Having first suffered from being forced to choose one highlight – or rather ‘winner’ – from my manifold personal nominees worthy of this honour, I finally made my decision, which fell to the shore walk at the beach in Whitby. The incredibly relaxing Evensong in the York Minster, though, and the ‘short’ walk through the Yorkshire Dales, starting at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth and leading over secret paths disguised by strangers’ laundry, and the Ghost Walk were among my absolute favourites as well.

Since I first considered going on this excursion, I have longed for a possibility to spend some time by the sea – England is an island after all. We therefore had to come into some contact with the ocean. The overnight ferry to Hull was a good start, but I was not yet satisfied until I could stand on a beach myself. The pleasure of finally smelling the sea, watching the seagulls, looking at the horizon, and enjoying the sound of the waves was only exceeded by the feeling of sand and cold water between my aching and rather battered toes. The view was moreover a very enjoyable variation from the town scenery which we mostly encountered in York. After some time the water had rendered my feet perfectly numb, resulting in a delightful and pain-free walk back to the bus.