Friday, November 8 through Sunday, November 10, 2024

This morning we needed to finish off the rest of the food supplies we laid in at the beginning of the week. Mark prepared the final Full English Breakfast including beans, but lacking the tomato and mushrooms normally served. As tomato growers ourselves, the sad specimens provided at these breakfasts are rarely eaten, at least by us. The sausage and bacon on the other hand is always delicious. 

We did some preliminary packing and then turned the car towards Leyburn and a final stop for some stocking stuffers and a bottle of wine to take with us in the car for Saturday evening. Friday is Market Day in Leyburn, so the traffic around the square was busy. We were forced to park in the public lot a few blocks away from the Market Square and hoof it back. After purchasing some wine at Campbell’s we dropped in again at the Posthorn Tea Shoppe for a slice of Victoria Cake and a cup of tea before taking our leave and going towards Gunnerside.

This time we drove the high road, over the moors and through the army firing fields. Catterick Army Barracks is located just outside the City of Richmond, and this area is used for troop maneuvers. The Catterick Base is reputed to be the largest Army base in Europe. Similar to Bellevue’s relationship to Offutt AFB in Nebraska, Richmond provides a ready market for Catterick personnel and lots of economic support.

We dropped down through the village of Grinton and then followed the Swale River passing the Dales Bike shop. There is a lot of biking in this area of the Dales. In 2014, the Tour de France even held their opening stage here and the peloton went riding across the moors and over the bridge at Grinton. 

We journeyed on again through Reeth, past its church and market square and followed the Swale along, eventually reaching Gunnerside. Our goal was the Kings Head Pub for dinner. Faithful readers may recall that our first stay in the Yorkshire Dales National Park was at Gunnerside and Burnside Cottage, a small guest house directly across from The Kings Head. That previous stay was the start of our love affair with the Yorkshire Dales. This pub is fairly unique; it closed down around 2015, but the community was so lost without it, they founded a non-profit group, raised the necessary funds and purchased the pub. They cleaned it up, ran it themselves for a few months, and then secured a tenant to run the operation. There is a note in their menu telling patrons that occasionally shares of the community organization come up for sale and urging anyone interested to purchase a share if they become available.

We arrived just at opening time of 4:30, and ordered a pint of ale and a pint of cider. Dinner service begins at 5:30 and we then ordered: Deb a steak pie with chips, and Mark a sausage with mashed potatoes. Both were served with a separate dish of steaming hot vegetables. The food was delicious, and, as this was Friday night, the pub was beginning to fill up with villagers and travelers enjoying a beer and a chat. We took our leave and then proceeded back up over the moors in the pitch black night towards Askrigg and our home base.

Arriving safely, we finished our open bottle of wine and began our preparations for the next day’s travel, We were mostly packed and into bed by 10:00.

Saturday morning we had a cup of coffee, started the dishwasher for the cleaning crew and placed our baggage back in the Nissan for a long day’s travel. We were out of Brook Cottage at 9:02 AM and on the road. We drove back through Leyburn and stopped at the Posthorn for breakfast, an egg, bacon, sausage with toast and a nice cup of coffee. Finishing up, we bid adieu to the Yorkshire Dales for this trip, and pointed the car towards our next destination. Our first taste of how bad the traffic was going be was in Thirsk.  For those of you are are ‘All Creatures” fans, both of the shows and the book, this is the real hometown of “All Creatures.” The Clock in the Market Square was covered in poppies, the symbol of remembrance.

We headed southeast to York, arriving at the ring roads to this metropolis around 12:30 and spent nearly 45 minutes battling traffic to get around the city. Weekends are just an excuse for the English drivers to get out and clog the roadworks. We fought our way towards Hull, crossing over the umber River on the huge suspension bridge then turning southwest back towards Lincoln for a stop at the beautiful Lincoln Cathedral, on the grounds of which their is a large bronze statue of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Wed left Lincoln just as the sun was setting in the west and pushed south towards our final destination of the day, Headington, joust outside Oxford. 

We arrived at our hotel,The Black Boy, at 6:30 PM, exhausted but glad to see some areas of England we had not visited before. The unfortunate name of the hotel honors a famous British racing horse, and the pub in the hotel is festooned with a saddle, some bridles, and other paraphernalia strewn about. We moved our overnight bags into our room, opened our remaining bottle of wine, and had a cocktail before heading down to the restaurant for our 7:30 reservation. Deb enjoyed a nicely cooked halibut with chips while Mark had a nice piece of salmon on a bed of lemon tanged rice. 

After dinner we trundled up the steps to collapse in our bed for our last night in England. Sunday morning, we loaded up and drove to Heathrow Airport, only missing the car rental drop off exit once! We turned in the car at Enterprise without any further delays and, after driving over 750 miles, we gladly took their shuttle into the terminal. This day, Sunday, in England is Rememberance Day, akin to our Veteran’s Day, and at 11:00 AM, throughout the country, bugles sound and everyone stops what they are doing and stands in place for three minutes of silence. Some other unknowing tourists, especially the ones who do not speak English, moved about, not realizing the solemnity of the moment. This was a silence that would never be heard in the USA for anything that far back in history.  It was inspiring and took both of us by surprise.  When we first came in, not realizing what was about to happen, we asked an agent a question and were hushed with a stern look.  After the silence was over, we were helped by the same agent who was so friendly and gracious.

When the silence ended with another flourish of the bugles over the loudspeakers, the bustle of the airport returned. We checked our bags and headed toward security and our assigned gate. One pleasant note; Mark was traveling with his walking stick, as his back troubles cause him pain while walking for any distance. Not once, but at least five times, employees asked if he needed assistance, perhaps a wheel chair or a ride to the gate? We declined and  made our way to the United Airlines Club for a glass of wine and a quick bite. At 1:30, we boarded our 767 and taxied down the runway towards home and the end of our time in England and Ireland.

