Harbour Wall

I was going to call this something like 'next stop Hamburg' since if you keep going East over that horizon you'll end up close to that place but then I guess no-one or very few from Hamburg these days thinks 'heh if go that-a-way I'll end up in Bridlington' well at least not for the past seventy five years or so... This was taken in October when by rights it should have been posted then but though the body was willing the spirit was weak ... Besser spät als nie as they might say over yonder ...


The City Daily Photo theme for January was 'Photo of the Year'; it's not too late to go have a look.

The Gansey Girl

On the north pier sits this recently installed (October last year) statue, the Gansey Girl, depicting a young woman knitting a traditional jumper or gansey for her fisherman sweetheart. It's part of the maritime trail which is apparently ten years old; how time flies. The sculptor was Steve Carvill.

I have since found out that the little fishes on the base carry the names of fishing families from Bridlington and nearby. If I'd known I'd have taken a close up but if you zoom in on this picture you might just be able to make out some names.

The weekend in black and white is here.

Down to the sea

Steps to Bridlington North Bay

The weekend in black and white is here.

Gabrantuicorum sinus portuosus

"After riding about twenty-two miles thro' a flat grazing country, reached Burlington-Quay, a small town close to the sea. There is a design of building a pier, for the protection of shipping; at present there is only a large wooden quay, which projects into the water, from which the place takes its name. From hence is a fine view of the white cliffs of Flamborough-Head, which extends far to the East, and forms one side of the Gabrantuicorum sinus portuosus of Ptolemy, a name derived from the British Gysr, on account of the number of goats found there, according to the conjecture of Cambden."
Thomas Pennant A Tour in Scotland 1769

Burlington-Quay we now know as Bridlington and all those other antique names such as Bretlington and Britlington cute though they may be are now passé. Ptolemy called this place portuosus meaning there were many harbours but over the years the North Sea has eaten away the coast giving a large bay with miles and miles of sandy beaches. The white cliffs of Flamborough are still there though I think the goats are long gone.

A little splash of colour

I've just realised that the other day when I said they were making ready for the tourists to pour in that  in fact they were repairing damage done by last year's tidal surge that flooded Bridlington especially around the harbour. The water came over the harbour wall and into the little shops and cafes that line the harbour. 

So to today's post which is the Bayside funfair, which, at the risk is of appearing to kick someone when they're down is hardly the most fun place on the planet. I know it's pre-season but it seems that a quite a few of the rides that were there are no longer; the water slide, for example, torn down for health and safety reasons so I've heard. Well maybe it was just the dull weather and things will brighten up ...

Nautical Mile Promenade

A stroll along the prom has long been one of the attractions of the seaside and at Bridlington you can stroll for a whole nautical mile. Several small promenades were rejigged and joined together in what is described as "an imaginative stretch of waterfront, which never fails to hold the visitor's interest, and which is by turn exciting, instructive, humorous and good fun, at any time of the year".

Here's one they built earlier.

Accompanying you on your stroll is a running dialogue of phrases from poems, odd thoughts and details of events that happened nearby, shipwrecks and rescues and so on. At a nautical mile in length it's claimed to be the longest piece of writing in the world.

Life's a beach

In the times of yore, when I was a lad, we went to beach and played about, got wet, didn't drown and went home happy. But lurking behind all the jollity was an hidden need for a sign. How could we go on without the Great Sign? Well here's a classic; a triptych full of dos and donts and totally meaningless icons that need a description to make sense. The right hand sign has description of Bridlington beach which is, ahem, just behind it! I don't know now how we ever managed without them.

The Water's Edge

Bridlington's south shore at low tide is a good place to spot some wading birds.

This month's theme is 'the water's edge'. Find what others have made of this at the new CDPB monthly theme page here.

Sea at Bridlington

The German Ocean gently laps on Bridlington's blue-flagged North Bay.
Today is the third anniversary of the great deluge that put parts of Hull under several feet of water. If the eco-doomsters are right then, in the future, Hull will be under the sea. So it's not all bad news then.