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.

The Great Adventure, Tuesday, August 2, 2022

We awoke around 7:30 in our snug little stone cottage. We started first with a cup of coffee with the milk we had purchased the day before and some quick crackers. Next on the agenda was totally unpacking our bags and finding spots for everything we brought. Finally, around Noon, we walked out to a cloudy cool day and into the car parked across the road in the car park. We need to strike out for provisions. 

We drove to the market town of Leyburn over the scenic Yorkshire Dales. We took some backroads and were greeted by sheep in the road. It was a joy to watch as they meandered out of our way as they munched on the meager grass, heather and gorse along the roadside.  Although Leyburn is only about 12 miles from Gunnerside, the winding of the roads and the stop and start as one pulls over to the side to let oncoming vehicles pass, means that the trip is a good 30 minutes. Looked at the shops a bit and then stopped in The Posthorn of Leyburn Cafe for a bite of lunch, it being nearly 2:00 by this time. Deb enjoyed a huge bowl of broccoli and Stilton cheese soup, accompanied by the very dry cheese scone. Later, during the meal, we heard another table ordering the same thing and asking for it to be toasted. Next time we will know. Mark ordered the daily special of a bacon and cheese quiche, chips and coleslaw. The chips and the cole slaw were excellent but the quiche was served cold and not nearly as custardy as we were expecting. We topped off the meal with some Darjeeling and some Yorkshire teas.

Refreshed, we crosses the road to the local Co-Op grocery store for some provisions, wine, cheese, eggs, sausage, bread, jam, milk for coffee, some instant coffee, laundry detergent and other basics to equip our cottage. Next we wandered across the street to the local House & Home store, a housewares and hardware emporium. The one important thing the cottage specified was that we needed to bring our own towels; as we saw no need to fill a suitcase with these, we purchased a nice set of bath, hand and wash cloth towels for each of us.

Well equipped, we loaded the car and drove back across the Dales to home. Due to the late lunch, we again opted for wine, cheese and crackers for our evening meal. We settled in, trying to light the wood/charcoal burner in the lounge (sitting room) with little luck. Also tried to get something interesting on the TV but haven’t yet figured out how to turn it on!  It will probably take us this first week to feel at home here.  

Right now, it is like living in a stranger’s unused lake house that is adorable but cold (to Deb) and too warm (Mark), has strange outlets, no forced air heating, no dryer (for hair or clothes) and, so far, no TV.  We know this will become more comfortable as we learn how to live in such a different environment but until then we are trying to love the low doors and the thick rock walls and the wildlife outside of the big kitchen window over the sink.  It is just like houses in All Creatures Great and Small!

We listened to some music on our phones, read our books on Kindle, and were in bed by 10:00. thus ending our first full day in Gunnerside of the Yorkshire Dales. 

The Great Adventure, Monday, August 1, 2022

The start of Phase Two of our Great Adventure begins on Monday, August 1. We had ordered a Taxi from the Free Now app (similar to Uber, but for taxis) and our driver, Patrick and his van arrived spot on at exactly 7:15 AM as ordered. We loaded our huge pile of luggage into the vehicle and headed for the Dublin airport. Before we had left the BnB, Howie and Lee received a notice from United Airlines that their flight this morning was cancelled. However until arrival at the airport, there was nothing else to do but get there and see what lay ahead. Deb had been unable to contact Aer Lingus using the app so we could not check on that flight to London. Not an auspicious start to a long day of traveling. The high point was that we arrived at the airport well before 8:00 in order to start our respective battles.

After a long line wait at Aer Lingus, the Coverts were directed to another line, but this was most helpful. Evidently the original flight booked last March had been reshuffled and we had not received notice of the change. We were rebooked on the appropriate flight and scheduled for take-off at 11:15. All good news. However the Needelman's news was not so good. There were no flights back to the US for two days! United booked them on this next flight, provided them with a hotel room for the two nights, and food vouchers.Needless to say, the food vouchers were not for first class meals, rather closer to subsistence, but they weren’t going to starve, and they were able to upgrade a meal or two after determining the lay of the land.

Deb & Mark walked to their gate and watched with chagrin as the gate changed before their eyes. Luckily it was only two gates away. It seems as if every flight out of Dublin was running late. Originally scheduled for an 11:15 departure, the aircraft finally pulled away from the gate after 1:00. The one hour flight was smooth and uneventful. We landed at Heathrow and proceeded to baggage claim. It was a full 45 minutes before our bags came off the conveyor belt - all three bags made it with nary a hitch. We weren’t even charged for the extra bag. It seems that coming from Dublin, there was no need to flow through Passport/Immigration so we sauntered in through the “Nothing to Declare” gate and headed to the car rental station. We were directed to queue up at bus station 7-8 for the shuttles to the National Car rental lot.