 

The nine hour flight was uneventful, the food marginally better than the flight over, and we landed at Chicago O’Hare right on schedule. We collected our bags, waltzed them through Immigration and Customs and then boarded the inter-terminal train to Terminal 2 and our last flight of the day. Again through security where chaos reigned. Deb was sent through the scanner twice, the second time shoeless because the security person didn’t hear her state that she had a replacement knee, thereby setting off the alarm. Mark was warned that he could not have a cloth handkerchief in his back pocket as it showed up on the “moose ears” scanner and he should know better. All in all not a warm welcome.

We made our way to C concourse and soon boarded our final leg towards home. Incidentally, although Mark was offered assistance five times in Heathrow by helpful employees, not a single offer was made in Chicago. He was actually questioned about having collapsed his walking stick to slide it along the scanner belt in security. A sour coda to a great trip. Abigail was waiting at Eppley to ferry us home, help us with our luggage up the home steps and leave us to reunite with Poppy the cat. We had, at this point, been awake and traveling nearly 22 hours, and we fell into a deep sleep (stupor.)

As we look back on the trip, it was, except for the last day, a wonderful time to see friends, enjoy their hospitality, and to visit some of our most favorite landscape.  We are also glad to be home and, even though the future of the political landscape may be daunting and scary, it is still home.  

Bainbridge, October 27, 2023

There is something restful and comforting about a drizzly rainy morning in the Yorkshire Dales. A light rain was falling on Wednesday morning as we awakened and planned our day. We were down to breakfast at our usual 8:30 and found another couple in the breakfast room. We introduced ourselves to Ireen and Chris Hudson, an English couple of about our age. Ireen is a born Dubliner, married to English former schoolteacher Chris. This is their 30th anniversary week and they are on a few weeks vacation to celebrate. They have never been to the Yorkshire Dales and so were motoring around as we have been. Very enjoyable couple.

Another 4-star breakfast and then we spent a few hours in the lounge deciding where to spend the day. A few words about our accommodations: The Low Mill Guest House was originally built around 1740 as a working flour mill on the river Bain. After some years of dereliction, it was restored as a working demonstration flour mill in 1972 by local craftsmen. In 2003, Jane and Neil McNair purchased it while on holiday in the area. Originally from London, the couple, who were experienced in home building and remodeling, decided to convert the structure to a guest house. The facility has 3 guest rooms, a lounge, a dining area, and ample parking. It is situated on the River Bain with views of the waterfalls and is a truly quaint setting.

We headed today back to Hawes for some shopping and walking about. Then we were off to the north for a look at our last year’s cottage in Gunnerside, which started us on this love affair with the Yorkshire Dales. We had originally made a dinner reservation for this evening at the Kings Head Pub in Gunnerside, but after driving home in the absolute dark on these small roads Tuesday evening from Aysgarth, we determined that the much longer drive from Gunnerside back to Bainbridge in the dark was more than we wanted to attempt, we cancelled our reservation at Kings Head. We did stop in Gunnerside to see our old haunt, Burnside Cottage. It appears the property has been sold and remodeling is under way.

Next we swung up the fell above Gunnerside towards Tan Hill and its only business, the Tan Hill Inn. This is the highest situated Pub in Britain at 1,782 feet above sea level. We arrived in the fog around 1:30 and the place was packed - no tables available so we opted for a quick pint at the bar. Mark had a half pint of black Sheep ale, and Deb had a full pint of Old Moot cider. The cider, a sweet, bubbly berry flavored drink was much to her liking. If we can find some similar beverages in Omaha, she may step away from her carbonated red wine as a drink of choice. (Except of course for Dirty Martini Fridays.)

After the obligatory bathroom break, we’d turned the vehicle southward and back towards Bainbridge. We took a small road to reach Bainbridge, going from the valley of Swaledale over the moor hill (fell) to the adjoining valley of Wensleydale. We had traveled this road last year, but the time of year was different. Flocks of sheep had been moved into the various pastures, and Deb was in and out of the vehicle four times, opening and closing gates as we climbed up and then down the hills. The fog had lifted a bit by now, so we didn’t also have to contend with that, allowing for some gorgeous views up and down the valleys. We arrived in Bainbridge for an evening glass of wine before leaving for Askrigg and our chosen restaurant, The Kings Arms Hotel and Restaurant. Unfortunately, they were booked solid until 8:00, by which time we hoped to be reading with our feet up. We booked for the following evening and then made a quick phone call to another spot, The Aysgarth Falls Hotel, a few villages away. There was a table available so we headed over. the room was modern and the food acceptable. Deb had a pork and chicken pie and Mark a large cheeseburger, accompanied by a pitcher of sparkling water, a glass of Shiraz and a pint of ale. Returning home, we were in our room and reading by 9:00.

Thursday morning following breakfast, we spent time in the lounge visiting with our new acquaintances, the Hudsons before they took off towards home. We then struck out northward towards the town of Barnards Castle and the Bowes Museum. John Bowes, the illegitimate son of an Earl, met Josephine when he bought the Theatre De Varieties in Paris where she was an actress; they married in 1852.

Josephine, an accomplished artist, became a patron of the arts. In 1862 she decided to sell John’s wedding gift to her, their home in France, to start their Museum project so they could share their love of art with the people of the area near  John’s family home. Sadly, neither of them lived to see their Museum open to the public in 1892. The lead exhibit, the Silver Swan Automaton, was not available for viewing, as it has been withdrawn for conservation. there is a nice article about it on a Wikipedia page (Silver Swan.) After viewing the art of the Bowes, we left Barnards Castle and went up the moor and down into Swaledale, then up again and down into Wensleydale arriving home shortly after 5:00. A quick drop off of our finds of the day and then off to Askrigg to the Kings Arms Hotel for our evening meal. 

