Bridlington

For the first time in some years the annual seaside trip that Unison provides me was not to the usual Scarborough or Whitby, but the smaller East Yorkshire Town of Bridlington, somewhere I have not been until now. We planned not to take children this time, as we thought they would be bored, and then, my Partner became very ill and could not manage. So I went alone.

Then it started raining. I mean seriously raining. Torential rain such that the coach was spraying up puddles, and it was too wet even to use my phone to look at maps when we arrived. So much that I was very close to simply finding the station as soon as I arrived.

There’s something about this place. It’s smaller than Whitby or Scarborough, a little more quaint, and with a sad air of slight decay, exacerbated greatly of course by the rain which kept quite a few places closed, at least in the start of the day.

But of course, in the true spirit of The Artist I took advantage of that and set off up the beach towards the north cliffs, in search of photgraphic opportunities and raw materials for my art…

I found both. The weather was actually quite inspiring for some seascapes – I wish (though after walking a couple of miles I am sure I would not) that I had brought a tripod and some ND filters. But I think these have captured the feel of the empty beach very well.

And, the stones. I filled my pockets. A lot of chalk, some sandstones, and something I would love to identify – deep smooth brick red stones, but without the porosity of sea-bricks, so deep in colour they stained my fingers. I am looking forward to seeing what pigments they can produce.

The weather improved sightly, though sporadically, and I wandered into town and round the habour. For artists in Bridlington, there’s a decent art shop in town with the Rowney range at decent prices (though the lady asked if I knew these were the professional range – not sure if I should be offended, but I wonder if they have people complaining about the price…) and also seawhite watercolour journals. Oops. I spent rather too much money…

I visited the harbour and took these panoramic shots.

And a few more. The harbour actually feels a little more active than the Whitby or Scarborough, and fish landing and packing was going on while I was there.

I’d like to go back again, with some better weather, and a bit more time to explore theolder parts of the town and the cliff – perhaps walk out to Flamborough Head. It’s a shame these once great seaside resorts (and you can tell Bridlington had better days by the sheer scale of the promenade) have become so dated – but in some ways that adds to their charm.