Not A Coffee Stop

On our way north it was deemed essential to see for oneself the famous roof of Starbuck's on the A1 at Markham Moor.

We took a while locating the exact position, not having realised that it stands alone, with its own on- and off-slips from the Southbound carriageway, not approached from the A638, where commercial premises block access.

 However, with the helpful advice from a young man from the Markham Hotel, the route proved perfectly straightforward - straighter than any point on the roof in question, because this is a Hyperbolic Paraboloid, a sort of pointy oval bent down at the sides and up at the ends.

Fortunately our visit coincided with a gap between showers and, photos in the bag, we re-crossed the A1 to the Northbound side and continued our journey.

Indeed, the weather warnings were well,-placed as we did have intense, squally rain for a short while, with spray adding to the problem; further north the roads were awash, with puddles almost joining in the middle but after Carter Bar everything improved as we reached home quite dry.