We both decided on the Steak & Drover’s Ale pie with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables. A delicious choice and very filling. Deb enjoyed a Shiraz and Mark a Theakston Ale. Back home by 8:00, we read until near midnight and turned in, another lovely Yorkshire day (literally) under our belts. 

The Great Adventure - Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Wednesday we are up and ready to explore more of the Yorkshire Dales countryside. We enjoyed a toast and coffee breakfast and then drove to Reeth in search of some bread from one of the two bakeries in the village. It was a glorious day for a drive; the skies and clouds were stunning, the temperature was in the upper 60’s to low 70’s, and, due to midweek, the traffic was much lighter. We returned and unloaded our supplies and groceries, rested and read for a while and then back into the car to drive towards our evening meal reservation. One of the villages we pass through on our runs up and down the B6270 road bordering the River Swale is called Low Row. According to Wikipedia, the name Low Row come from the old Norse word “The Wra” meaning a nook or small place. Overlooking the road is a pub, The Punch Bowl, the building dating to 1638. We had reserved a table for 6:30.

Compared to our local Kingshead Pub, The Punch Bowl is upscale, with multiple dining rooms and servers. Deb ordered a starter of scallops, which turned out to be an English version of Coqueilles St. Jacque, smothered in cheese and garlic sauce, on a large shell and broiled. It was very tasty. We then both chose the Steak & Ale pie as our main course, accompanied by mashed potatoes and hot vegetables. The vegetables were a combination of roasted carrots and parsnips, with warm broccoli, green beans and kale accompaniment. All washed down with red wine and a Black Sheep ale. We topped it off with a shared dessert of Eton Mess. One of our better pub meals.

Thursday was another stay-at-the-cottage day! We read, enjoyed a full English breakfast, Deb worked on some client files, and we generally just relaxed. After all, we are on vacation, right?

Friday we took off mid morning for the Market Town of Hawes in the Wensleydale area, the next valley over. Hawes was probably first settled in the 1100’s. First mention of a market in this town is in 1307. The name is derived from the old Norse “hals” meaning neck or pass through the mountains. Market Towns stem from the Middle Ages and are designated as such by custom or have been granted a royal charter. Hawes was granted a charter in 1699 by William III. Market day in Hawes is on Tuesday, Reeth’s on Wednesdays and Leyburn’s on Friday.

Hawes is also the setting of the fictional DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Harry Grimm, whose exploits we have been reading during our stay. We spent most of a morning and afternoon wandering the village, checking of the spots we had read about; the Village community center which is where the police are offices, J.W. Crockett Butcher and Bakery, serving the town since 1854, and the Herriot Hotel and Cafe.

We stopped at The Crown Pub for a lunch of Stilton and Broccoli soup, and a cheese and chutney sandwich. Deb enjoyed a glass of fruity Cider and Mark a pint of Theakston’s Old Peculiar Ale. After lunch we walked the streets and shops; Deb sampled an ice cream cone and we ended up purchasing some Wellie gardening boots for Deb and a waxed cotton flat cap for Mark, the first real souvenirs of our trip. As we walked along the streets of Hawes, we ran across amazing little crocheted figures perch upon outside furniture and along benches. There were signs attached noting that they were created by local Hawes knitters and labeled yarn bombs. The same practice that Abigail and her fellow knitters do at home, usually with yarn scarves around trees and light posts!

We drove back over the famous Buttertubs pass and back to our Gunnerside cottage, having enjoyed a day of touring our small part of the world. On the way, we took a side road to the hamlet of Ivelet to photograph the famous single lane arched bridge over the River Swale. This hamlet is just off the main road up from Gunnerside. It is also the home (hidden) of Robert Miller, richest man in Yorkshire (according to published reports.) Miller, an American who founded the chain of Duty Free Shopes in airports around the world, owns the Gunnerside Estate, some 32,000 acres of moor and dale. It is one of the finest grouse hunting areas in England, and we are in the middle of grouse season, which starts on August 12 (“The Glorious Twelfth “) and runs through December 1. This may account for some of the increased traffic in our Gunnerside village. 

Friday evening was a cheese and cracker meal after our cocktail hour. Before the meal, we took a short walk along the the public footpath towards the west, crossing three or four fields and communing up close and personal with some of the famed Swaledale sheep.

Saturday, after a few loads of laundry, we made a list of food we had on hand and calculated what we would need to finish up our last few nights. We then drove into Leyburn for some shopping time. Unbeknownst to us, there was an Agricultural Show going on in the town and traffic was horrendous. This weekend is the August Bank Holiday weekend. Bank Holidays are on Mondays and basically mean a three day weekend. The August Bank Holiday is a big deal as it is the end of the summer school break and means lots of tourists in the area. Deb went into the Campbell’s Grocery store, our favorite, as Mark drove around the square a few times in hopes of a parking spot, one finally opened and he grabbed it. We finished with our shopping and loaded the provisions into the car and pointed ourselves back to the west. 

We took the scenic route - trying some roads and byways we had not traveled before. As we have become more familiar with the roads, villages and geography, we are becoming more adventuresome and finding single track roads up and over and around the moors and dales. Our chosen route took us back over the moors towards Wensleydale as we looked for a fuel station. Google pointed us to one in Aysgarth, near the Falls, a spot we had visited a number of times before. The National Park Center there has good parking, easy and clean restrooms, and, importantly, some of the best soft serve ice cream/gelato that Deb has discovered on the trip. Since we were headed that way for fuel, we needed to stop for her fourth tasting of their cones. Who knows when we may get back again and this was top notch stuff!

Back over the moors again and onto our cottage. We sat in the front garden, enjoyed our martini and G&T while gazing at the dairy cows grazing on the moor side directly above our garden.

