East Coast Adventures
Having all the time in the world (and not a care) I decided it was time I spent a little more time on the other side of the Pennines. There are so many places in Yorkshire I had promised myself to see and now there was nothing holding me back. My first destination was Yorkshire Sculpture Park or just YSP to those in the know. One sunny July morning I set my SatNav, put my foot down and headed off in the general direction of Wakefield.
Inspired by the ease and success of my YSP trip, I slowly and surely drew my plans for a further invasion. The next two incursions would take me to the east coast stopping near Gateshead to see the Angel. Firstly to the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head and on to Scarborough (a journey I deliberately devised to take me over the Humber Bridge); then secondly to the castle on the beach at Bamburgh and the Holy Island of Linsdisfarne.
YSP turned out to be nothing like I was expecting. It is huge! The exhibits are spaced out, some very far apart, hidden amongst trees, on rolling hills and alongside lakes. Even armed with a plan of the site, I know I never got to see many of the sculptures. I did like the Henry Moores, they are suited to the open air. Damien Hirst has several exhibits of varying interest but the attention-grabber is surely The Virgin Mother.
Despite its colossal size, it is easy to drive past Anthony Gormley’s Angel of the North. Though a cold November day, the sky was a perfect blue and shadows deep and strong. Looking like bronze in the bright sunlight, the structure is made of steel.
On the beach at Bamburgh, the castle looks over the North Sea with Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands on the horizon.