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Finding Paradise in Scarborough

Continue down St Sepulchre Street and onto Princess Street. At the end of the road turn left and head up the hill. Follow the road to the left on to Paradise.

As you cross from St Sepulchre Street on to Princess Street the road opens out with shops and a car parking area. Although the age of the buildings is a real mix, the layout here probably hasn't changed a great deal as buildings have been demolished and rebuilt on the same plot.

Looking along Princess Street towards the Market Hall. The building shown here with Scaffolding is an example of a re-fronted medieval house.

Many of the buildings on Princess street may not be quite what they appear. Medieval buildings often had the gable pointing to the road, doing so meant the owner paid less tax.

Over time fashions, and tax systems, changed and in the Georgian period many buildings had new fronts built on. So what may look like a brick built Georgian house, may in fact be a timber framed medieval structure underneath.

Many of these houses could also be well travelled. When ships reached the end of their working life they would be left on the beach and quarried for useful timbers. It's not unusual to find timbers that were once part of a ship now holding up the floors in a house.

It's possible you might see another example of a problem vagrant plant while on Princess Street: Himalayan balsam - from the Indian Himalayas

Himalayan Balsam - a vagrant plant that's threatening native species in some areas.

It's an attractive plant which, like Japanese Knotweed, was originally imported as an ornamental garden plant but has now successfully naturalized in this country.

It's a serious problem on riversides. In places like Helmsley on the Rye, native flora is under threat from Himalayan Balsam. The vagrant grows quickly in large clumps and soon takes over an area, shading the ground so native plants can't grow.

At the top of Casltegate you reach Paradise. This isn't an attempt to make excessive claims for the town, but a term that was used to describe an enclosed monastic garden.

There wasn't actually a monastery here, but it's known the Cistercians had a house on the site and this would have had a walled garden. The Cistercians were great traders who also had the tithe of the church so they had a presence in the town to keep control of this.