Deb whipped up a sausage and tomato topping for our supply of penne. We cracked a bottle of wine and enjoyed the evening, ending with some solid reading time and into bed by 10:00.

Sunday morning we arose and found the road outside our cottage busy with people walking to and fro. Looking for parking spots along the road, unloading their dogs, kids and hiking shoes and setting out for a walk along the river, across the fields and up into the moors. As the middle day of this three-day weekend, the area looks to be very busy. Last Wednesday we had stopped into the Kings Head pub to make reservations for tonight’s dinner, hoping to get a helping of the roast, mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding we had glimpsed last week. They were so pre-booked for the weekend that the earliest we could get a table was 7:45, giving some idea of the rush in the area. We prepared our breakfast and spent the morning reading the World Herald.  In the afternoon we read and Deb began pre-packing our bags for the next leg of our adventure. We enjoyed a cocktail in the front garden and then headed across the road for our evening dinner, the last at Kings Head pub. We were disappointed to find that our hoped for roast and pudding was not on the menu for the evening. The pub was packed with diners.

Deb ordered the beer battered scampi and Mark the fish pie. Neither dish was what we had envisioned. The scampi with chips was more like “Shrimp McNuggets,” heavily battered and no shrimp shape at all. The chips were fine, as usual. The fish pie with mashed potatoes was not a pastry covered pie with a side of mashed, but rather a bowl of mashed potatoes, covered by unidentifiable fish (probably cod) in a white sauce, the entire bowl then covered in a cheese sauce and toasted under the broiler. It was really quite tasty, but not what I thought it would be.  Both dishes were accompanied by huge bowls of freshly cooked peas. An interesting meal, to say the least.

We walked home in fading light looking back at our neighborhood pub with some fondness. We never actually sat in the pub for a pint, as it was usually filled with walking tourists, not the locals we had expected. There are perhaps 90 cottages in the village, only some 60 full time residents, and it is jam-packed with walkers and cyclists who converge here for the scenery, walking trails and backroads to wander on their bicycles. A real Mecca for the outdoors type. Justifiably so. We finished the evening in front of the television, watching an Inspector Lewis we had never seen and Mark then stayed up until midnight finishing a Harry Grimm novel on his Kindle.

Monday, as we are doing more preliminary packing, we realize that there is no way in hell we can get everything in our 5 (count ‘em, FIVE) suitcases.  Even through we have not bought much in the way of knick-knacks, we have still managed to purchase much more than we thought, mostly presents for other people or gardening items.  So, off we go, in search of another suitcase.  (Luckily, we get to check two apiece on United for free and the additional two are our carry-ons.)  We decide Leyburn may have what we want and we would like to have tea one last time at our favorite tea shop, The Posthorn Tearoom & Cafe.  Off we go, traveling through Reeth, which is having it’s big fair today and it is packed.  The roads are packed, the parking lots are packed, the people are streaming into Reeth from every which way, clogging up the roads by car and on foot.  The one-car bridge leading out of Reeth does not accommodate both walkers and a car.  Mark, who is by now a master left side driver, managed to only piss off one young walker who felt some entitlement to the bridge.  Her mother apologized.  Finally, a mile out side of Reeth, we are free to hit the high roads on our way to Leyburn.  Where, being the last day of a 3 day holiday weekend, the place is PACKED!  Note to selves:  Never go to Europe in the late summer, August especially!  

After our tea and toasted cheese scone, we hit all the stores in Leyburn but alas, no suitcase.  So we decide to go another 8 miles (and 40 minutes) to Richmond and the Super-Tesco there.  We somehow manage to take two wrong turns but arrive unscathed.  And, voila!, they have a perfect, small-ish suitcase for a very reasonable price.  As we are checking out, our very adorable cashier asked if we were going on Holiday and we said, no, we ARE on Holiday.  She was nonplussed that anyone would come to Richmond (basically an Army town because it is right next to Cattrick Garrison) for a Holiday.  We assured her that it was lovely.

We decide to try to find Pen Hill on our way back home.  Pen Hill is a local landmark that is mentioned constantly in the Harry Grimm mysteries we have read (10 so far) but we have never quite figured out where it is located.  We finally did and got to stare at it for awhile as we were stopped dead on the highway by a herd of dairy cows heading for the barn!  As we were hoping for a livestock event, this was one more item we could check off of our list.  

So onward, upward and downward, over hill, moor and dale, we take one of our favorite scenic drives back to Gunnerside.  Almost got killed by a speeding Miata but otherwise, incredibly beautiful.  Deb has taken picture after picture of the views from the tops of the moors but a picture just doesn’t do the scenery justice.  We will miss this.

Home after 6pm.  Drinks in front of the fire.  Salmon and red beans & rice for dinner.  Reading after clean-up and to bed for our penultimate night in Burnside Cottage.

Tuesday morning dawns bright and beautiful in Swaledale. We start the day with our final home cooked “full English” breakfast. Mark even included his favorite baked beans! Deb did not partake!  When we return home, we will be on a quest to locate typical English breakfast sausage, as we have developed quite a taste for it. We may end up searching the internet for recipes and stuffing our own! Another project for Mark to tackle. After breakfast we started collecting clothes and towels to toss into the laundry pile for the miniature washing machine tucked under the counter in the kitchen. We have, we hope, gathered all of our belongings that have been spread over the premises. There is no doubt that we will leave something behind, but not to worry, nothing is irreplaceable! 

For the evening, we clean up remaining cheese and crackers, together with wine and reminisce about our time here. It has truly been the vacation of a life time. We have spent a glorious month exploring the Yorkshire Dales, gaining a new appreciation of the history, from pre-Roman conquest times, through the Middle Ages, the lead mining of the industrial revolution, and into the sheep and dairy farming of the middle 20th century. Now tourism is the primary industry in this gem of a National Park. We will never forget our time here. Tomorrow we head off in our Kia towards London for the last leg of our Great Adventure-through the Chunnel and into Southwestern France.

