Helios

We had another trip to Fountains Abbey a couple of weeks ago. We've visited this National Trust property many times but this was a trip with a difference, this time we were going to see Helios, the new artwork from Luke Jerram. He's previously created Museum of the Moon, Gaia, and Mars, large scale models of the moon, the Earth, and Mars. Helios, his new art installation, is a large scale model of the sun.

You could see Helios in the abbey's ruins during a regular visit or you could visit out of normal hours and see Helios by sunrise or Helios by sunset, we opted for the latter. We thought it would create quite the impression in the night sky and we wasn't wrong. You could see it glowing within the abbey.

In Greek mythology, Helios is the sun god and this is who this artwork is named after. It was suspended in the centre of the Nave in the abbey ruins.

Helios has a 7-metre diameter and each centimetre represents 2000 kilometres of the sun's actual surface.

Fountains Abbey was the perfect place to view it, especially at night. The open aspect of the abbey gave a great atmosphere, especially as there were sounds of the sun recorded by NASA being played at the same time.

The 360-degree viewing experience allowed a closer look at the whole surface of the sun, including sun spots and solar flares. It was fun looking at it at different angles through the ruins.

Fountains Abbey itself has a totally different atmosphere at night.

We took the opportunity to wander away from Helios and look at some other areas.

The Great Cloister is my favourite place in the abbey, it's so well preserved.

The abbey was built in the twelfth century and the sun played a vital part in the lives of the monks who founded it.

I missed Luke Jerram's other art installations when they toured but I'm glad I managed to see this one.

Malmo, Sweden

Following on from my previous post when I told you about our trip to Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen, I thought I'd tell you what we got up to on our second day there.

You may know that Denmark is connected to Sweden via the Oresund Link. This comprises of a tunnel which goes under the Oresund Strait which then emerges onto a manmade island before continuing across the Oresund Bridge. You can travel between Copenhagen and Malmo by road or rail. The photo above was taken from the top of the Round Tower in Copenhagen which you can read about in my last post. In the distance you can just see the Oresund Bridge. Being so close to Sweden, we decided we should take the opportunity to visit.

The rail journey took about forty minutes from Copenhagen's Grand Central Station to Malmo and cost about £23 for two tickets. Coming back from Malmo to Copenhagen, two tickets cost about £19. It was so easy to use the train, purchasing the tickets from the machines was simple to do and the trains run so regularly that we didn't have to wait around at all. We also used the train to and from the airport, again, without a hitch.

The first place we came to was Stortorget, or Big Square. The Town Hall is situated here and there's also a fountain commemorating the recapture of the region of Skane for the Swedes from Denmark.

The signpost displays the distance to major cities around the world.

Further on and we came to Lilla Torg, or Little Square. It was originally a marketplace but it's now a place for socialising as the buildings are mostly cafes and restaurants.

There's some beautiful architecture here with some of the structures dating back to the sixteenth century.

We walked through Kungsparken, a lovely park in the heart of the city, where we came across this statue of the Roman goddess Diana surrounded by deer.

Coming out of Kungsparken at the opposite side, we came to Malmo Castle. Built between 1526 and 1529, it now forms part of The Malmo Museum. We didn't go inside but we had a walk around the grounds.

The Castle Mill was built in 1850 and put into use from 1851.

Turning Torso was the tallest building in the Nordic region until a few years ago. It stands at 190m (620ft) with 54 stories. We could see it from the castle but we didn't venture any closer.

On our way back to the station we came upon St Peter's Church. It didn't look very grand from the outside.

Inside is another matter though, my photos don't do it justice. This is Malmo's oldest church and it's absolutely beautiful.

The altarpiece was made in 1611 and is one of the largest in the Nordic countries.

I had a pen pal from Sweden when I was a child and I've always wanted to visit the country, so that's something crossed off my list. I enjoyed our day in Malmo but it isn't somewhere I'd visit for a second time, though I would like to see other areas of Sweden.

Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen

I left my last post on a bit of a cliffhanger saying I had something very exciting coming up. Well that something was a short trip to Copenhagen, somewhere I've wanted to visit for a very long time. We had an early flight on the 2nd and our return flight was very late on the 5th, so we had four full days there.

We stayed in a lovely hotel not far from Grand Central Station, so we were quite central and certainly within walking distance of all the major attractions, though we worked out how far we had walked over the four days and it turned out that we'd done over thirty seven miles, so the steps rack up even when you're quite close to everything.

Furthest from our hotel was the statue of The Little Mermaid, so we decided to visit that on our very first day. The bronze sculpture by Edvard Eriksen is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen and sits on a rock by the waterside. I'd heard people say how small it is and that it's rather underwhelming so I must admit that I was expecting it to be smaller. I think it's quite charming and I don't think you could visit Copenhagen without seeing it.

