Easter Bank Holiday Adventures. Sandsend, Falling Foss Waterfall and Dalby The Great Yorkshire Forest

Who doesn’t like a long weekend ? Easter is a sign of spring and having a 4 day weekend forecast for good weather eventually made us feel like we were escaping winter. We were lucky enough to have the use of Katies mums house over near Whitby for the weekend as they were away. So Friday came we packed the van which seemed to take a lot longer than it should have but the Sun was shining. We set off only to get 30 mins down the road to hit the dreaded bank holiday traffic quite surprising as we had set off early. Eventually we arrived at our destination, the weather on the way over was changing the closer we got to the coast and not for the better. It was cloudy and a lot cooler this was disappointing we seemed to have left the Sun back home. Not to be disappointed we unpacked and got some dinner.

We then went for a walk which took us down to the local garden centre which has a great little cafe on the river side. We had planned for ice creams but it was a bit too cold so we got some coffees and cakes. Sat drinking our coffees watching the ducks fly across and land on the river was lovley. Coben was exploring the lovely garden around the cafe and enjoying running around freely.

We left the cafe/garden centre and took the long walk back for an afternoon relaxing planning the next day adventure.

Saturday came and we headed to Sandsend quite early to avoid the crowds and were hoping to spend a few hours on the beach for Coben to build sandcastles and just play about but when we got there we had to put on our beanie’s and jackets on. Not to be dissuaded by this we walked along the beach letting Mika run about and enjoy herself. Heading back up the beach towards the van the sun started to make an appearance and warm up the morning, so I left Katie with Coben on the beach and ran up with Mika up to the van to grab his bucket and spade. Another hour was spent on the beach building sandcastles …… well me building them for Coben to enjoy knocking them down again which he thoroughly enjoyed.

With dinnertime approaching we headed back up to the van and had some lunch inside with a great view of the sea.

After we had ate some lunch and admired the view, we then went to Ruswarp riverside cafe which also has a miniature railway adjacent to it, I believe it is owned by the same company. So after spotting the cakes and coffee on sale here we sat in the garden watching ducks come and go on the river and enjoyed the treats we ordered. After feeling very satisfied we then went to find the train. Cobens face and excitement when he saw it was a picture. He was even more excited when he realised he was going to be able to ride on it.

He certainly had a look of worry on his face coupled with excitement he wasn’t going to let his fear ruin his first train ride !

If your in the area we recommend a visit here https://chainbridgeriverside.com/cafe/ .

We forgot to mention there are also boats you can hire out to take a leisurely row up the river to complete your fun filled day. We didn’t go on the boats this time but will be taking one out on our next visit.

The Easter Sunday started with an egg hunt of course and this was Cobens first proper one. We had planned to meet friends for a walk from where we were staying to avoid the bank holiday crowds and parking issues.

Once everyone arrived we set off on our way, it was slightly overcast with a chill in the air but ten minutes into the walk we were regretting the many layers we had put on, as the sun seemed to burn off the cloud very quick. The walk followed a banking along a stream with many bridges and picture perfect stepping stones which added a bit of fun.

Many gates were passed and fields crossed until we reached some woodland which is named Little Beck Wood Nature reserver. Entering the woodland we followed the path over some boardwalks passing a lovely little waterfall on the way.

The path eventually lead us to an interesting feature in these woods which is known locally as The Hermitage. This dates back to the 18th century, it was once the home of a hermit who lived in these woods, the woods would have provided shelter, warmth and food but it must have been a very secluded life.

After a look inside we followed the signs to our destination which was Falling Foss waterfalls and woodland. We expected it to be busy but that was an understatement and the queue for food and drinks was much longer than any of us wanted to join. Luckily we were all prepared and had brought food and drinks with us and we managed to get a seat. After we had finished our food we were cooling down so decided to get moving. We headed up hill out of the valley before turning off the road onto a bridleway, we followed this as it opened up giving us great views of the valley below and the moors across the other side. This took us through a pine forest before we started descending down an old track which eventually brought us out where we started our walk. The route and details can be found here.

No bank holiday is quite right unless you have a BBQ, so this is what we finished our day off with.

Monday came and we gathered our stuff and loaded the van up. We were heading back towards home but the plan was to stop at Dalby forest on the way for a little wander and enjoy the natural calming feeling the forest brings us. The day had started nice and we arrived at Dalby mid morning and drove through to the centre which is Adderstone field, this is a large field which you can park on and if you wanted spend the day with friends/family picnicking. Dalby has a large visitor centre, playgrounds, the famous mountain bike trails, numerous walks for all abilities, Go Ape, Gruffallo trail and orienteering, a lake, bike hire and more recently the Zog trail. So there really is something for everyone here and you will find it hard to explore everything in one day.

We parked up got the boots and jackets on and went on the hunt for the Gruffallo. Coben is very much enjoying walking now so this day was for him we let him lead the way and explore in his own time. Eventually we found the park after finding all the characters from The Gruffallo. Some time was spent here and before long it was dinnertime so we headed back to the van and got the kettle on and made some food. This was timed very lucky as the moment we got in the van the sun disappeared and it started pouring down with rain and this was torrential rain ! The van came into its own as usual and we sat drinking coffee and eating food whilst watching the rain pouring from the windows. After dinner with the weather not showing signs of improving we decided to head home and hopefully miss the bank holiday traffic heading home down the A64.

Its safe to say we Explored, Adventured and Gotoutside. We hope you will discover some of the places we mentioned in this Blog and have a great time just like we did. Please get in touch if you have any questions or we can help in any way with your family adventures.