 

The Great Adventure - Thursday, August 25, 2022

Saturday was another stay at home day for the travelers. We started with our full English breakfast and then settled in for some housework. Completed a few loads of laundry, did a little housekeeping and Deb managed to complete some work on her computer on behalf of some clients. As it was raining off and on most of the day, we started a fire in the cast iron stove heater in the lounge and enjoyed our martini and G&T in front of the fire. Mark pan-fried our lamb chops and Deb prepared some red beans and rice we had brought with us from home. 

Around 7:30, Deb wandered into the kitchen to refresh her drink and noticed that the floor was covered in water. We quickly surmised that the back garden area was flooding from a downburst and it was coming in  over the back door sill. We couldn’t open the back door as that would let in more water, so Mark put on his rain jacket and walked around the building to the entrance to the back garden to fetch the mop and bucket from the shed. We contacted the landlord who in turn called the local cleaning person to come over and help. By this time the water was over an inch deep in spots and was threatening to flow into the hardwood floors in the rest of the lower level. Armed with the bucket and some large towels, we began to sop up the water, wring it into the bucket, and then Mark would haul the full bucket out the front door to pour into the street as the rain continued to come down.

Rowan, the cleaning person, noted that the kitchen had often been wet in years past, but never to this degree. The problem stemmed from the fact that there is a low spot outside the kitchen door into which a drain is set that flows under the buildings, across the street and empties into the creek. The downspouts from all three attached houses flow into this one drain point and it was overwhelmed. The Victorian era drainage lines under the street could not keep up.

By 9:30 we had soaked up all the water and laid rolled up towels along the threshold to stop further water. We thanked Rowan for her help and eventually bedded down for the night. The next morning, all was clear although the drain area was still slightly filled. The Gunnerside Ghyll (creek) was running full and we were hoping that the rain did not wash out any of the road as we were headed to York for a two day outing.

We departed Gunnerside around 11:00 to head for Haworth and then York for a two day trip away from the cottage. We first arrived at Haworth, just west of the metropolis of Leeds around 1:30 PM. Our destination was the Brontë Parsonage, the home of the Brontë sisters, authors of such classics as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. This home is now a museum maintained by the Brontë Society and is outfitted just as it would have been in the time period. Many of the furnishings are original and the placards describing each room were very informative. Entry is by separate ticket, and we were to wait in the front garden until our name was called. this is a somewhat curious procedure, but became apparent as we made our way inside. The facility is not large and the entry process allows the staff to control the number of people in the home at any one time. This was one of the best museum presentations we have ever encountered. It was informative, educational and unobtrusive. Although there were some children , there were no dogs, as is usually the case anywhere we have been in England. Parking is a bit tough as the public lot available is not nearly large enough. Sunday is a big outing day in England and the village of Haworth was crowded.

We left Haworth half past Two and pointed the Kia in the direction of York, our destination city for the next two nights. We arrived and found our way to our overnight accommodations, Jorvik Hotel, just by the ancient walls surrounding the old city.

We checked in and stowed our bags on the first floor (the one above ground level) and headed out for a bit of a walk around. The old city is a vehicular restricted area, so the streets were filled with roving pedestrians with their dogs in tow. We finally found what appeared to be a likely prospect for our evening meal - The Guy Fawkes Inn. Purportedly this building was the one into which the rebellious traitor was born. We chose to sit in the open rear courtyard, as it was protected from the wind and seemed very pleasant. We ordered drinks at the bar and placed our meal orders. Our first clue that something was amiss was that the server requested us to pay for our meals as soon as we had ordered, holding his little card machine out for our card tap. We had never encountered this before, but we went along. Within moments, our meals arrived - a slab of pork loin roast and a slab of roast beef. Both were supposed to be accompanied by mashed potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding, vegetables and gravy. The gravy came separately, the vegetables turned out to be a bowl of boiled-to-mush cabbage and carrots, and the potatoes were not mashed but rather peeled, halved and pan fried. Both cuts of meat were so tough that they would not cut with the knives provided. These knives would not even cut the potatoes! Mark managed to carve off a bit of his pork, Deb could not get a single bite of her beefsteak cut and the vegetables, while hot, were unappetizing and cooling rapidly. We finished our ale and wine and quietly left; easily the worst meal we have encountered in England and one of the worst ever in our travels.

Next morning, we arose and were in the hotel reception area waiting for our pick up to the start of our day long tour of the North Yorkshire Moors, another national park area. Our guide and driver, Peter, arrived only a few minutes behind schedule in a fairly new, Ford 8 passenger van. Although the tour was scheduled for 6 passengers, one couple was a no-show so it was just us and our new acquaintances Catriona and her mother Siriphorna Duncan. These two ladies were on holiday from their home in Richmond outside of London and had been in the Yorkshire area for a week. This was their penultimate day on the road, headed back on the train to London the next day.

This day long tour, a 40th wedding anniversary gift from our children, was a drive through the moors and farmland of the York plateau following the byways and country roads. The end portion of the trip was to be a steam locomotive ride from the village of Goathland, on the north east coast, down to Pickering. Before we even stepped into the van, Peter, with a sad look on his face, informed us that the bad news was that the steam locomotive had been replaced by a diesel locomotive. The excessive dryness and heat in the area prevented the use of the steam engine, due to the fire risk, sparks, coal embers, etc. Oh well! Off we went. Peter is an excellent tour guide with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Yorkshire area. We stopped in the Village of Helmsly for a walk about, restroom break and a cup of coffee and scone from a take away bakery and then back in the van for more touring. We crossed the moors, stopped at the top of one of the lead mining areas for a walk around the kilns and a view out over the Dales below and then eventually into the town of Whitby on the northeast coast. Originally a fishing and shipbuilding town, it is now much given over to tourism. We started our 2 hour walk at the Abbey ruins at the top of the cliff, descended the 199 steps to the old village area and joined the throngs of tourists, all with dogs on a leash, children also on a leash or running loose, and prams galore.

