A Window on Scarborough

Scarborough is a town that is either on the way up, or on its way down, according to who you talk to. It has some glorious housing stock, built in the town’s heyday as a prosperous and must-visit resort in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of it is still glorious, and windows sparkle. Some is run down and in bad shape, and windows are grubby and laced with spiders’ webs – often on the same street.

All smart and tickety-boo at one end … less so further down the street.

Shopping streets can be quirkily full of independent traders (taxidermist, anyone?)…

A rather sad display spotted through the taxidermist’s window.

or be slightly down-at-heel examples of chain stores seen anywhere. Or even cheerful sea-front stores. And as one image below shows, quirkily independent doesn’t always make it.

It boasts the nationally renowned Stephen Joseph Theatre. It even has a university, even if that local seat of learning is actually an outpost of Coventry University, 260 km, or three and a quarter hours away. Transport links aren’t great, and all this is difficult for job seekers, who point out that the sea automatically limits the number of opportunities available. ‘Half our catchment area is fish.‘

Many of those fish end up in one of the many fish and chip restaurants in town. Here’s the view from Catch 55 (recommended). Though one customer didn’t seem to relish the scene as much we did…

Catch 55

I’ll close with a snapshot I rather like. It includes some of the more desirable housing, some of the more desirable parkland, an even, if you look hard enough, the sea. It absolutely qualifies for Monday Window, because these views were taken glancing through the window of a parked car.

For Ludwig’s Monday Window, hosted this week by PR.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

41 thoughts on “A Window on Scarborough”

  4. Clever shot that last one. Indeed I could see the sea, a well-manicured boulevard, and parked cars in the reflection as well as a very nice home. I am sure the beach is a lovely place to spend a late summer afternoon!

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  5. Reminds me of Hastings/St Leonard’s which has a similar rundown/quirky independent vibe. Before I read your post, I thought the poor unfortunates living the houses in your final shot spent their lives bathed in green neon!

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    1. Definitely not! The street where I took that photo is very much the right side of the tracks. Yes, I’ve only visited Hastings once, but indeed it had that quirky/ doing alright/not doing well vibe.

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  6. If you’re up on the cliff it’s still quite respectable? And you can play minigolf. The Flamingos are fun. Our croquet club used to be called the Pink Flamingos. Mam used to love a game of bingo and I once lost my daughter on the beach. So many memories xx

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  7. So many memories associated with Scarborough. Though the seaside of my parents’ choice was Bridlington when I was a baby. Like many seaside towns in the UK there are the good bits and the bad bits, in fact that can be said about many towns I guess. Penzance here is one of those – on the up, but with some dodgy areas.

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  8. I haven’t been in Scarborough since I was a teenager, and that was just a day trip from London so you can imagine how little time I actually spent there. All I remember is a very good fish and chip lunch served with slices of Mother’s Pride (or similar – other bland white loaves are available) and pots of tea!

    Friends of mine are firm advocates for the town, so I was surprised to see parts looking quite rundown in your photos. But you can easily see the potential in those elegant terraces 🙂 And your last shot is very clever!

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    1. Thanks Sarah. Scarborough has its share of problems, and those elegant big houses lend themselves to multi-occupation, which often does a street no favours. But I felt it was a town I could cheerfully live in, if pressed (no plans to move)

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  13. Only ever having been to England for less than a week (Birmingham and Newcastle) my only association with Scarborough is of course, via Simon & Garfunkel (I don’t even know if they sing about the English place or if there is a Scarborough in the US). — So thanks for the education. That’s a nice selection. That first housing row looks very impressive, as neo-classicism is wanting to do.

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  14. What a wonderful looking place Margaret. The long rows of houses are always intriguing to me. The flamingo windows are so lovely. While I was on the road trip, I noticed so many people engrossed in their phones and not the beauty that surrounds 🙄

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  18. Thanks Margaret for taking us on a lovely journey through Scarborough 😀. And yes, the last one is doubly apt for the Monday Window challenge!

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