Spring Staycation - Part Two

Following on from my last post, Mick had some holiday to take from work at the end of March so we decided to have a staycation. I wrote about the days out we had during the first part of the holiday in my Spring Staycation - Part One post. 

We'd now reached Wednesday and we visited somewhere very familiar to us, Haworth. We just love this village which was the home of the literary sisters, The Brontës. The Parsonage where they lived is now a museum which houses the largest collection of Brontë items in the world. This is the dining room where Charlotte, Emily and Anne did much of their writing. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey were written in this room and it's believed that Emily died here, on the sofa. Haworth itself is a picturesque village with a steep, cobbled main street where many independent shops can be found.

We had planned to take a walk along the canal at Five Rise Locks later in the day but we'd had snow flurries in Haworth. In fact, I think we had all four seasons in one day as it also rained, was extremely windy and the sun put in an appearance too. We put our walk on hold but I wasn't too disappointed as it gave me the chance to visit Knitters Paradise at Coldspring Mill instead. Of course, I didn't leave empty handed.

On Thursday we visited Ripon. We always enjoy looking around the cathedral and on this particular day, the students from Ampleforth College were rehearsing for a concert they were performing later in the day. It was lovely hearing the beautiful piano and violin as we wandered around.

There's a Thursday market in Ripon so we had a look around that and I managed to pick up a few plants for the garden before we continued on our journey to Masham, mainly so we could visit Theakston's Brewery and stock up on some of Mick's preferred tipple.

We'd booked tickets to an artisan market which was being held in the grounds of Harewood House for the Friday. We've visited this particular market a couple of times before but I'm sorry to say that this one wasn't very good, there were much fewer stalls than previously, but these events allow us to explore the grounds too so it didn't really matter. Tickets can be upgraded to include entry to the house but we didn't bother with that. Afterwards we called into the garden of remembrance to take flowers for my mum as the following day was the seventh anniversary of the day she died. I was pleased to see that the roses we'd taken for my dad the week before were still going strong, plus the tête-à-têtes we planted were flowering too so there was plenty of colour.

On the Saturday we had a trip up to Richmond, a friend was exhibiting her artwork so we went to support her. We made the most of the jaunt and had a wander around the town. In the distance you can just see Culloden Tower, built as a folly to commemorate the Hanoverian victory over the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. There's a Saturday market in Richmond which we had a quick look around. It's been many years since I've visited Richmond Castle, it's somewhere I'd like to see again but sadly, that wasn't the day, it was blowing a gale and was bitterly cold, despite the sunshine and blue sky so that's still on hold.

We had planned to visit the Yorkshire Dales on the Sunday but the weather forecast was for heavy rain and wind with gusts of up to 50mph, definitely not the weather for a gentle stroll. Instead we took ourselves off to see the John Atkinson Grimshaw exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery. Born in a back-to-back house in Leeds, he was a Victorian-era artist known for painting nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes. It's many years since I've visited Leeds Art Gallery, it's actually very rare that I venture into Leeds these days, but it was well worth the trip. I'd seen the exhibition advertised and was keen to see it so I'm glad I got the chance.

Mick was back to work again on the Monday but I'm sure you'll agree that we packed plenty into his time off. There are so many interesting places we're able to visit on days out, town, coast, countryside, art, literature, science, history, nature, we've got it all going on. Aren't we lucky.

Spring Staycation - Part One

As usual, Mick had some holiday entitlement left to take before the end of March so he's ended up carrying over nine days to tag onto the new year's entitlement, but that also gave him six days to take before the month was out, so we had a little staycation, having days out but not staying away from home overnight. It suits us, there's so many wonderful places to visit, all within easy reach in a car.

Mick's first day off was a Friday, we decided to visit a National Trust property we've never visited before, Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, home of Sir Isaac Newton, the mathematician and physicist. There was such a lot of information about his life and his work, and the National Trust guides were very knowledgeable too adding to information already provided. There's a Science Centre in the grounds which Daniel and Eleanor would have loved as children, in fact they would probably still enjoy it now, we did. Some of Newton's famous experiments are displayed and they're hands-on, so you can have a go, and learn, yourself.

Isaac Newton gained his BA degree at Cambridge University in 1665, shortly before the university temporarily closed owing to the Great Plague and he was sent home. It's during this period that an apple fell from this Flower of Kent apple tree in the orchard of Woolsthorpe Manor which caused Isaac to question why things fell straight to the ground, and so began his theory of gravity. 

On our way home from Woolsthorpe Manor we decided to call into Clumber Park for a walk. It was quite late in the day by this time but we were still surprised by how quiet it was, especially as it was a nice day, there weren't very many people about.