Once there, we alighted, handed over our driver’s license to Sandy,the check-in man, and were assigned a 4-door red Kia Niro, an automatic, and almost identical in size to our Subaru Crosstrek at home. This vehicle is 5 years newer than our Subaru and has all the latest technology such as lane detection - a real help/hinderance when it’s beeper alerts to a transgression on the part of the driver.

We negotiated our way out of the London metropolitan area and headed to The North along the M-1 and eventually the A-1. Both routes are limited access motorways akin to our Interstate system and very well marked. Our first goal was the market town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, the easternmost point of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Once there, we found our way along the A6108 to the village of Marske and then onto the B6270 directly into our destination village of Gunnerside. The entire area is known as Swaledale. The word Dale means valley and the road follows the River Swale, hence Swaledale. It even lends its name to a breed of sheep. 

We arrived at our new temporary home of Burnside Cottage by 8:30, still enough daylight to find our way. The cottage was exactly as advertised, it was inviting and they had left some lights on. We loaded our luggage in, made a dinner snack of some wine, cheese and crackers which we had purchased at a rest stop earlier in the afternoon, and generally sat back, amazed at our day’s journey. 13 plus hours of taxi, airplane, bus, and a 5 1/2 hour drive along the English motorways and back roads to arrive at this small stone cottage originally constructed in 1804.

The Great Adventure, Sunday, July 31, 2022

Our last day in Dublin. Howie is up and out for a run, By the time he has returned, his shirt is soaked through - Irish sunshine drizzle has hit and he is damp with a capital D. Howie dries off as the rest of us enjoy some coffee, toast and orange juice in an attempt to clear out our provisions. We depart at 9:45 towards Trinity College Dublin, its famous library, and the renowned Book of Kells. We had purchased on-line tickets a month ago for this timed visit. Our assigned time was 10:30.

We arrived in time and only had to spend a minute or two in queue before they let our lot in. The Book of Kells, one of the great treasures of medieval Europe, is an illuminated manuscript written in Latin, and containing the four gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) together with various introductory texts and tables. It was created around 800 AD by Early Christian monks and is a masterwork of Western calligraphy. Previously displayed in the Long Room of the Library, it now is housed in its own specail interactive display room. 

The main chamber of the Old Library, built between 1712 and 1732, is known as The Long Room.

This chamber contains over 200,000 books. The Long Room also has on display the Proclamation of The Irish Republic. This is one of the few remaining original copies printed in secrecy in Liberty Hall the day before the 1916 Rising began. Also on display is a 15th century Irish Harp, which false legend says belonged to Brian Boru an ancient king of Ireland. The national Symbol of Ireland is modeled after this harp.

Following our walk through the library, we ventured out on the streets of Dublin, first heading to see the statue of the mythical Molly Malone, the fish monger heroine of the song “Alive, Alive O.“

Next on to the pedestrian area of Temple Bar, a walking district renowned for its art galleries, restaurants and pubs. Past visits have proved to us that one does not want to be in Temple Bar of a Friday or Saturday night - party time! 

We stopped at The Shack Restaurant, for lunch, tasting Irish lamb stew, bangors & mash, a seafood chowder and a chicken tagliatelle. All accompanied by wine and Irish ale. Excellent food, finished of with a dessert of  “Trinity Mess,“ Dublin‘s answer to England’s Eton Mess.

Just as tasty although the meringue in this version was a bit chewy, according to our chief “mess“ tester. After lunch, we struck off down Grafton Street pedestrian shopping district and crossed the huge St. Stephen’s park on our way back to our BnB for an afternoon rest and pre-packing for tomorrow’s travels. We enjoyed a glass of our wine, again only to deplete up our supply and then left for a walk to our 6:15 reservation at Matt the Thresher Seafood Restaurant for our last Dublin meal. We arrived on time, and the restaurant seemed empty. We were seated on the upper level, and suddenly, the early reservation time made sense; the entire establishment filled up quickly. 

Matt the Thresher’s was clearly understaffed, as were so many of the places we visited in Ireland, and the staff here was working at double-time. They were friendly, accommodating and quick to make recommendations on our choices, but observing how they were hustling was startling. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, a house red wine, a roast salmon special of the day, caprese salad with steamed mussels, a mixed crab and seafood salad and roast Irish chicken Supreme (basically roast chicken breast on a bed of mashed potatoes.) Plenty of dark stout bread and butter. A satisfying meal.  We declined the dessert offerings and headed back to our abode to rest, complete our packing and read before bed. 

As we reflected on our twelve day Irish holiday, the highlights were our walk around Douth, the first meal in Athboy, the rope bridge at Carrick on Rede, the Japanese Garden in Tramore, the National Gallery in Dublin, the Trinity College library with its Book of Kells, our visit with Zoe, the children and Bernadette, and the overall greenness of the landscape and hospitality of the Irish people; Lina at the SIXT car rental, Rachel at the Tara Lodge, Collette at Molly’s Yard pub, Sue at Sharamore House in Clifden and the Egyptian mummy in the Ulster museum in Belfast all deserve special mention. The Guiness and Irish Red Ales weren’t bad either.