If we thought yesterday was rainy, today was pouring when we awoke; however it is sleep inducing. Due to Mark’s small wardrobe, and to forestall him having to try on some of Deb’s skivvies, we prevailed upon our hosts to throw a small load into their washer this morning. This will help tremendously with our travels. After our daily eggs, bacon and English sausage, all of which we find is sourced right here in Bainbridge, we perused the hosts large map (ours is tucked neatly in Mark’s errant suitcase) and decided that today we would head northeast.
As we set off towards Sedbergh, the rain quickly disappeared. We passed Hardraw, promising ourselves to return tomorrow to view Britain’s highest waterfall. We had stopped there last year, but as the country was in a bit of a drought, it wasn’t that impressive. With all the moisture this year, it should be spectacular. As we headed onward, a strange light appeared in the sky overhead - sunshine! We pulled into a parking lot, cratered like the moon, but each crater filled with rain water. these were so deep that, with a slight breeze, ripples formed as if waves were blown across a lake. We took some photos of the high peaks to the northwest emerging from the clouds. These peaks are the eastward ones surrounding Lake Windermere to the west.
Reaching Sedbergh, we turned north toward Kirby Stephen, a larger town along the A685, a modern two lane highway with the locals speeding at 60 mph! Startled, we tried to keep up. We reached Kirby Stephen, a veritable metropolis, complete with traffic backed up for seemingly miles. Once through the traffic snarls, we were back on the highway and soon hopped off at the small exit for Kaber. We pulled over for a moment just to check our maps and bring our heart rate down. It seems we are becoming country yokels averse to the “big city.” We continued along the small roads eastward headed again to Tan Hill with the idea of stopping for another pint. As it was now 2:30 in the afternoon, we expected perhaps we could score a table. Not a chance. The parking lot area was more crowded than yesterday. We forgot that this is a school holiday week, and every caravan in the British Isles had loaded up all their children and were converging on the Yorkshire Dales National Park for a long week or weekend. We drove right on by, headed now to Reeth, a destination we knew well. Upon arrival, Mark quickly parked at the city lot, through open the door and digging a 20 pence coin out of his pocket, headed for the “public convenience” building.
Relieved, we turned southeast through Grinton and across the moor towards Leyburn. The sunshine we had enjoyed to the west was now gone and the clouds descended, covering us again in fog. We reached Leyburn just before 3:00 and pulled into the market parking lot. Today had been market day and the vendors were just packing up. We stopped into our favorite Posthorn Tea Shop for a cup of tea and an afternoon snack. Deb enjoyed a bowl of potato leek soup (entirely too large) and a few pieces of cheese scone, toasted. Mark was wishing for a sultana scone with cream and jam, but the fruit scones were all sold out, so he settled for a tea cake, a small round loaf of bread split and toasted, upon which he spread his butter and jam. We also enjoyed two small pots of Yorkshire tea.
Finishing our afternoon tea, we stopped in the home and kitchen store we enjoy and then on to the local petrol station for some fuel. Next we headed back west towards Bainbridge and home. We arrived shortly after 4:00, parked and climbed the stairs to our lodgings. We kicked off our shoes, Deb picked up the phone to do battle with United regarding Mark’s bag and we poured ourselves a glass of wine. Shortly after five, we looked at each other, toasted our good fortune and decided to call it a day. We turned on the British telly to see what we could find, agreeing that we had experienced a wonderful day.
Saturday, our final day in the Yorkshire Dales. We enjoyed our last tremendous English Breakfast courtesy of Jane & Neil McNair. We spent an hour or so working on our morning puzzles and then set out to cover the last few areas of the Dales for the day. We first headed to Aysgarth Falls National Visitor Center, arriving around 11:30, a perfect time for Deb to have her final gelato cone of this trip. Next we headed to Leyburn, looking for a map of Ireland, but instead finding a little bookshop that relieved us of some funds as we stocked up on some gifts and books. No map though.
We turned south to explore a final corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park that we had not yet covered. We stopped in Kettlewell for a pint and a bathroom break, and then headed over the tops to pass through Gayle, ending in Hawes. No time to stop here again, so we then turned west to Hardraw to visit the Hardraw Force - the tallest waterfall in Great Britain. We paid our entry fee and walked up the paths to the waterfall - truly impressive.After strolling back to the car we drove on towards Askrigg and the Crown Pub, arriving around 4:30. We hoped to catch an early meal before turning back to Bainbridge. However, the pub does not serve food until 6:00. What to do?
We nursed a pint of ale and a pint of cider for 90 minutes and then stepped up to the bar to order our dinner, A steak pie with mashed potatoes and a burger with chips. The steak pie was excellent, the burger not so much. When we had arrived the pub was nearly empty, but it quickly filled up with the members of the Askrigg football team, and all their wives and children. They filled the bar, drinking and chattering. We expected them to thin out as meal time neared, but no such luck. On a more mischievous note, this pub featured the most unique urinals Mark had ever seen. (A specially refitted beer keg - how appropriate!)
We returned home by 7:00 ready to pack our bags and prepare for tomorrow. We had received an email early in the day that, reportedly, Mark’s bag was waiting for us in Leeds at the airport. As it had spent most of the last week in Amsterdam, presumably rolling around the red light district, partaking of the ambiance and probably carrying on with some racy two-wheeler, we are looking forward to seeing its walk of shame in the airport lobby. Our flight is scheduled to depart Sunday at 12:30 headed to Dublin. From there we pick up another car and drive to Tubercurry to see the Highlands and begin week two of our 2023 Adventure.