We stopped in one shop for a purchase, and then, together with our travel mates, walked to the Magpie Restaurant for reputedly the best fish and chips in all of Great Britain. Evidently the crowd queued up at the front door concurred. After a 20 minute wait, we were seated and looked over the menu. It was a forgone conclusion - we ordered the fish and chips, some beer and wine. The fish choices were huge, but the defining description of cod versus haddock made the choice easy - the cod was skinless under the batter, the haddock was skin-on. All our diners picked cod! We waited an inordinate amount of time, considering the number of diners packed into the restaurant. They obviously were used to the rush, but may have had to send a boat out to catch more fish. Eventually we received our piping hot meals and had to agree that it was some of the best fish and chips we’ve encountered on the trip.

We were due back at our pick up point at 1:55. We arrived at 2:01, and Peter was afraid he had lost all four of us. Deb’s phone rang as we were crossing the parking lot to the agreed upon spot and told him we could see him ahead and were almost there. Crisis averted. Off we headed for our 2:50 scheduled train departure from Goathland, a few miles down the road from Whitby. This train station is the one depicted in the Harry Potter movies as Hogmeade Station and it truly looks it. This was the reason for the steam locomotive, but we made do with the diesel.

We stood on the overhead trestle, filming the arrival of the train and then boarded for the one hour trip to Pickering, only actually a 20 mile distance but over some steep inclines. As this is a single track line, we were twice shunted to a layover track as other trains passed us by. Hence the slow progress. the scenery was nice, but nothing dramatic. We spent the time sitting in our booth, face to face with our two new friends getting to know a bit about them.

Peter met us in Pickering and we loaded back into the van for our drive back into the City of York. We passed through some more villages, crossed the estate and saw Castle Howard in the distance, and finally arrived back in York shortly after 5:00. We said goodbye to our traveling companions, climbed the steps to our hotel room, and settled in to decide what we wanted to do for the evening. We were tired from a long day of driving and walking so didn’t feel like fighting any crowds to find a place to eat. We stayed in, finished off the provisions we had brought with us - chips, crackers, rice cakes and wine, and read until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. Another day of intense touring gone.

Tuesday morning we parked up our traveling bags, checked out of the Jorvik Hotel and stowed our bags in the car trunk. We then strolled through the St. Mary’s Abbey ruins and gardens on into the old town area of York. Our first destination is a restaurant called Betty’s which is known for its breakfasts and afternoon tea service. This restaurant chain (there are three in England) was founded by a Swiss immigrant in 1919 and the food was glorious and the service impeccable. There was a line at the door when we arrived around 9:30, but the wait wasn’t too long. We were seated and ordered a full English with scrambled eggs and a Swiss Rösti breakfast with a poached egg. The Swiss Rösti leaves off the toast and sausage but serves a poached egg on top of a huge pancake of hash brown potatoes made with cream and Gruyère cheese. Absolutely amazing.

Following breakfast we were out to explore York on foot. We wandered the streets, spent some time in the Shambles Alley and its attendant market square and did some serious people watching. Shambles Alley is the spot that JK Rowling based Diagon Alley on for the Harry Potter novels. The replica at Universal Studios in Los Angeles looks exactly like the real thing, less all the magic craft store fronts.

Thankfully, there were only two stores that were trading off the novel’s fame, selling souvenirs and other items (wands etc.)

Next we stood in line to enter the York Minister, one of the grandest cathedrals in England and the one with the largest stained glass windows. The wait was long as the web site used for pre-booking was off line this morning, causing most people, such as ourselves, to stand in line to buy tickets. Once inside we wandered the huge area, crossing the transepts and looking in wonder at the windows, pipe organ and the general layout. Lots of statues of famous clerics and pastors, wealthy people’s graves and other spots just like all the other English Cathedrals we have been in. The stained glass was wonderful; some were closed off for restoration, and the entire cathedral seems to be one continuous historic renovation site.

After our tour through the cathedral, we walked back to our car and by 1:00 we were on the roads headed out of York and onto the smaller town of Thirsk. We really didn’t have a specific reason to go to Thirsk, just that it was the location of the veterinary practice of the real James Herriot (James Alfred Wight.) There is an “All Creatures” museum in Thirsk at the site of his original Veterinary Surgery. We never did get into the town of Thirsk, only drove through it. Our reason for not stopping was we became distracted when we spotted a White Horse on the way towards Thirsk and started a chase to find a spot where we could properly photograph it. The famous white horses of southern England are cut into the chalk hills and are therefore permanently white, some prehistoric and some not so old. The Uffington White Horse outside of Thirsk was created in 1857 by  local volunteers and is cut into limestone. It is the largest White Horse in England. Since limestone is naturally grey, not white, the horse was originally whitewashed with tons of lime to appear white. In present times the whiteness is maintained by covering it with chalk chips from another area of Yorkshire. It may be that the chips were recently renewed, as the horse was very white.

We drove some small roads and eventually pulled into a road rising into a hayfield for our view and photo. Next to where we pulled into the field, a batch of cattle milled around the gate adjoining, mooing and bellowing. Apparently they were expecting us to feed them as there was a stacks of freshly cut bales of hay. we just thanked them for their time and apologized for our intrusion, driving away leaving them to chew their cuds.

We drove onward into Leyburn, the location of our favorite grocery stores and picked up some supplies we knew were low at the Burnside Cottage and then rolled into Gunnerside at 4:00. We unloaded the car, put away our supplies and then adjourned to the front garden area for a martini and a G&T. We cooked another set of cheeseburgers for dinner and then spent the balance of the evening reading, retiring at a respectable 10:00. 

