Scarborough

We’re staying at the Green Gables Hotel here in Scarborough. From the outside it doesn’t look much, but it’s a bit tardis-like, once you get through the front door it seems to go on in all directions. It’s full of nooks, crannies and corridors, with all sorts of interesting rooms scattered here and there. There’s the conservatory, the indoor swimming pool room, the billiards room, the games room, the library, the TV room and the three different lounge rooms.

The Green Gables Hotel

After breaky we headed into Scarborough, another hilly, harbour-side town, but this time with a castle perched on the hill instead of an Abbey.  We had a good look around the town and the castle, then had lunch (more fish and chips) and then spent a bit of time in one of the arcades playing the penny pushing machines.  

I saw a show on them and apparently each machine brings in about £300 a week in 2p coins.  I can't ever imagine walking away from one with a profit, they are just fun and I think people play them knowing full well they don't pay.  You still chase a win, but they are very different from pokies in that it takes quite a long time to play a pound's worth of coins and with the outlay so small and the rewards so slight I can't imagine that there are too many problem players.   

Just googled it and can't find any articles on addiction to penny pushing machines, so either it's not a problem, it is a problem, but not a documented one or the machines aren't called penny pushers!  Hmmm.  Perhaps I'll never know.

Sights in Scarborough

After Scarborough we drove up north to Robin Hood's Bay, the old town of which gives a whole new meaning to steep, hilly, coastal villages. The roads are so narrow, windy and steep that most cars are prohibited.  Locals and tourists staying in one of the old town B&B's are excepted.  I'm glad we couldn't drive there, super steep, wet, windy roads give me the hee bee gee bees.  

We experienced one in Scarborough earlier in the morning and just to make it even more interesting it was cobbled.  It would be good if you could instruct the SatNav NOT to take super steep, windy, cobbled roads, especially in the rain, but haven't worked out how to do that yet.  The kids thought it was pretty good, Steve didn't seem to mind, the Peugeot handled it nicely, I was the only one having the conniptions!  Perhaps I need a chill pill.

Robin Hood's Bay on a grey and wet day.