Well east coast girls are hip

They may well have been, but the first time we ventured to the east coast we took our west coast girls with us. All travelling in Ian’s VW dormobile, we stayed at Rock Hall and Malton youth hostels. There were avocets at Budle Bay – our first ever sighting of these distinctive birds, at a time when they were less frequently seen in Britain than they are today. In the smallest pub that we had ever been in, it felt like we were just sharing someone else’s lounge with them. There was a ledge running along the length of wall behind the sofa, from which the beer was served.

We were drawn, naturally, to the North York Moors Railway, recording these two shots of Worsdell North Eastern Railway Class J27 0-6-0 No. 2392 [BR 65894] backing down onto stock over the level crossing at Grosmont and then, having left the station, pounding out of the tunnel and past the sheds, on 23^rd April 1973, which was a very wet day.

The first few bars of the Beach Boys’ California Girls still leave me with a tingle, every time that I hear them.