We decided to visit Scarborough on what turned out to be a foggy day.
About Scarborough
Scarborough (/ˈskɑːrbrə/) is a seaside town in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the fourth-largest settlement in the county.
It is located on the North Sea coastline. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 and 230 feet (3–70 m) above sea level, from the harbour rising steeply north and west towards limestone cliffs. The older part of the town lies around the harbour and is protected by a rocky headland which extends into the North Sea.
The town has fishing and service industries, including a growing digital and creative economy, as well as being a tourist destination. Residents of the town are known as Scarborians.
Wandering around Scarborough
For this visit, I decided to go light and take my Fuji out for a spin.
Parking near the Scarborough Spa, I took my first shot looking across the sea to the partially visible town opposite.
Scarborough Spa
What makes this particular live music and events space interesting and worth visiting is its unique history and setting. Built in the Victorian era, right on the cliffs overlooking the South Bay Beach, the Spa has a wonderful historical look, but is fitted with modern facilities.
The Spa is home to one of the last remaining seaside orchestras, playing their classical oom-pah tunes and upbeat classical music in the salty sea breeze, just as they did in town’s glory days.
The setting, on the suncourt or in the Grand Hall, makes it quite a memorable performance.
Walking past the Spa building, I couldn’t resist taking a couple of shots of these flowers.
The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel is a large hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, overlooking the town’s South Bay. It is a Grade II* listed building and owned by Britannia Hotels. At the time of its grand opening in 1867, it was the largest hotel and the largest brick structure in Europe.
The building is designed around the theme of time: four towers to represent the seasons, 12 floors for the months of the year, 52 chimneys symbolise the weeks, and originally there were 365 bedrooms, one for each day of a non-leap year.
Following the renovation the room count was reduced to 280. The hotel itself is in the shape of a ‘V’ in honour of Queen Victoria. The hotel’s peak was arguably during Victorian times, when wealthy holidaymakers made up the establishment’s clientele.
As Scarborough was a spa town, the building’s baths originally included an extra pair of taps, so guests could wash in seawater as well as fresh.
Scarborough’s London Eye
An observation wheel was erected here in 2019 and was originally only intended as a temporary structure but has been a regular feature.
The 32m high wheel can carry up to 144 passengers within its 24 enclosed seated gondolas.
As we walked past, I had to grab a shot as the misty conditions and plain sky emphasised the structure.
Leaving Scarborough
We wandered further up and along myriad of seaside style establishments not dissimilar to Great Yarmouth.
Walking back, I took quite a few shots of the waves crashing into a slope with railings.
It was really enjoyable capturing some shots here with the Fuji’s built-in ND filter coming in useful to enable a slower shutter speed. Without any camera stabilisation, I didn’t drop below 1/30sec.
We were back at the car now, and had one more location in mind that if we had time would coincide with evening light.
Scarborough had been very enjoyable and had provided so many diverse photo opportunities, we both agreed we would visit again in future.
Onwards and upwards…