Barnard Castle, Whitby and Scarborough

The only surviving oriel window in the ruins -- it gave me goosebumps to know that Richard III, my historical crush, stood at this window and saw this beautiful view.

After a lovely day at Barnard Castle on Monday, we went to Whitby on Tuesday and DIDN'T LOSE THE CAR KEYS.  This is quite an accomplishment.

I had heard a rumour that there was a little place to buy dolls house items in Whitby, and I found it in the Shambles Market in Whitby Marketplace.  It's called Angel, and has a small selection of mostly standard Dollshouse Emporium items.  I was able to get a few pretty prezzies for my dollshouse club friends as well as good deals on electric candlesticks.

Yesterday was a quiet day for me while David went out to photograph some of the trains at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.  Later on I tap danced with the Easington Tappers! I think for next year I'm going to buy proper tappy shoes and really give this my serious consideration :)

Today we drove down to Hull to see a friend, stopping in Scarborough on our way down.  We were able to visit two brilliant shops here:  The Train Shop (where we picked up our first N scale loco and carriages) and, just around the corner, Box O' Trix, which sells some very special dolls house minis.  This is well worth a visit if you're going to be in Scarborough.

I picked up quite a few blue and white pieces, plus some very special little oddments, including a display of packets of pork scratchings for our pub!

Tomorrow is our last real day in England before we spend all Saturday travelling.  It's been such a great trip, and I'll try to post some photos of my buys once I get home!