Day 249 - A beach day from start to finish

You can't keep a good geologist
from looking at every rock they
pass!

You can't keep a good fossil hunter down. So, today it was another walk to Sandsend to look for fossils...and a good Sunday roast ... all with a time constraint, as we had to be back to the cottage for the start of the England World Cup Match.

Due to low tide, we were able to take the beach the entire 2 miles from the pier at Whitby to Sandsend, which was fabulous. Always amazing the difference in water levels between high and low tide.

We didn't find any significant fossils today, although that isn't to say we didn't find massive numbers of them in the rocks. We did find what looked like crystal bricks that when broken open were filled with sulphur. 

View toward Sandsend, with the beach exposed the whole way.

We arrived in Sandsand at about 11:00, skipped some stone across the very large tidal pool that forms in front to the town, and then took a walk around the actual village. It is very idyllic as it moves up the valley. Slews of young ducks were resting on the village green, completely oblivious to us being there.

We found that The Hart Inn was serving a Sunday Roast, so found a seat in the sunny side garden and enjoyed a lovely lunch before walking back to Whitby along the upper coast road. Glorious day filled with sun and light winds.

Phil watched England win over Panama with a score similar to an American baseball game. Interestingly, on the first goal, we heared a roar come from the fans watching in the local pubs, but after that they were surprisingly quiet. I guess once the win became obvious, they were resigned to it. There was a bit of chanting a bit later as some of the more "beer enlightened" left the pubs, but nothing compared to the crowd reaction at the previous win.

In the evening, we went to see the film On Chesil Beach based on Ian McEwan's novel (he wrote the screenplay). Starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones, Lady Bird) and Billy Howle (The Sense of an Ending, The Witness for the Prosecution). I won't give away the story line as the nuances of it are vital to enjoying it. Our view, the last bit of the story is worth waiting for, but there is a wait through the first two thirds. Three out of five stars on the Smith/Walsh scale.