Saturday was shopping day so that took up the morning. Afterwards, we took some flowers to the Garden of Remembrance for my dad whose birthday it would have been the following day, and as we were then about half way to Ilkley, we decided to carry on with the journey and have a mooch around the lovely town. The Grove was at its most beautiful, the sunshine had brought out all the cherry blossom on the trees.

People were queuing, as usual, outside Betty's Tea Rooms. We didn't go inside on this occasion but we had a look around all the independent shops, and there's so many charity shops in Ilkley so we had a mooch in those too. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

We visited Hardcastle Crags in Calderdale on the Sunday. Managed by the National Trust, it's a great place for a walk. A wooded valley with Gibson Mill, a 19th century cotton mill at its heart, there are over fifteen miles of footpaths to explore.

It's about a mile and a quarter to the mill from the car park. We took the estate track to the mill which is above the river, a nice flat track suitable for pushchairs and surrounded by woodland. We took the riverside walk back to the car, the terrain here is more uneven, there are rocky sections and sets of steps, but it's a beautiful walk with stepping-stones to try out along the way.

It was a beautiful spring day so we decided to head into nearby Hebden Bridge after our walk. A market town known for it's arts scene, it's such a lovely place to spend a few hours. There are pavement cafes and bars which spill out onto outdoor tables, plenty of independent shops, galleries and a river which flows through the town. We decided to take another walk, this time along the tow path of the Rochdale Canal. We really enjoyed our day.

We couldn't have a staycation without visiting the Yorkshire coast so on the Monday we took ourselves off to Whitby. I've never known it as quiet as it was that day, it was nice to wander around without the crowds which are usually there.

Afterwards, we called to see Falling Foss waterfall and then took a short detour through Littlebeck Wood on the Coast to Coast Walk to see The Hermitage, a cave carved into a boulder which dates back to the 18th century. It's said that someone once lived here, I'm not sure that's true, it's a folly which stands in the former grounds of Newton House. I think a story always adds to the mystery surrounding something like this though.

On the Tuesday we visited somewhere new to us, Lincoln. I've been wanting to visit this city for a long time, I don't know why we haven't got there before now, it's less than an hour and a half by car. We had a lovely day visiting the beautiful cathedral, once the tallest building in the world, and looking around the city centre.

Lincoln's High Bridge is a medieval bridge which spans the River Witham. It's the oldest bridge in the UK to still have buildings on it. Shame about the Vodafone shop to the right, it spoils the whole aesthetic.

This is where I'll leave Part One of our staycation, we're exactly half way through so the second half is to follow.

Lake District Goodies

I seem to be rather lucky when I enter giveaways on blogs, I've received some wonderful prizes over the years, and I've recently won another. My lovely blog pal, Jules, from the Along the Way blog was recently celebrating ten years of blogging by way of a giveaway on her blog and I was lucky enough to have my name pulled out of the hat aka random number generator.

Jules sent me a lovely parcel full of goodies from the Lake District where she lives.

If you know Jules' blog you'll have seen her wonderful photography, many photos taken on her walks on the Wainwright Fells, 214 peaks located in the Lake District. I love this tea towel listing all 214 and showing where they can be found.

This Lake District National Park water bottle will come in very handy when I'm out and about, I always carry a drink with me so it will be perfect. It's years since I last had Kendal Mint Cake, sugary fondant confectionary popular with hikers and climbers, I've already eaten it and I'm pleased to report that I still like it. The same goes for the Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread Fudge. In my defence it had a short use by date so had to be consumed almost immediately. In reality, there was no way that was going to last beyond a couple of days in my house! I've visited the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop and it's the most delicious treat, though I'd never tried the fudge before so this was something new but just as delicious as the gingerbread. I've never tried Farrer's tea before either, again this is a Lake District brand. I haven't tried this yet but I'm looking forward to doing so.

As a knitter, I've definitely heard of Herdy, the Lake District brand with the cute Herdwick sheep as its logo. How cute is the pen. There's a sample of Bath House patchouli & black pepper face, hair & body oil, again a company from the Lake District, specialising in skin care and fragrances. And last but not least a packet of sunflower seeds which Jules sent so that Jack could sow some and watch them grow, isn't that so thoughtful.

Aren't I lucky to have won such a lovely giveaway, and everything came from companies local to Jules, a very special prize indeed. I have emailed Jules to thank her but I'd like to say thank you again here. So many wonderful treats which I shall enjoy using. If you haven't visited Jules' blog before I'd urge you to do so, she lives in a beautiful part of the country and often takes us on wonderful walks with her. The scenery where she lives is amazing.

