Wind, Waves and Sandy Lane.

The walk from Brentwood House to the Sandy Lane Home can take me through the centre of town or I can detour down to the promenade and walk along the beach.  The promenade in Bridlington is quite beautiful.

Even in the middle of December I often met couples walking together enjoying the wind in their faces.  

Also people could be seen with  their dogs, who loved to be set loose to run  on the beach and to splash in the waves.

It is always so beautiful, whatever the weather to walk along the North Bay. The sands are golden. Since I was last here, there seem to be so many more pebbles and rocks covering the sands.  

As I visited my mum twice a day; once in the afternoon when she was sitting in the lounge with all the ladies, and again in the evening when we were tucked away in her bedroom, usually watching telly, I had time to `enjoy both the townscapes and the sea-views.

This row of hotels is typical of those you find in Bridlington.  These ones are at a right angle with the prom.

I passed this magnificent church every day.  

The view off to Flamborough Head is quite wonderful.

It is an eight mile promontory between Filey and Bridlington bays The chalk cliffs are home to thousands of sea birds, and the cliffs are apparently of international importance because of their geology.  

It is a great walk along the shore to Sewerby  Park, and my mum loved to go there when she could walk distances. It is en route to Flamborough Head.

My Mum is a twin and it is quite special to be able to go and visit her and know that she is in the same home as my Aunty.  They always sit beside each other in the lounge.  This lounge has a spectacular view over the bay and they are so lucky to have such a gorgeous  location.  This particular home is excellent in the care they shower on the residents. It meets her needs perfectly. She feels completely safe and protected here.  She suffers from anxiety and short term memory loss and and they understand her needs so well.

One day my cousin, whom I hadn't seen for years, visited my aunty and brought along his daughter and daughter-in-law. They each brought their young children, one was a year old and  the other was eighteen months.

It was amazing how the presence of the small children brought light and enrgy into the residents, not just my aunty and my Mum.  They were singing nursery rhymes with them and clapping hands along with the toddlers

When not visiting my Mum I managed to get some of my Christmas shopping done and take in some of the seasonal sights of Bridlington.  More of that in the next post.

Across Country to Bridlington, and My Mother.

Travelling by train really is a great way to travel here in England.  Even if it involves lots of changing stations along the way.  Luckily my family happily drive me to the nearest station, in this case Kirkham, a mere ten minutes from the village of Elswick, where my sister lives. 

The journey from Kirkham to Bridlington  involved many changes.  First stop was Preston, just ten minutes away.  The new elctronic signs make it so much easier to find the correct platform than when I used to travel by train years ago. I found the platform for Manchester Oxford Road and was surprised to see Horwich as one of the stops on the journey.

 It was a packed train going to Manchester Oxford Road, standing room only, but luckily I had booked ahead and had a reserved seat. :-)

People were crammed into the aisles and it was a very interesting journey as I was opposite two very vocal and demanding children with a very patient father.

Something realy special happened on this trip. I went right through a little stop called Horwich Parkway.  My very good friend in Canada comes from Horwich, so I had to take this picture as I thought of Carole.  It was sad to think her sister Charlotte was so close, yet so far away. 

Manchester Oxford Road seemed to be fairly quiet too. I loved the big old clock there. 

From Manchester I got on a train to Seamer that passed through Leeds, a place I would be visiting later in December. The ultimate destination of this train was Scarborough, where I went to college for three years. However, I was getting off in Seamer, in order to get to Bridlington.  It was quite a long wait in Seamer, buffeted by the cold wind, and I was very happy to board my train to Bridlington. 

The station at Brid was all decked out for Christmas and made for a wonderful welcome to the east coast. I felt good to be back in this city which I had first visited when I was eighteen. I was working as a chamber maid in Scarborough through the summer season and took the bus down one weekend to visit my family who were vacationing in Bridlington in the caravans on Lime Kiln Lane. It was so strange that my parents chose to settle in Bridlington when they returned to England after so many years in Canada.  

Once in Bridlington I got the taxi to my Bed and Breakfast at Brentwood House Hotel which was on Princess St..

 What a great location, right in the centre of town and only a fifteen minute walk to my Mum's Care Home. I arrived on the fifteenth of December and I had my Christmas shopping to do so it was nice to be right near the shops and also not too far from Mum.

 The host at Brentwood House was amazing. He was so welcoming and he cooked some of the best breakfasts I have ever had.

 My room was lovely and I really felt blessed to have found this place as lots of Bed and Breakfasts were closed so near to Christmas.  

 I arrived in time to have a cup of tea in my room at the B and B before I walked over to see Mum. I knew her routine from previous visits and  seven o'clock at night is a great time to arrive as she has settled into her TV viewing after her tea.

I wrapped up warm and headed over to the Sandy Land Care Home.  She was so surprised to see me, and I got such a big smile and hugs and kisses. I knelt beside her for the first part of the visit just to be close to her. She held my hand and it was so good to be able to touch her and be close once again. 

I felt so happy to finally be with her.  More in the next post about my time in Bridlington and with my beautiful mother.