going up to Boulby next week, anyone recommend a B&B or similar? I usually stay at Welcome Break but up for any suggestions.

i'll be travelling from Humberside and staying over Thursday night

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Boulby Grange seems the obvious choice.

http://www.hotelsnortheast.co.uk/saltburn/Boulby-Grange.php 

Never stayed there, but envied those who have. Don't know about the accomodation, but the location is superb.

If you have free time only a short walk to the alum quarries, or down the cliff to the alum tunnel. Lots of other stuff very nearby.

Don't know anywhere in particular to stay there but Staithes is by far and away the nicest place in the immediate vicinity of Boulby and within walking distance of the mine if you're so inclined.

The Cod & Lobster in Staithes itself and the Fox & Hounds in neighbouring Dalehouse are both good pubs but I don't know whether they have accomodation. Whitby is 15 minutes or so away as well where there's no shortage of B&Bs.

Google should give you a hundred and one B&B sites for the coast and moors.

No Travellodge type places anywhere closer than Middlesbrough which you're best avoiding if you plan to do anything on an evening but stare at your bedroom wall and I'd probably say the same for anywhere in Redcar & Loftus too.

Can second the Fox and Hounds, in fact, may well be in there enjoying a pint or two tomorrow.

Some friends of mine run a B&B in Whitby, no idea if they have any vacancies, although if you mention my name they will probably give you an extra sausage with your breakfast.

http://www.riftswood.co.uk/ 

Boulby Grange seems the obvious choice.

http://www.hotelsnortheast.co.uk/saltburn/Boulby-Grange.php 

Never stayed there, but envied those who have. Don't know about the accomodation, but the location is superb.

If you have free time only a short walk to the alum quarries, or down the cliff to the alum tunnel. Lots of other stuff very nearby.

I note the webpage includes a rather stroppy comment to the effect that the picture shown is a private residence and not the hotel at all!

I know Whitby and the immediate area very well and I find it expensive and inconvenient for trips like this, especially as I am usually keeping 'working' hours with an early start.

I usually use 'Welcome Break' as they are the best of a poor lot, Travelodge are firmly at the bottom of my list and Premier ok but overpriced for what they offer.

I usually end up staying in one of two or three pubs on the A19, so I suppose that will be the answer this time.


I know the Alum working site at Sandsend, and i have done a condition inspection in the old rail tunnel there, but not the Alum tunnnel - what is this?

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Ooops! She sounds stroppy doesn't she! Don't know what the story is there then.

Here's a link to Chris's page on the Alum Tunnel.

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2008/01/21/boulby-alum-tunnel/ 

A condition report on the Sandsend tunnel should now read "collapsed". At least the western portal has. Was still easily passable when we last visited, but that must be a year ago I think.

it's at least 15 years since I did the condition inspection and I reported that it was unsafe and unsuitable for public access. There was a proposal at the time, to open a further section of the disused railway as a cycle path but for various reasons it wasn't acted upon.. too much of the route was lost, inaccessible or unsafe for it to be feasible, from what I hear

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http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26788 

http://www.urbexforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4258 

quite a lot of stuff around on this location, there are actually two tunnels

the side adits were presumably originally used for dumping arisings into the sea, this was quite common on 19th century coastal railways, and the left open either for drainage and/or simply to save the cost of backfilling them and making safe.

supervision of contractors was often very lax at that time. I have more than once seen underground sewer connections on existing sewers constructed as timber headings ( usually about 4ft square ) with the pipe laid within the heading. The heading should then be backfilled with a lean mix concrete, but I have seen on a number of occasions, these headings simply left open with haunches at intervals supporting the pipe and the 100-plus year old timber as the only load-bearing structure 😮 .

of course you only see this when you connect into the pipe with another tunnel...... :blink:

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I usually end up staying in one of two or three pubs on the A19, so I suppose that will be the answer this time.

