Settled at last

We now feel at home in our new (old) house. Not that it's totally free of builders of various description. There's an awful lot of metalwork outside that needs painting plus all the snagging in most areas. Fortunately, the current heatwave helps although the garden is still awaiting relandscaping and planting which is currently impossible. So we're holding tight and, like everyone else, praying for rain. The new conservatory awaits its tiled floor while we wait for the concrete floor is not yet ready - apparently. Even facing due south and the sun blazing for weeks, it could take another month.

Despite the usual niggles as we make this strange house how we want it, I love it here. It is on the very southern edge of Middlesbrough but with great access to country and town. Although the frontage looks very ordinary and so close to the road, at the back it is a totally different story with a skylark filled hay meadow and views over the Cleveland Hills which mark the northerly edge of our beloved North York Moors.

Many people have no concept of North East England unless it's Newcastle. But there's an awful lot of beautiful countryside around once-heavily industrialised Middlesbrough with its ship-building, steel and chemical works. Much of it is currently undergoing regeneration. Wildflowers, butterflies and clean water are now common-place. So here are maps and photos which may help you orienteer yourself.

Look for Coulby Newham - middle bottom. That's our nearest shopping centre and other amenities. South of that, where the blue shading stops is where we now are. Although convenient shopping is five minutes away, we prefer the traditional high street of the delightful Georgian town of Stokesley, North Yorkshire which is only ten minutes. (A bit about the location. The bottom of our garden is in North Yorkshire, whereas the house itself is in a suburb of Middlesbrough. According to Royal Mail, the postal address is Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough. But that's not as near as Coulby Newham or Newby. Because it has a long drive, the house next door is in Yorkshire!)

Stokesley High Street

River Leven in Stokesley

I don't want to be too precise about our house because this is a public blog. But I can show you some views of our back elevation which is not visible from the road.

Drone's eye view.

And an early photo of new unfurnished conservatory although we now have the outside flagstone path laid and flowers planted plus inside unpacked boxes and furniture from our previous house crammed at one end as it all awaits the floor tiles.

Roseberry Topping

I will update soon with the stunning view of the views south to the Cleveland hills that fill us with joy every day. Unfortunately, we cannot see Rosedale Topping itself from our house due to a small wood further east (not ours) which blocks our view but we can see the rest of the Cleveland Hills chain.

What about your writing, I hear you ask. (Well, I imagine I do!) I am still editing my much interrupted medieval novel with a view to submitting it to agents in 2019 but, in the meantime, I am cracking on with flash fiction,  my latest venture. It's a challenge I am loving. Various competitions nowentered, I'll have to wait and see...