Whitby Lighthouse – Card

The Cleveland Way is one of the shorter national trails, beginning in Helmsley in North Yorkshire. The path takes you to the coast at Saltburn by the Sea, and then all along the coastal path to Filey Brigg. In May 2025 I ran the whole path over the course of a week. I was on my own for most of it, then joined by my best running friends at Whitby for the last couple of days. I carried a little running pack with everything I needed for the week on my back (I wasn’t camping!) and the smallest drawing kit in a pouch on my front. I stopped to draw whenever inspiration struck. I took photographs too, but mostly the paintings are based on the sketches.

For the next couple of days we’re running as a gang! My friends Christina, Gill and Gloria have joined me and I feel very guilty as they’ve left Hebden Bridge in hot weather to find everyone in Whitby wearing their big coats. We set off early up the 199 steps and along the cliff top paths. This is Whitby Lighthouse. Beyond it, the little white house is home to ’The Hawsker Bull’ foghorn, so called as the noise it makes was compared to a distressed bull. The girls ran around to keep warm while drew as quickly as could.