The A19 is at least 40 mins from Boulby (hardly conductive to an early start) where as Staithes is about a mile away from the mine & far more picturesque than any Travelodge type dive you could find on the A19.

I know where I would rather spend my money 😉

http://www.touristnetuk.com/Ne/nym/accommodation/ac-servicedz2/staithes.htm#staithes  The pub looks good 😉

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Boulby Grange seems the obvious choice.

Boulby Grange's address?

Easington
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Tees Valley!

Even if such a place existed, Boulby surely wouldn't be there?

Sorry

:offtopic:

my idea of an early start may not be yours.... I have to be at the mine before 0745. Then again, I'm used to starting between 0600 and 0700, but it does tend to mean that you don't get breakfast.

it's also a common problem that you can't get a single night midweek during the school holidays.

I'm not a huge fan of Travelodge et al but they serve the 'business traveller' market reasonably well, although having had a great deal of experience of motel and hotel chains in various parts of the world, I'm much less than impressed with the service in this country in a number of respects.

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If you have time and the weather is nice I recommend any of the following.
Now follows shameless promotion of my own website.

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2008/04/18/boulby-alum-works/ 

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2007/07/02/grinkle-mine-sirocco-fanhouse/ 

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2007/07/06/grinkle-mine-and-ridge-lane-tunnel/ 

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2009/03/14/grinkle-ironstone-mine-culvert/ 

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2008/04/22/return-to-kettleness-railway-tunnel/ 

http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2008/04/22/return-to-sandsend-tunnel/ 

I usually end up staying in one of two or three pubs on the A19, so I suppose that will be the answer this time.

The A19 is at least 40 mins from Boulby (hardly conductive to an early start) where as Staithes is about a mile away from the mine & far more picturesque than any Travelodge type dive you could find on the A19.

I know where I would rather spend my money 😉

http://www.touristnetuk.com/Ne/nym/accommodation/ac-servicedz2/staithes.htm#staithes  The pub looks good 😉

Captain Cook Inn it is. I gather there are others from the mine stop there so early breakfast no problem, which is a bonus

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How long will you be staying? Might be doing some work over there around then.

Even if you don't have any underground kit on you, then there is plenty to see on some evening walks. Or I'm sure the locals might chip in as well.

I'm not a huge fan of Travelodge .

Me neither, after spending a night in one near Ongar a few years back & sharing the room with a group of industrious fleas!!!
In 30 odd years of staying away, it's the only time that's happened.

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I'm not a huge fan of Travelodge .

Me neither, after spending a night in one near Ongar a few years back & sharing the room with a group of industrious fleas!!!
In 30 odd years of staying away, it's the only time that's happened.

I haven't had THAT experience, but my experience of Travelodge tends to be that they are scruffy, poorly maintained and very spartan. I particularly don't like eating breakfast in a crowded, noisy motorway services before setting off for a meeting.

Premier tend to be particularly expensive for what they actually offer.

At least at Welcome Break you can usually get breakfast at the reception or a tray in your room, and the reception generally has an internet connection available. Some also have bars and reception areas as opposed to the 'hole in the wall' style favoured by Travelodge. But, they are still the best of a poor lot.

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interesting trip in the end.

Didn't get there till mid-afternoon Thurs which left me too tired from driving to follow up my original plan, a visit to Redcar Bears speedway.

Captain Cook Inn proved to be a rather idiosyncratic place which appears to have largely stood still for quite a long time. Still and all, the beer was good, there was some cloudy cider which proved to be real 'loopy juice' and I had a good evening in the bar. The landlord is a trad jazz and acoustic music fan, someone played the piano in the bar, I fetched my banjo uke from the car and someone else played a truly dreadful guitar which belonged to the pub, a member of a local choir sang Waltzing Matilda and a good time was had by all.

up early for the mine, 6:30 breakfast at the pub no problem, so more brownie points for that.

the mine is a fascinating place, and leaving aside a lot of technical detail somewhat outwith this forum, well worth the trip.

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