Mick's 60th - March

Mick's 60th birthday is in August so I'm arranging little surprises for him throughout the year, hopefully one each month. Mick has no idea what's in store, I'm arranging it all myself.

South Wales is somewhere Mick's wanted to visit for a long time so I decided we'd have a short break there earlier this month. I chose The Mumbles as our base as it's at the start of the Gower Peninsula, an area Mick was especially keen on seeing. 

We arrived on the Wednesday after a long five and a half hour drive and as the clocks hadn't yet gone forward, we had limited time before the sun would set so we quickly checked into our hotel, dumped our bags and set off for Rhossili Bay, a three mile stretch of sandy shore. Can you see that little cottage overlooking the bay, it belongs to the National Trust and is available to rent. It's rather expensive, definitely out of our budget, but what a view it must have.

We didn't go down onto the beach, we walked on the coastal path along the cliffs. Sheep were grazing right up to the cliff edge and we saw semi-feral Welsh Mountain ponies here too.

It's less than a mile to the manned coast guard station. At low tide you're able to follow a path down onto the causeway which leads to the tidal island of Worms Head.

We didn't have enough time before nightfall to walk onto the island but the scenery was breathtaking. I'm so pleased we made the effort to go straight here after arriving.

The following day was cold, blustery and rainy. We saw the lifeboat in the water just off Mumbles pier, perhaps undertaking training exercises.

We decided to shelter from the weather a little while in the amusements on the pier, I don't really need an excuse to spend a pound or two in the arcades. From here we could see Mumbles Lighthouse which was built in 1794. We spent the rest of the day having a drive around the area as well as mooching a little in the shops in Mumbles, basically making the most of the day without getting wet through.

Thankfully, the Friday was sunnier and drier, though it was still very windy. We decided on another cliff top walk, this time from Southgate to Three Cliffs Bay.

It would have been nice to wander down onto the beach but unfortunately, once you've walked down you have to climb back up again and my hips are in no state for that at the moment so we admired the view from on high.

We arrived back in Mumbles and treated ourselves to delicious ice-creams from Joe's, a famous Welsh brand which was established over a hundred years ago in 1922.

The afternoon was taken up with a walk along the seafront in Mumbles. This view is looking over Swansea Bay. We stayed in a hotel in The Mumbles, had a meal in a chain restaurant on our first evening, ate in the hotel on the second evening and had a pub meal on our final evening.

We'd noticed there was a market just a stones throw away from our hotel on the Saturday so after popping to a bakery to pick up some Welsh cakes, we had a look around it before setting off home. It was actually a really nice farmers' and producers' market where you can buy fresh local produce and artisan goods. We picked up a couple of mementos to bring home with us, I got a gorgeous skein of yarn from Penrhallt Alpacas. It's an alpaca/silk /cashmere blend so very soft, and Mick got a bottle of dark rum to add to his ever growing rum collection.

We had a really lovely break and though we did enjoy South Wales and acknowledge that there's some stunning scenery, we preferred the north. It's a few years now since we visited North Wales so perhaps we'll have to visit again soon.

A Year Without Archie

I can't believe that it's now a year since Archie died. Even after all this time, we're still getting used to life without him.

Anyone who has ever loved a pet will know the heartbreak that comes with losing them, and though it's such an awful thing to live with, it's worth it for all you gained through loving them.

I still look for him as we unlock the door after a trip out, think I can hear him mooching about the house sniffing for food, imagine I glance him out the corner of my eye as I pass an open door, and turn my head to look at the back seat of the car on days out.

Archie was only a little dog but he left a huge hole in our lives and he'll be missed forever. My best boy.

Jigsaws

It's many years since I last had a go at a jigsaw, in fact I can't even remember when that was. I see many people who write blogs, and on Instagram, showing the puzzles they've completed and I always think that I must have a go at one myself but it's one of those things that I just never get round to.

Until, that is, my lovely friend Lisa bought me a jigsaw as one of my Twelve Days of Christmas 2025 gifts. It was only a small puzzle, 100 pieces, but I think this was just what I needed to get me going. We had a rainy afternoon one Sunday in January and with nothing much else to do, I unboxed it and completed it in an hour or two. I loved the process and was hooked. Isn't it a pretty design, I just love all those flowers.

It wasn't long until I started on a jigsaw which Mick bought for me for Christmas 2024. This one is a Charles Dickens design with the added fun of having seventy Dickens characters to find. It's only these past few years that I've started reading Dickens' novels, I've read five of his books so I don't know all of the characters but there was an information sheet included which told you a little about each character and showed a picture of them. It was a good addition, a bit of extra fun after the last piece was fitted. This jigsaw was quite a jump from the last one as it has 1000 pieces. I was rather addicted to it actually, I couldn't wait to sit down with it each day, so it didn't take me as long to finish it as I thought it would.

