In and around Scarborough

I spent a couple of days seeing the sights of Scarborough - after my 17 mile walk along the Cinder Track, I was a tad tired and knew I would need a second visit to see all that I wanted to see

Scarborough was allegedly founded around 966 AD as Skarðaborg by Thorgils Skarthi, a Viking raider, but there is no archaeological evidence to support these claims. In the 4th century there had briefly been a Roman signal station on Scarborough headland. 

There is also evidence of much earlier Stone Age and Bronze Age settlements. However, any new settlement was soon burned to the ground by a rival band of Vikings under Tosti (Tostig Godwinson), Lord of Falsgrave, and Harald III of Norway. The destruction and massacre meant that very little remained to be recorded in the Domesday survey of 1085. Scarborough recovered under King Henry II, who built an Angevin stone castle on the headland, and granted the town charters in 1155 and 1163, permitting a market on the sands.

Scarborough lighthouse was destroyed by German naval bombardment on 16th December 1914 - it was rebuilt and opened on 23rd September 1931

Scarborough Castle - I will come back to this later

  

The Grand Hotel - built in 1863 it was designed around a theme of time. Seasons, months, weeks and days are symbolised in the 4 towers, 12 floors, 52 chimneys and originally 365 bedrooms – there are now 382 bedrooms.

The Central Tramway Company Scarborough Limited opened the Central Tramway in 1880 and started operating on 1 August 1881. The funicular was operated by steam - the steam house was situated away from the top station. Since drivers have no view of the cars, they use marks on the rope to indicate the car positions.

In 1910 the funicular was converted to electric drive. In 1932 the cars were replaced and the motor placed under the top station. Driving was done from a driving station at the top of the station with full view of the cars. The track is 71m long on a 1 in 2 gradient. The funicular is operated by two cars.

The grave of Anne Bronte lies in the old burial ground near St Mary's Church. Anne was a fine writer (as were her two sisters, Charlotte and Emily) and her two most famous publications were. “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” and “Agnes Grey”. She went to Scarborough from Haworth already dying of tuberculosis and, after only a few days there, she passed away on May 28th, 1849

Wilson’s Mariners Homes -a charity that exists to provide almshouses for "poor aged seafarers of good character, their wives/widows, or unmarried daughters being not less than 50 years of age who have resided in the Borough of Scarborough for not less than ten years."

Grade II listed building

The Windmill is an 18th Century Grade II listed building, built in 1784, and the last remaining windmills in Scarborough. It has been lovingly restored and refurbished now offers self catering and bed and breakfast accommodation. The Balcony Suite is for adventurous adults and the lower Suite, which is more spacious, also caters for 2 adults 

On my other visit to Scarborough I concentrated on Scarborough Castle - there was initially a heavy sea mist which somewhat spoilt the views

Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and the town. 

The site encompasses the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th century enclosure castle and 18th century battery

Fortifications for a wooden castle were built in the 1130s, but the present stone castle dates from the 1150s. Over the centuries, several other structures were added, with medieval monarchs investing heavily in what was then an important fortress that guarded the Yorkshire coastline, Scarborough's port trade, and the north of England from Scottish or continental invasion. 

It was fortified and defended during various civil wars, sieges and conflicts, as kings fought with rival barons, faced rebellion and clashed with republican forces, though peace with Scotland and the conclusion of civil and continental wars in the 17th century led to its decline in importance.

Once occupied by garrisons and governors who often menaced the town, the castle has been a ruin since the sieges of the English Civil War, but attracts many visitors to climb the battlements, take in the views and enjoy the accompanying interactive exhibition and special events run by English Heritage - see link Scarborough Castle