The GCW Tour, A Few Bits of the UK and Ireland: Final Rocks

Our trip around the moors took us to Whitby, which was a massively crowded coastal town, so we didn't do much in the town, but we did notice a pile of rocks on a hill -- Whitby Abbey -- so we decided to stop in there. If nothing else, it got us out of the car for awhile.

The visitor center also had a video playing which raised an interesting (to me) question: were abbeys like this one placed where they were -- remote places but usually at the heads of rivers where land, ocean and river all came together -- because they were intended to be spiritual places located in isolated settings, or political places located in busy settings? 
. 
Funny how, despite the public presentation, the church never seems to be too far from power and politics. 

Anyway, our little English Heritage guidebook had another map to surrounding places, so, since we were headed there anyway, we also stopped in to see the rocks at Pickering Castle...

All of which reminds me, should you find yourself visiting England and, like the boys, are interested in rocks, spring for the English Heritage visitor pass. Entry fees to these places are like $7 per person, but the two week pass I think was only $30 for all three of us. Not a bad deal at all.