Ravenscar...

It’s years since I last took the cul-de-sac to Ravenscar. It was planned to be a holiday resort to rival Scarborough, a few miles to the south. Roads were laid out, sewers were dug and a few houses were built. Plots were put up for sale, but, since Ravenscar sits at the top of a cliff, with a long climb down to the rocky beach, nobody wanted to buy.

The Raven Hall Hotel still sits on the headland, with great views north to Robin Hoods Bay. It’s a somnolent sort of place, where the unspoken promise to guests is that nothing ever happens here and nothing ever will. The Bulgarian national football team were billeted in the Raven Hall Hotel during Euro 96, though it only took a few days for the players to request a move to another hotel because, in blighted Ravenscar, there was “nothing to do”…

Croquet at the Raven Hall Hotel...