The Great Adventure, Sunday, August 14, 2022

Thursday morning we arose, dragged our bags down the three flights of steps to the car and then stopped in the dining room for our last breakfast in Windemere, delicious again. This morning we took the highway south to enjoy the southern portion of Lake Windemere. We quickly discovered that, just like at home, there was nothing visible of the lake due to all the high end homes or hotel accommodations along the lake shore. Nothing to see but walls and the occasional three or four story lodging facility. A rerouting was in order. 

We were headed for Sizergh Castle, a National Trust property, so the navigator picked some smaller roads to take us cross country towards our goal. We traveled some of the smallest and windiest roads of our entire trip as the highways twisted up and down the hills, into the valleys and across some very narrow bridges. At one point, Deb said we next would cross a river called Winster, coming up around the next bend. Mark said, jokingly, “By bridge or do we ford it? We came around the bend and there was the river, the pavement leading up to the water and only a foot bridge to get across. We slam on the brakes and came to a halt, some seventy five feet from the pavement on the other side. There were a pair of women walking across the foot bridge, so we asked how deep? The lady said no problem, it was shallow and we could easily make it. In we plunged, hoping we would not have to call the car rental agency for a tow and a very expensive repair - not sure how the rental agreement treats flooding, especially when it was self-induced. In the middle we felt the rocky subsurface, but we were quickly across, the water only being 12-18 inches deep. Needless to say, we didn’t stop in the middle for a picture opportunity, although later in the day, we talked about driving back to reinstate the incident for visual proof of our exploits.

 We soon reached Sizergh Castle, presented our National Trust passes and spent the next few hours touring the wonderful gardens and the castle itself. The property has belonged to one family for over 1,000 years, the Strickland family. We watched an informative video before we began the interior tour of the castle where Tom Strickland, the current “lord of the Manor” talked about the history of the family, the number of times they were on the losing side of politics, as they were Catholic, an unpopular point for most of their history, depending on which way the ruling monarch was leaning, but always able to hang on to their holdings. Upkeep costs became most difficult into the mid 20th century, so the property was turned over to the National Trust for care and maintenance. They still live in a portion of the property and it is still a home to the Stricklands. Deb’s friends Peg and Rogers Strickland have visited and stayed at the nearby Strickland Arms hotel. Peg says that they have not found a direct connection with this group of Stricklands but we have decided to assume there is some family history here and next time we visit, we expect Peg to provide us with a more formal invite!

On our travels back towards Gunnerside, we passed near the famous arches railway bridge, outside of Hawes. You will recognize this bridge from countless scenes in movies, usually with a steam engine trailing smoke from its stack as it puffs along the track over the arch bridge.

We passed through the village of Hawes, an area we are going back to in the next week. Our good friend, April Dillon (a known Anglophile) recommended a detective series, The Yorkshire Murder Mysteries to us. This is set in the Yorkshire Dales with the protagonist Harry Grimm assigned to the Hawes police station. (The author is David J. Gatward.) We are enjoying the series immensely, following Grimm as he traipses through all the small villages we are visiting as he searches for the solutions to his murder mysteries. It provides us a different  and local perspective on the area. We are continuously passing landmarks and pubs mentioned in the series. At one point there is even mention of our neighborhood Kings Head pub. Thanks, April, for recommending the series; it really brings to life all we are seeing and experiencing, not just the scenery, but a locale where real people live, work and interact in their daily life.

Friday morning, we completed some housekeeping around Burnside Cottage. A few days ago, the kitchen faucet came apart in our hands, although Mark was able to cobble it back together. We notified the landlord, Graeme who said he would come by to replace the item. He and his wife arrived Friday afternoon and between he and Mark, the problem was quickly repaired without having to replace the entire 

unit. The couple then spent an hour or so trimming plants and other gardening issues around the cottage, as we visited with them and learned a bit about the area. The weather continues to be absolutely stunning,  clears skies with temperatures in the upper 70’s, dipping into the mid 60’s overnight. So,Saturday we decided it was time to explore our immediate surroundin.

Accordingly, we stepped into our walking shoes and headed out along the path that follows the stream directly in front of our cottage for a bit. Sticks in hand, we walked along the cobbled and rocky patch, fording a few small trickles, avoiding the sheep scat, and truly enjoying the scenery. We stepped through stone stiles, passed through walking gates, and scrambled up some steeper parts of the path. England is a land of walkers, serious walkers. The nation is crisscrossed by footpaths and the law provides that there is free passage by foot across any land, no matter the ownership. This is a wonderful pastime for everyone of any age throughout the countryside. The village of Gunnerside sits at the crossing of the north-south Penine Way path and the east-west Cross Country path. There are long distance walkers everywhere, and our parking area is always  a spot for people to park their cars, lacing up their hiking boots, strap on their day packs and head out for a days walk onto the moors 

.

We returned Saturday afternoon and stopped at The Kingshead for a quick pint. One of the neighborhood hens came strutting down the road, trailing her five chicks. they marched right up to the patio of the pub and stood around accepting handouts of tossed breadcrumbs. This was obviously a regular stop on their daily ramblings. Every inhabitant of England seems to be a walker of some sort! Returning from the pub, we set up for our scheduled Zoom chat with the family. Seven o’clock Greenwich Mean Time is one o’clock Omaha time. It was great to see and talk to everyone. Technology has its merits when one can visit halfway around the globe in real time, not just hearing, but seeing each other. Our grandparents would not have believed it.

Sunday, we relaxed a bit. A drive into Leyburn for some shopping, back to our cottage for some afternoon reading and laundry, a cocktail out on our freshly trimmed front patio garden, and then across to the pub for dinner of steak and ale pie and fish and chips. Another week gone by - two down and two to go. We are surprised how quickly time flies.

