AFTERNOONS ON THE EDGE

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD

PHOTO: A recent photo of Bempton Cliffs,
but they haven't changed for thousands of years.

Have you ever been to the Bempton Bird Santuary with 300 foot high cliffs, just north of Flamborough, which is just north of Bridlington. In the old days (1950s) the bird sanctuary didn't exist, but my father (Ray Edmonds) used to go fishing at the foot of these cliffs. The only way to get to the foot of these cliffs was by rope. There wasn't (and still isn't) any land access. I was about 7 or 8 years old, I guess, and I'd go with him when he went fishing, but he'd leave me sat on top of the cliffs ALL DAY with a bag of sandwhiches and a bottle of pop. (We're talking 300 feet sheer drop cliffs, remember).

When we'd arrive, he'd throw down the coil of rope onto the grass near the edge of the cliff, and pull out a huge metal spike which he'd hammer into the soil near the cliff edge. Then he'd tie his rope to it and throw the remainder of the rope over the edge. Next he'd tie his fishing rod across his back and sling his fishing bag over his shoulder, and holding on tightly to the rope, he'd disappear over the edge - and that's all I'd see of him for the next six hours. No safety harnesses! Just rope and bare hands!

Sometimes, little old me used to creep to the edge of the cliff to see if I could see my dad, but I never did. It was a bit scary near the edge, so I generally stayed away from it.

At the end of the day, my dad's head would suddenly appear, followed by his a hand cluching a bunch of huge fish, with him shouting "Here, grab hold of these!"

I'd grab the fish, and he would clamber onto the safety of the cliff top, and then we'd walk to the car park where someone usually picked us up in a car and returned us to Scarborough where we lived.

I often reflect upon those days. I wasn't tied down to anything and could have fallen over the edge very easily if I mucked about - but that's what the world was like in those days. No-one gave a toss about Health & Safety - but we somehow survived.

I've always wondered what it would've been like down there fishing on the rocks with only one escape route - upwards on a rope.