Childhood Memories

A Memory of Reighton.

This August 2014, on my way back from Whitby, I took a detour and called at Reighton Gap. The last time I was there was in the late 1950s / early 60's when we stayed at the bungalow my grandmother owned on Boat Cliff Road. I seem to remember it was No.8 and was called St Margaret. It was on the left hand side going up the hill and had a low wooden fence around it.

At the bottom of the road was a General Shop with, I think, a fish and chip shop and I remember a red call box as well. There was a long concrete road that ran down to the beach which was used by Toulsons as part of their gravel extraction. I remember lorries full of gravel struggling to get up the hill with water dripping out of the back. There was a plant near the bottom of the cliffs where the gravel, which came off the beach in little dumper trucks, was washed. The cliffs at the time were crumbling and people were moving out of one or two bungalows that were close to the cliff edge. People were blaming Toulsons for causing the problem as it was felt their excavation was undermining the cliffs.

My most vivid memory was of fishing on the beach with my older brother. He used a long beachcaster rod to cast far out into the incoming waters. We would often catch 7 or 8 small plaice called Dabs which I would take back to grandma in the bungalow. She would cook them and serve them with home made chips and garden peas. Smashing!

I remember a Bedford bus (brown & cream I think) that came and parked next to the general store. It only held perhaps 15 people and was very, very slow. I also remember that someone, perhaps from the shop used to taxi us back to Filey where we caught the bus home.

So what of my visit today? The area, away from the commercial static caravans, looked sad. Piles of rubble, half built chalets and a car park that is a disgrace. The old concrete road to the beach has broken and slipped and the shop is no more. The sun however did shine, the air was fresh and the sea looked beautiful just as it used to do. I have added that to my memory of the plaice and chips, but I left Reighton Gap with a sad heart.

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