path then continues back up the slope the far side of the white horse and returns along the ridge. We spent some time on our return, watching the gliders, some being towed up by a plane, others using a sort of winch mechanism on the ground. The conditions were obviously good for gliding - at one time we counted six in the air at one time. Returning to the Visitor Center, we had a cup of tea in their cafe, before continuing our drive to Runswick Bay, a coastal village north of Whitby, where we met up with Peter and Judy at the Guest House - they had arrived about 15 minutes before us. We walked down from our accommodation to the sea and enjoyed another cup of tea at a sea side cafe, then went for a walk around the village - I have put a second collage in the extras. Later in the evening we went out to a very nice country pub in another village, where we enjoyed a great dinner - Peter and Judy have eaten there before and had made a reservation.q