East Coast UK road trip, Autumn 2026

The weather stayed warm and dry for our few days away although we could see the leaves on the trees beginning to change to their Autumn colour.

First stop for a mid-morning snack at the beautifully maintained South Park in Darlington, County Durham. Here you can find everything from a large aviary to tennis courts.

Our next stop was Blyth in Northumberland where we were staying in a hotel overlooking the harbour. Blyth is a former shipbuilding port and, although it is still partly used for freight, it is now a busy beach resort.

 The boardwalk was a popular fishing spot, these contraptions were used to catch shellfish 

We visited Whitley Bay, another popular beach resort. We walked along the promenade to its main attraction, The Spanish City, . A domed pavilion originally completed in 1910.  Here is a link to its history  It is now home to restaurants, bars and is a wedding venue.

Then it was Newbiggin-by-the Sea, a former colliery,, now a beach resort famous for the bronze and steel statue of The Couple by Sean Henry. This sculpture is a realistic depiction of an ordinary man and woman, 5 ft high, looking out to sea set in the seashore on a7.5m high plinth. A smaller sculpture was made of the same couple looking out to sea and stands on the promenade.

We took a break in Seaham, looking out for dolphins but spotted none. then Seaton Carew for lunch.  The less said about that the better as we mistakenly parked in a motorbike bay and received a fine.  It really was not clearly marked.

We continued along to the village of Marske, just above Saltburn, as we hadn't been there before, then on to Scarborough where we bought an ice-cream before arriving in Bridlington.

 The harbour in Scarborough

 Bridlington looking over to Flamborough

Parking ticket apart, we were blessed with find weather and very much enjoyed our short trip.

Summertime

Just a flavour of the places visited in Yorkshire this summer

 Whitby.  Look closely and you may see the many people ascending the 99 steps to the Abbey

 Another view of Whitby.  Narrow ginnels run throughout the old town.

  

 King Charles III Coastal footpath Flamborough

 Burton Agnes Hall and its walled garden

 Narrow boats on the canal at Skipton

 Happy Daze. Our static caravan by the sea

Sweden May 2026

 

Our holiday began in the town of Östersund, the largest city in the area of Jämtland and home of my son and his family. The town is mainly known for its winter sports and we could see snow on the piste. A rainy morning called for an indoor activity so we went to Jamtli, a national museum, which has indoor exhibitions and outdoor activities during the summer season.

We learnt about everything from the Sami culture to the Vikings with scenes set in the period of the ages.

There was an art exhibition with paintings by Bengt Lindström (1925 - 2008)known for his bold colours of plus a display of How Design Shapes Thought and Improves Life, including such objects as early mobile phones, furniture and kitchen appliances, most of which were in my lifetime.

The next day we drove down to lake Storsjön (literally the Great Lake), the fifth largest lake of Sweden and home of the famous lake monster Storsjöodjuret with his/her imaginary child called Birger, which we learnt about the previous day during our visit to the museum. Again, most of the activities such as boating and crazy golf had not yet opened. Indeed, the ice had only just melted. We saw crocuses and narcissi which were long over in the UK. We walked along the water and stopped for Fika newly opened French café Clementine. Our meal that evening was Tacos, a very popular dish in Sweden. We noticed that it hardly gets dark at night here.

Later in the day we set off for the isolated family homestead and wood business by the shore of another lake which has been in the family of my in-laws for hundreds of years. A car flashed its lights as it passed which signified there was an animal on the road and we saw an elk. It seems that when an elk calves, the yearlings are pushed out before they really know how to fend for themselves.

The next day we were treated to the real Swedish experience. After shooting practice (at a target) we went for a walk by the lake which took us through forest. After cooking sausages on an open fire BBQ for lunch, some of us, me included, went for a sauna followed by a dip in the lake, while others took the boat out to fish but caught nothing. It is hard to believe that in the winter months this lake is frozen for many months allowing cars to drive over it giving a shorter route to Östersund. The in-laws treated us to champagne and nuts in a beautiful, new cottage they had designed and mainly built themselves on the site of a former barn.

 The sauna

 View from the sauna

 BBQ area

 Boat house

 The very beautiful new building with wood burning stove and fully fitted with kitchen, bathroom, lounge and sleeping areas

As many generations of the family have lived there, there are many old artefacts and vehicles which have now been replaced with modern quadbikes and implements 

 

That evening, back in Östersund, three generations of ‘boys’ went to watch a football match of our local team at the house of a Swedish fan while we ‘girls’ took a walk to a MAXI supermarket, where they grow some of their own produce. We ate pickled herrings in various sauces which don’t seem to be available in the UK.

Monday was a work day for the adults so we took the car and the grandchildren to Bynäset, still on the great lake, where we skimmed stones and walked along the lakeside enjoying the view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We returned to town for a tasty lunch at the Espresso House café. We intended to play Crazy Golf but that hadn’t opened yet for the season, so made our way to the French café, which was also closed. However, on the way we were able to see glass being blown and view the vases, drinking glasses and paperweights that were made there. After each picking a delicious cake at Wedemark’s Konditori on the main street, Prästgatan, which was founded in 1924 we were able to sit outside in the sunshine. The 18 year old school graduates (studenten) were wearing their special hats which resemble those worn by sailors. They will later participate in a parade through the town (flakäkning) on flatbed trucks. It was our last night and we had a takeaway of our choice for dinner.

All too soon our holiday was over. We were treated royally by our hosts and even the weather was kind. It was a close call at Stockholm airport with just 40 minutes to change planes with a long walk to the transfer terminal and having to queue up to give our handprints and facial recognition at passport control. Luckily they decided to let passengers with imminent departures go to the front of the queue and were just in time to board our plane.