Nyhavn, which means New Harbour, is famous for its 17th and 18th century colourful buildings which stand by the canal. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three of these houses and wrote some of his famous fairy tales whilst living there. It's a gateway from the sea to the inner city which was used to bring cargo and for fishermen to unload their catch. Now it's lined with bars and restaurants and it's a place to which tourists flock to get a photo of the picturesque houses. 

There's other colourful buildings around the city too and some beautiful architecture.

Amalienborg Palace is the official residence of the Danish Royal Family. The flag indicates that a member of the royal family is in residence. It's actually a complex comprising of four palaces built around a courtyard.

We stopped to watch the soldiers on sentry duty, we'd missed the changing of the guard which happens at noon.

In the middle of the courtyard stands a statue of Frederick V and beyond that, you can see Frederik's Church which is commonly known as the Marble Church. The church isn't entirely made of marble, though this was the original plan. The foundation stone was laid in 1749 but the court architect died in 1754 whilst the church was incomplete and the project became abandoned. It stood, half built, for over a hundred years. In the late 1800s, the ruins of the church were sold on the condition that a church was built on the site following the original plans, however, due to lack of funds, much of it was built in limestone blocks rather than marble. The church finally opened in 1894.

The dome is said to be inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and with a span of 31 metres, it's one of the largest church domes in Northern Europe.

There's many squares in Copenhagen and lots of green spaces too, so many places to sit a while and people watch. 

The Round Tower or Rundetaarn is Europe's oldest functioning observatory building, the construction being completed in 1642. Though it was on our list of places we wanted to visit, we came across it by chance as it's set in the heart of the city.

The tower itself is 35 metres high.

Inside, there's a ramp rather than steps which allowed a horse and carriage to transport books to the library which is built above the church, part of the complex, and equipment to the observatory. The ramp spirals 7.5 times before reaching the stairs which lead to the observation deck, and is 209 metres long.

Towards the top of the ramp is a recess where you can view the hollow core which extends from the bottom to the top of the tower. There's a glass floor which you can step on to but there was no way I was doing that, leaning over it was enough for me!

The observation deck gives a 360-degree view of the city.

It's fun looking for the buildings you recognise.

A narrow staircase takes you from the observation deck up to the observatory. It's manned two evenings per week between October and March. It was unmanned when we visited but we were still able to go up to take a look. Don't miss the Round Tower if you visit Copenhagen, it's such an interesting place to visit.

Obviously, many Danish pastries were consumed while we were there, we were in Denmark, it would be rude not to partake. They come in many different varieties, there's something for everyone.

What I didn't know about Copenhagen, or Denmark in general I believe, is that hot dogs are very popular there. They're actually elevated to another level from the humble hot dog we get here in the UK by the addition of distinctive sauces such as remoulade, a mustard mayonnaise, pickled cucumber, pickled red onions and crispy fried onions. They're delicious, let me tell you!

I think everyone must own a bike in Copenhagen, all the roads have bike lanes and there's a constant stream of traffic using them. You often see huge groups of bikes parked together like in the photo above.

We had hoped to visit Tivoli Gardens while we were there, it was a stone's throw from our hotel, but day three when we hoped to go was the day that Storm Amy hit. It was very windy and we got lashed with rain, and though we didn't visit Tivoli, we did still venture out around the city. Tivoli Gardens is an amusement park and it's believed it inspired Walt Disney when he came to design the US parks. It was closed when we arrived in Copenhagen as it was being prepared for Halloween, but opened on the 3rd all decked out in pumpkins. It's a shame we didn't make it but I don't think it would have been fun walking around it during a storm. We'll make sure it's top of the list when we visit again.

Yes, we're already talking of going back. We loved what we saw of Copenhagen and we feel we only just touched the surface, there's so much more we want to see. One thing I'd say though is that you need plenty of spending money as everything is so expensive. So, we'll save up and return one day. But wait, I've only mentioned what we did on three of the days we were there. On day two we ventured over to Sweden, but I'm sure you've read enough for one post so I'll tell you all about that next time.

September 2025

September seems to have passed by in the blink of an eye, I don't know where these months are going. The temperature has most definitely dropped now, the mornings are rather chilly but we're still getting some beautiful days too. I've resisted putting the heating on so far but it feels just a matter of time now before I do.

We've had more lovely days out this month. We visited York to see The Ghosts in the Gardens trail which is in full swing at the moment. I have to say that they do look ethereal, very ghost-like. It just depends how the light falls on them as to how you see them, one minute they can look like a solid form but take another step or two, or if the light changes, and they look hardly there. The trail began in 2021 with just ten sculptures, now there's sixty. We didn't manage to find them all but we enjoyed what we saw. The monthly food festival in Ilkley is a lovely day out with so many great stallholders as well as the towns independent shops to look round so we had a trip there this month and came home with some lovely goodies. 

