The journey

Our predominant long distance car journey is to Whitby nowadays. We are getting into the swing of it. We have settled on a preferred route.

We leave Tamworth along the Ashby Road heading to join the A41 just south of Ashby. This section of single track road is now quiet although when I was young it was busy. As a condition of riding a bicycle I had to promise not to go on the Ashby Road. A friend once led me along a stretch of it and I felt very guilty. When she knew I was with my second cousin, David, mother was not surprised and it contributed to her dislike of him.

We join the A41 dual carriageway leading on to the M1. As lorries jostle to maintain speed there are frequent hold ups to smooth travel as one lorry slowly inches by another. Past Donington with its historic motor racing circuit we join the M1. This is a long stretch up to the M18.

There is a stretch of genuine 4 lane motorway and a longer stretch of so called smart motorway. This is motorway with 4 lanes obtained by using the hard shoulder with occasional refuges. Overhead gantry signs give information and impose speed limits. This has worked very well on the M42 around Birmingham where slower speeds can keep traffic flowing smoothly and avoid the dangerous slow down and then speed up instability.

Up the M1 to just south of Sheffield where we turn on to the M18. We are now used to the rhythm of the M18 with 3 lanes to the A1M, then 2 lanes then 3 past the M181. This is hopefully our first stop at Doncaster services. We try to avoid stopping at the busy M1 services except perhaps for a toilet break.

At Doncaster Services we head for Greggs for a bacon buttie and a  single shared coffee. The shared coffee is not just meanness but the standard cup is far more than we care to drink at one sitting. If the weather is fine we then sit outside. Alternatively we may have a flask of hot water and make coffee and enjoy a snack by the car. Doncaster services is just a little bit off the motorway and is rather quieter than the M1 services.

Then on along the M18 joining the M62 towards Hull. Over the majestic Ouse bridge and immediately afterwards leave the motorway turning left through 180 degrees and backtracking briefly before joining the road to Selby. This is a fairly quiet single track road joining the A19 at Selby heading for York. By the junction is Selby Garden centre an excellent stopping point heading south on the return journey. Here I’m always amused by the Yorkshire books on display such as “Owt, nowt and summat”.

Along the A19 to meet the York bypass which is a fast dual carriageway. Usually free flowing but once a horrendous traffic queue for a reason we never discovered. The bypass ends at a big multi route junction where we take the A64 towards Scarborough. And this is a problematic part of the journey. Out of York is an incredibly busy single carriageway road. There are lots of small junctions and roadside stopping places, pubs, cafes and the like. Traffic entering and leaving can mean slow and halting progress. Later the A64 has a mixture of dual and single carriageway. The dual part gives a chance to pass some of the voluminous heavy goods vehicles.

Past Malton on a fast stretch of dual carriageway we turn onto the A169 towards Pickering.

The turn is just by Eden Camp, a former prisoner of war camp turned into a WW11 museum.. Access to the camp is being improved with a new roundabout . Then steadily towards Pickering. On the outskirts is the Steam and Moorland garden centre. This has a super café with a model train running around it at ceiling height.  A stop here is a minor indulgence as we are not too far from our destination.

We leave Pickering which is a lovely little market town full of interesting shops. It is the southerly terminus of the North York Moors railway. Out of Pickering heading for Whitby swinging along a gently sweeping single carriageway. The first part is through rolling farmland and the second across the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. The start of the moorland is marked by Boggle Hole, a big excavation, with long views over towards a hazy horizon with no habitation in view. There is a car park at Boggle Hole and the eastward view on a fine day is stunning. This part of the road is open with big climbs and descents along the road. Some of the descents are approached by blind summits so it appears you are driving into the sky- eerie!  Jeremy Clarkson lauds it as the best route in England.

The moorland stretch passes the early warning radar station at Fylingdales Moor, now a pyramid shape, The moorland ends with a very steep descent ( I in 4 ) down Blue Bank into Sleights and then a steep climb out. From the top of Blue Bank we see the sea. At the top of the climb out of Sleights we turn and gently descend into Whitby passing its new Park and Ride station. We have arrived.