Yorkshire Roadtrip | Hooks House Farm

Having the freedom to almost stay where we want and to not be limited with my boyfriends van is wonderful, however hygiene is important so when we went to Whitby this weekend we spent three nights in the van. Two of those nights were spent pulled up somewhere as we travelled through the night. First from Lowestoft to Scunthorpe and then from Scunthorpe to Whitby.

When we got to Whitby it was too late to find somewhere so we pulled up outside a church and slept there for a few hours.

Waking up we then drove to Hooks House Farm. My boyfriend had called to see they had space for us, which they did so we went there, had a shower and then spent the day in Whitby and Goathland. 

Despite seeing photos of this campsite before hand I didn't really expect the view to be as beautiful as it was. 

Surrounded by countryside and quite possibly one of the quietest campsites I have ever been on, all you really hear is the sound of bird and sheep on the nearby fields.

In fact it was so quiet that we ended up going to sleep at 7.30pm and I didn't wake up properly until 12 hours later! 

The showers and toilets were really clean (I hate showering at campsites but felt perfectly fine and comfortable here so that says a lot) and although we didn't need to use the sink area I was aware that this was available to wash up any cooking pans and so on. 

The only odd thing is camping on the wonk as the campsite is on a hill. I'm not sure how comfortable this would be if you were in a tent and not able to go onto some of the flatter parts but I kind of like the kookiness of it. 

The views are absolutely stunning but due to our early sleep we didn't go for a walk to explore the area a little bit more. However my boyfriend has been there before and told me it is lovely and well worth it. 

If we went back to Whitby or in that area I would definitely want to stay here again. 

Five Things | Classic Films I've Finally Watched

One of my favourite things about my relationship, other than the person I am in a relationship with of course, is how relaxed and easy everything is.
There has never been an overwhelming pressure to impress or to live up to any sorts of expectations.
It straight away felt comfortable.
Cooking meals from fresh ingredients from the local fishmongers, various fresh juices (my boyfriend doesn't drink and I'm not a big solo drinker) an incense stick smoking on the sideboard, candles lit around the hot wood burning fire, the cushions on the back of the sofa plump and a soft blanket for us to cuddle under.

We don't really watch any tv series together as the days we see each other aren't always regular, but we do like to watch films together.
We've been watching a lot of classic films together which we find on various entertainment networks, films which have dated over time but with improved quality thanks to watching on a high dynamic range television.
We've watched films that I haven't really thought about watching before due to them probably being a bit too dark or something that maybe I'm not particularly interested in.
However, it seems my boyfriend has great taste in films and even though some are films I would have avoided in the past I'm glad I gave the films a chance as I surprisingly enjoyed them!

The Godfather

1972, classic Gangster crime film staring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. I watched Gangster films in Media Studies in high school and I really enjoyed them. I think maybe the reason I struggle to watch them now is because I tend to pick them apart, to look at the lighting, to focus on the Femme Fatale, the angles...all the pieces that make a good gangster film.

Because it was such a long film we did have to break it up and watch it in two parts. I didn't quite expect to be as enthusiastic to watch the second part the following day but couldn't wait to get home from work and to get settled. 

We're still halfway through the second in the trilogy which we are a little slow at watching but I'm looking forward to watching all three.

Schindlers List

We'd been discussing the history of Poland and the Polish and we searched for Schindlers List and despite struggling to find it at first we eventually did and settled down to watch it.
I have to admit that at first I found it a little boring, and it took me quite a while...a long while really...to understand why Schindler was this hero and why he was so well thought of...until it became clear.
Well there were tears at the end and a big feeling of "What am I doing with my life when one man can do that?!"

Road to Perdition

Yes, this big Tom Hanks fan hadn't watched Road to Perdition until recently. I had tried to watch it previously but couldn't get into it. It definitely helped having my boyfriend watching it with me. I think I was slightly annoying and asked a few questions in the beginning. I think also the reason I had struggled before was because I hadn't really seen Tom in that sort of role before so it took a while to get used to it.
It blew my mind though and had me more convinced that there is nothing that man can't do.

Braveheart

We are going on a roadtrip in Scotland next month so my boyfriend suggested we watch Braveheart to have a look at the scenery.
Again, this is a film that's not really my style...I'm not that into fighting and I'm still wondering if Mel Gibson was the best person to cast as William Wallace...those eyes of his were pretty distracting and he needed to be a bit more rugged I think.
Anyway, I surprised myself by really enjoying it and not only has it made me appreciate why some Scots are as passionate as they are about their country, it has also made me look forward to visiting Scotland even more.

The Birds

Well, there I was saying classic films I enjoyed but this was hilarious. At the end we both looked at each other and said "Oh. Is that it?" as we expected a lot more from it. It felt like there was no resolution or no reason behind it all. 

It's one of those films that you hear a lot about and is a classic but isn't an all round great film..in my opinion. However, is well worth a watch for the awful dated affects and ridiculous acting...as well as the fake blood. 

What are your favourite classic films?

Yorkshire Roadtrip | Goathland

After spending the morning in Whitby we got back in the van and stopped at a beautiful little village in the Scarborough district of Yorkshire.

Goathland was the setting for 1960s based tv series Heartbeat. Various buildings from the show are noticeable as you walk around, as well as three cars which are parked outside the row of shops.

We were both quite tired and I felt it was rude to be in Yorkshire and to not have a cup of Yorkshire tea. We stopped at the little cafe and had a teapot to share and a slice of cake each. My boyfriend went for chocolate cake and I went for lemon drizzle. At first I regretted my choice when I looked at his slice but as soon as I took a bite of the lemon drizzle I was pleased I went with that.

After we had a look at the shop next door we walked down the hill to the train station.

Charles is still really into steam trains and although he wasn't with us we still had a little look around the train station and I took some photos to send over to him.

It was such a beautiful little station which is on the North Yorkshire Moors railway, servicing steam trains.

Goathland railway station was used as the location for Hogsmeade railway station in the Harry Potter films, and the line filmed for Harry's journey.

There was a cute stream running beside the train station and I went for a little walk next to it. There was a bridge leading to the train station which to me looked like the area Pennywise is based in IT. It did make me a laugh. 

The landscape and atmosphere in this village is beautiful. I could have spent a long time there relaxing and walking around but as the day was getting on and we'd had little sleep that night before after travelling from Scunthorpe we then went to the van and headed to the camp site. 

I would definitely visit this village again. I especially loved the fact that sheep are walking around everywhere, grazing on the village green and surrounding moorland.

It was the exact kind of place you would imagine when thinking about a traditional, typical village.