It was Heritage Open Days during September where many buildings, sites and gardens open their doors for free. We took advantage of this offer and visited somewhere I've been wanting to look inside for a long time, Shibden Hall in Halifax. This was the home of Anne Lister 1791-1840, a Yorkshire landowner, traveller, mountaineer and diarist. Her diaries detailed her life and financial concerns, her work improving Shibden Hall, and her lesbian relationships, which she wrote about in code. We've visited many times, but always when we've had Archie with us so we've never been inside the hall before. The popular BBC historical drama, Gentleman Jack, is based on the true story of Anne Lister and much of it was filmed at Shibden Hall, though I have to say that I was expecting something quite different after watching the series. It was grander than I anticipated, quite dark because of the wood panelling as you could see in the series, but there were beautiful carvings in the wood. The stained glass windows in the housebody are quite fascinating with glass panels which were taken from churches in York dating back 700 years decommissioned under Henry VIII. There was good, detailed information about everything on show. It was a really interesting day out.

It was my birthday on the 3rd. It was a Wednesday, which meant it was a day I was looking after Jack so I decided I'd like a quiet day at home, no family meal out this year, though Mick and I did go out for breakfast with Jack in tow. Everyone came round in the evening after work, which was lovely. I received some really wonderful cards and gifts, the ones above were from my lovely friend Maggie who blogs at BlackCountry Wench, she always spoils me. Who knew there was a salted caramel version of Bournville, absolutely delicious!

I've read six books this month.

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, I don't know very much about American history so I wasn't sure this book was for me. How wrong could I be, I absolutely loved it. The story takes us back to the 1930s and the American Dream on a farm on the Great Plains. When drought and dust storms shatter that dream, Elsa and her children must fight for survival. I didn't know anything about the Dust Bowl and this period in history, how millions of people were displaced with many seeking better lives in California. Elsa is such a strong woman, as I'm sure many women of this time had to be in order to survive. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I'm continuing to read the books in the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. The Dark Angel takes us away from Norfolk, this time to a village in Italy where Ruth has been asked to look at some bones, she's a forensic archeologist, but many of the recurring characters are there too. Another great read.

I'm not really into science fiction but I thought I'd give The Time Machine by HG Wells a go. It's a relatively short book so it did manage to hold my attention and I found the story engaging. Written at the end of the nineteenth century, the message conveyed in the book is as relevant now as it was then.

Another Ruth Galloway book by Elly Griffiths, The Stone Circle took us back to Norfolk where Nelson and Ruth had a cold case to solve, that of a murdered child. Another character, which will become a regular, came onto the scene in this book, and a big questions left at the end of the last book finally got answered. Another enjoyable read.

Someone on Instagram recommended All Things Consoled by Elizabeth Hay, a Canadian novelist. This book is a memoir about her parents and it won the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust award for non-fiction. It was an interesting read, the author having a complicated relationship with her parents but taking on their care as they aged, her mother suffering from dementia. Written with honesty and compassion.

A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe is the author's debut novel and one of the best books I've read so far this year. The book begins with the terrible true events of 1966 in a small Welsh village called Aberfan when a colliery spoil tip slid down the hillside and landed on a school killing 116 children and 28 adults. Newly qualified embalmer, William Lavery is asked to help but he doesn't realise just how the disaster will affect him long term. The story then goes back to when William was ten and the circumstances which brought him to this moment. It's an emotional read from the start but it does have its lighthearted moments too. Beautifully written, a huge thumbs up.

I'd been waiting for Wool Warehouse to have their Drops Super Sale as I wanted some Drops Merino Extra Fine to knit a couple of sweaters for Jack. The sale has been on throughout the month so I bought two different colours which Eleanor chose. One of them looks like a grey here but it's actually a lovely sage green. I also got a couple of balls of King Cole Cherished for another cardigan for him. I'm hoping I can get cracking before too long. My crafting time has taken a huge hit now that I look after Jack three days each week.

As soon as the nights start drawing in we begin to get all the new autumn series on TV. We don't watch very much TV but Strictly Come Dancing is back and that's one thing we do watch. I don't have a clear favourite as yet but it's fun to watch how each of the contestants progress week on week. All Creatures Great and Small is also back, another favourite. It's filmed in the Yorkshire Dales so I enjoy watching to see which places I can recognise. Two good old-fashioned shows where all the family can sit down and watch together.

So we're now well into autumn though I know from past experience that October can produce some beautiful days still, I'm hoping that it does. I'm saying goodbye to September with a chest infection, which is annoying as I've got something very exciting coming up in the next couple of days, more of which I'll tell you about in my next post.