Winter storms and ongoing erosion of the cliffs have finally made the poor Boggle homeless. Boggles are ugly creatures akin to hobgoblins or small trolls, despite their ugly appearance they are kindly creatures and local mothers would bring ill children for the attention and care of the Boggle. Usually some form of gift was left in payment.
There are suggestions that the hole was used to hide smuggled goods, but I can find no proof of this.
I can remember, as a child, exploring the Boggle's cave with a torch. With a modern day eye, I wonder about my parent's ability to make adequate risk assessments, however a: I survived and b: I never met a Boggle.
Sadly, ongoing coastal erosion has reduced the cave to a shallow niche in the rocks. Poor Boggle, joining the homeless.
Perhaps the Boggle have already moved to another home.
I hope so.

The fifth of January has become one of our regular maintenance days, we plan to take down and tidy away the Christmas decorations and give the cottage a deep clean after the Christmas and New year festivities. We took the opportunity to give the rugs and carpets a deep clean and change the sofa covers. The weather and tide times were kind to us and we even managed to fit in a walk down the beach to Boggle Hole. A good day.

For us the start of a New Year is time for a period of reflection on the positive and negative events that occurred during the old year trying to identify ways of ensuring a repetition of the positive and the avoidance of the negatives.
For 2024 we will take a week in January for maintenance of the cottage, Repairing and repainting areas of the walls and woodwork to remove the scuffs and scratches of everyday wear. This is a good opportunity to book tradesmen in to run our electrical item checks and other repairs as required. We usually take time to survey the building structure to ensure that it remains in good health.
When you research the history of a building like Fenay cottage it forces you to recognise that you are simply a short term curator caring for a beautiful building in the way that owners cared for it before you and others will continue to care for the place long after you are gone.

We hope that 2024 proves to be a happy and prosperous one for you all.

We wake today with a modest dusting of snow surrounding our house, but the local travel reports of nearby roads suggest that many folk have been caught out by the snowfall. The A171 Main route between Scarborough and Whitby passing the Bay is blocked thanks to a jack knifed lorry on one of the steeper hills. The A169 between Pickering and Whitby is also closed. The NYCC website also confirms that many of the smaller routes have not been treated and should not be attempted.

Please stay safe and only travel if it is truly essential.

As we near the end of November we start thinking abut getting ready for The Victorian Weekend. During the event the cottage owners decorate their cottages and many dress in victorian costumes. There are activities all around the village and a chance to look around some of the cottages. For more information here is a link to the events Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/RobinHoodsBayVictorianWeekend
We think the fabric wreath from Yorkshire Blankets dresses the front door nicely.