On Thursday we wanted to walk another section of the coast path from Flamborough to the RSPB Visitor Centre at Bempton Cliffs.

It was a bit of a slog across the field paths to the coast, especially the last 100 yards or so past a field of oilseed rape which was falling across the footpath, but it wasn't as bad as the field of the stuff near Ingleby a few years back where the farmer hadn't cut the wretched stuff away from the path across his field and it dragged at our ankles all the way across. When we reached the coast path, we were confronted with this signpost. Somewhat uninformative, to say the least!



This splendid wooden chap holds court on the edge of the footpath where it crosses Danes Dyke, an ancient earthwork. I was somewhat afeard that he might be the only puffin we'd see....



I was rather taken with this arch, but if I were a seabird, I think I'd avoid building my nest on it - I'm not sure how long it will be before the sea washes it away.






We walked out to the cafe at Bempton, which turned out to be a hole in the wall where a nice lady was selling cups of tea and eccles cakes, and then began trundling back again. A few hundred yards from the Visitor Centre was a big wooden observation platform where people were watching the birds on the cliffs. It was very crowded so we trundled a long a little further and set up with our scope and binoculars ....and there, in a little hollow in the cliff, directly under the observation platform where the people on it couldn't see him, was our first puffin of the day....This appears to be what constitutes high humour for a puffin :-)





My shots of him are on extreme digital zoom, so I apologise for their shortcomings on that account.

This seems to be a puffin impression of a rubber duck.



Rob was dead keen to get back to the village.



View along the cliff path towards Flamborough Head from Danes Dyke.


We had dinner in a different pub this time (which still didn't take debit cards!). Rob was happier with his steak pie than he'd been with the previous night's gammon, but I found the Quorn lasagne rather bland and the chips were disappointing.

Friday was going home day, but we decided to stop off in the seaside town of Bridlington on the way. Not the most exciting of places, but the beach is nice and Rob had a paddle :-)



And there was a nice view of the cliffs we'd been walking along :-



Not a bad holiday for a last minute replacement, on the whole!