The Great Adventure, Sunday, August 7, 2022

What an enjoyable rest of the week we have had. Wednesday morning we explored our cottage a bit, broke our fast in the morning with some toast, jam and coffee, then collected our maps and rain gear against possible showers and headed out to explore the marvelous Yorkshire countryside. It is stunning, as the opening photo reveals. We toured today to the larger town of Richmond, at the eastern end of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This is the largest town in the Dales area. Our goal today was the Super-Tesco (think Target) for some items that we couldn’t pick up at the local market stores in Leyburn. 

After a few wrong turns, we stumbled on a huge American style shopping center and the Tesco. We found the hair dryer we were after, and then spent a goodly amount of time wandering the store. We picked up some more groceries and some box wine, which we had not found in any of the previous stores, and necessary supplies for a future dirty Martini! We returned over the moors, rather than along the larger highway. Sheep in the road, glorious open skies and the purple of the heather against the green and brown of the sedges. A beautiful drive.

Before we had left Gunnerside in the early afternoon, we had made a 7:00 PM reservation for our first dinner at the neighborhood pub, the Kings Head. Deb enjoyed her usual Shiraz and Soda while Mark tasted a few pints of the local Sheepshead Ale. Dinner was a steak and ale pie for Deb and a cheeseburger for Mark (the pub man suggested a double and Mark agreed.)

Yikes!  And despite the size, Mark ate it all!

Thursday morning, off to a slow start. As Mark was preparing his first English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon and toast but no baked beans or grilled tomato) we were visited with the site of a cockerel and two hens floating into our rear garden and spending an inordinate amount of time rooting the ground for dropped birdseed from the feeder we had loaded the evening before. New meaning to  “as the cock crows!”  The breakfast was excellent! The hens didn’t bat an eyelash (they don’t have any of those) at our frying of their eggs.

The rest of the morning was spent with Deb working some and then we went out touring again, headed this time in a different direction just to see what we could find. Again the most gorgeous scenery. We returned and decided on a cheese and crackers meal from our provisions and an hour or two of British TV. Some new (to us) episodes of the Midwives and Midsomer Mysteries. 

Friday enjoyed toast and coffee, took a short walk up the street in front of our cottage and were visited by the resident Cockerel and his faithful followers hoping for a handout (we had nothing to offer)

and then we climbed into our vehicle and headed again towards Leyburn.  We needed to test out a TOASTED cheese scone at our favourite little tea shoppe.  Toasting made all of the difference for a dry cheese scone.  It was delicious which meant that Deb shared only a small piece with Mark!  We also had to return a defective item we purchased, and also buy a new rain jacket for Deb. The jacket she brought was shedding its interior coating and was not very good at shedding water, only wind. We also needed to stop at the Wensleydale Longwood Sheep Shop to pick up a batch of yarn as specified by our in-family knitter Abigail. She had found the store web site and texted us her exact requirements. Deb also found a sample sweater she really liked.

After a long discussion with the shop lady, Deb secured the pattern and another amount of yarn for her hoped for new sweater if she could persuade her personal knitter to comply. (Mark liked the sweater style as well and is hoping Abigail can find sufficient yarn in her Stash to put one of these on the needles for him.)

Another trip across the moors, and then back to Gunnerside. We made our first Friday Dirty Martini and then crossed the road for a dinner reservation at Kings Head Pub.

This night we dined on a lamb curry with basmati rice and a pair of roast lamb kebabs. Both were delicious and there will be more lamb dishes in our future as we venture forth.

Saturday we headed back into Richmond and the Tesco. Two goals - first to return the hair dryer as we had found one tucked away in a drawer of our cottage. Again, we wandered the store and found only a salad, some dressing, and a few small items to gather, although we did spot, but didn’t purchase, a unique brand of Gin.

Our second goal in Richmond was to fuel up as we had logged over 500 miles in England so far and, given our many driving trips, we wanted to have a top off, After a €70.00 plus fill-up, we headed back across the moors. We stopped in the town of Reeth to wander a bit. We found the National Park Office and picked up a wealth of brochures on things to do in the area, more detailed maps, and a lovely chat with the Park representative who outlined a few places we ought to drive to. One of these was the Tan Hill Inn, Britains highest pub.

Off we went. We arrived to the pub, together with a plethora of Saturday tourists, walkers and campers, and stopped for a half pint of ale and a visitation with some local sheep before heading back to our abode. Dinner of cheese and crackers again this day.  This pub is on two major hiking routes so there are lots of very fit people lounging around.  This is definitely high season for Yorkshire!

Sunday morning, another visit from the chicken brood searching for seed and another English breakfast. Not as good as the first one, but getting used to the cooktop and the less than great pans is taking some experimentation. Today we headed out on a southerly route, our first goal was to the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes. This famous creamer produces some wonderful cheeses and butter. We picked up a few different types for our snacking pleasure and some more butter. Then we set off for another long trip around the dales and areas we had not yet seen. We stopped in the village of Dent for a quick bottle of water and a walk about. The birthplace of Adam Sedgwick, the father of modern Geology.

Next we made our way to Kirby Stephan, a market town whose square was set aside as a market area under order of King Edward III in 1302, at least according to the sign posted on the wall. Deb honoured the market with the purchase of a warm cup of coffee and a soft serve ice cream cone.

We drove back over the Buttertubs Pass and back to Gunnerside. This evening Deb took over chef duties and produced a wonderful penne pasta with tomatoe, onion and mushroom sauce. Also we used up a days-old baguette as garlic cheese toast. We also added the arugula and frisée salad we had purchased at Tesco. Again an evening of TV, then reading and into bed. So ended our first full seven days in the Yorkshire Dales.