Beside the seaside in Bridlington

Bridlington Cake

We didn’t go on holiday much in the 1950s but I do have a distant memory of day trips to Bridlington. Being a railway family, of course we always went there by train, pulled by a steam train engine, from Bolton on Dearne Railway station where we lived. 

Grandma Abson at Bolton on Dearne Railway Station 

It took around about 2 hours. Bridlington was certainly one of the popular places on the East Coast, alongside Scarborough and Filey and most Sundays in the summer, we would be busy at the station with excursions from the station. A couple of weeks before, I would go around the villages nearby with my father who was the stationmaster, pasting up handbills advertising the excursions on railway billboards. Then on the day, I would help out with handing out tickets for the journey and then collecting tickets when the passengers returned tired but happy after their trip to the seaside. Bridlington is still a popular resort with lots of things to offer with award winning beaches, the old Town and a famous spa which has just been revamped.

Meryl with Grandma Abson & (Great)Aunty Mabel  

I found this picture from a holiday we took in Bridlington in June 1952. It shows Grandma with one of her sisters, Mabel and me talking a stroll along the promenade. What do you think of my sun bonnet? And what's so intriguing in that brown paper parcel?

                                                   

Bridlington Cake

Grandma had a recipe for Bridlington Cake amongst her collection. The cake takes its name from the railway excursions to Bridlington on the Yorkshire Coast. Grandma used to have this cake prepared for trips to the coast or for the arrival home. The cake has a summery lemon flavour. It was one of the most popular ones at Grandma's recipe book launch. Have you got a favourite recipe named after a town or county?