The gorse has come into bloom, a beautiful yellow against the white cliffs. A crowd of seabirds - among them kittiwakes, herring gulls and fulmars - is putting on a uniform acrobatic display to a chaotic chorus of song. It is easy to see that Flamborough Head has one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe. I'm channelling my inner reclusive artist, having thrown my Barbour on over a floral day dress after we decided, en route to Cropton in North Yorkshire, to stop at Flamborough for a walk given the irresistible clear skies. It was a good decision: there is nowhere I feel more at peace than beside the sea.
Next on the agenda was Hull, where we enjoyed a delicious pub meal at The Minerva. We sat in the window as the weather raged outside above the River Humber and felt like we were on a sea-worn ship. Finally, we headed for Cropton, on the hem of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, where we spent a lovely Easter Sunday with Dad and Elsa, dining al fresco until late into the afternoon. We also enjoyed a walk around Cropton Forest, one of the most fabulously dense stretches of woodland. We passed fields with newborn lambs balancing on spindly legs, while their slightly older counterparts leapt for the sky and jumped around and around each other. There is no sight more cheerful than that.
