Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough

If you’ve ever visiting Scarborough and you can hear the whir of engines it means there’s a race meeting on up at Oliver’s Mount. I couldn’t hear anything so I decided to drive up and have a look at it. It’s named after Oliver Cromwell as it’s thought he positioned some big guns there during the Civil War there but there’s no real evidence that he even visited the town. The hill it’s built on was called Weaponness but it’s renaming probably came from the time local entrepreneurs who felt the ‘feel good’ factor across the UK after the end of World War Two decided to welcome home troops by hosting a big race meeting. Somehow the name stuck.

I drove round the motorcycle circuit in the motorhome and turned up the radio to drown out the cacophony of crockery being slammed around in the cupboards. Its 2.41 miles long with some tight hairpin bends that rock your suspension. The race lap record is 2 minutes 18.6 seconds set in 1955. I did it in 2 mins 22…something like that.

I walked up to the monument read lots of carved names of those who had died – no Halley’s. It’s difficult to get a decent photo without anyone being in the way. The panoramic view of the town and two bays is terrific no matter if the weather is snowy or sunny. I had a stroll around. There’s a big radio broadcasting transmitter, a wee café with the customary over-flowing bins and, just by the mount itself, a few white ashes are scattered. In 2016 it was the summit for the final classified climb on the third stage of the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race (missed it - must have stopped home waxing my board that night.)

Will go to Oliver’s Mount which is over there….

The racing circuit…