although there’s no doubt that scarborough is developing a more continental culture, it’s not often we’re to be found drinking wine at 10am overlooking the sea. at least not on a work day in february. but this morning our excuse was the official unveiling of a map of south cliff gardens on the esplanade - a joint project between scarborough civic society and scarborough borough council. [given the chilly morning it was mulled wine].

this has been a genuine collaboration - the original map was drawn by architect richard flowitt of the civic society, james did the digital colouring and labels and i did some work on the layout and typography. the map was also printed in last month’s renaissance news and we’ve received some lovely comments from people about it. thanks all. it has been commissioned to celebrate 50 years of the gardens coming under the management of the council and coincides with the restoration of the 13 shelters dotted across the south cliff.

the south cliff gardens are one of the legacies of scarborough’s victorian heyday and sometimes tend to get forgotten or ignored by visitors and residents alike which is a shame because there few more pleasant activities than a stroll through the gardens looking out to sea and spotting squirrels and birds - i’ve even seen wild deer there. hopefully a few more people will now be tempted in as a result of the map. it’s situated opposite the crown spa hotel, printed copies can be obtained from the renaissance office: 01723 341346.