Then I started on a Wasgij, this was another Christmas gift from Mick which he gave me many Christmases ago, it was definitely time to have a go at it. A Wasgij is a different type of jigsaw in that you don't assemble the picture on the box, that's just there as a clue. The scene is usually something that the characters are looking at, so as it's a bit back to front, the word jigsaw has also been turned around, hence the name Wasgij. As there's no picture to go by, it's rather challenging. Before I got to the main puzzle though, there was a free 1000 piece puzzle included in the box, this time it did resemble the shown picture so it wasn't as difficult as a normal Wasgij but it was still a bit challenging for me.

And then came the actual Wasgij which I've just finished. Again, it's a 1000 piece puzzle and this time there was no picture to go by, just a hint, 'What the vicar can see!'. This one was the most difficult of all but I enjoyed the challenge.

I think I've discovered a new hobby, in fact I'm obsessed, I could sit all day if time allowed. I've decided that I'm not going to do any more jigsaws though over the summer months, keeping this as a winter hobby, it'll give me something to look forward to when the darker evenings roll round once again.

Mick's 60th - February

It's Mick's 60th birthday in August so we're having a year-long celebration, doing some fun things throughout the year, hopefully something each month. I'm arranging everything myself, Mick has no idea what's in store.

I'd been waiting for a fine day throughout February, it's just been so rainy, so it wasn't until yesterday, almost the end of the month, that we finally got a reasonable day which coincided with a day we were free.

As you will know by now if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, our favourite place is the Yorkshire Dales, we just love it there and take many trips every year, but there's still plenty of places we've yet to discover. We couldn't have a year-long celebration of Mick's birthday without including something from the Dales, but I didn't want it to be anything we usually do when we visit, so I put my thinking cap on and this is what I came up with.

We set off early yesterday morning and arrived in Settle at about 9.45am.  We headed straight to the train station and parked up the car, we were going to ride on the Settle-Carlisle Railway. We weren't going all the way to Carlisle, just a couple of stops along the route so that we could cross the Ribblehead Viaduct, something we've never done before. We often park up to watch the trains crossing the viaduct when we're passing, you can see the viaduct in my post about Malham which I wrote a few years ago.

There were some beautiful views along the way before we reached the viaduct.

They say that the Settle to Carlisle railway is one of the worlds greatest rail journeys owing to views of the landscape of the Yorkshire Dales before the train heads into Cumbria's Eden Valley which then gives way to views of the Pennines and Lakeland Fells.

We passed through Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Ribblehead stations before we reached the Ribblehead Viaduct which carries the railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley, it's Grade II listed and is the longest structure on the Settle-Carlisle line. This is the view as we crossed it.

About ten minutes later we alighted the train in Dent, you may remember my post about The Terrible Knitters Of Dent which I wrote a couple of years ago. Dent Station is the highest main line station in England.

We were the only passengers to leave the train at Dent and as we left the station we could see why. Rookie mistake, I should have checked that Dent Station is actually in Dent. No, it isn't, Dent Station is actually in the middle of nowhere, over four miles from the village of Dent.

Not to worry, I thought, there was a bus stop right outside the station, but oh dear, on checking the timetable there's just two buses per week, both on a Saturday. So as I'd got other things planned throughout the day, we decided to cut our losses and return on the next train which was an hour and twenty four minutes later, which I'd planned to do anyway, and in the meantime we took a walk along the road outside the station. In all that time only three cars passed us.

Another photo crossing the viaduct on our way back, this time in the opposite direction. You can see cars lined up along the road where people park to either watch trains cross the viaduct or to take a walk underneath the arches.

We arrived back in Settle early afternoon and had a short walk around the small market town, grabbing something light to eat before leaving Ribblesdale behind. The Yorkshire Dales has the longest cave system in the country and we've often passed Stump Cross Caverns on our trips between Grassington and Pateley Bridge but we've never visited so I thought it was about time we did. I knew it would be something that would interest Mick and I wasn't wrong.

I went caving, or potholing, in the Yorkshire Dales on an outdoor pursuits course with work when I was in my teens, I can't say it was my favourite part of the weekend so thankfully, our trip to Stump Cross Caverns was nothing like that. Discovered by lead miners in 1860, the formation of Stump Cross Caverns began millions of years ago and so offer a glimpse into prehistoric life. There's an extensive network of underground passages and cave systems between Wharfdale and Nidderdale, featuring amazing stalactites and stalagmites and there's now a scenic walking route throughout.

I wanted to go later in the day as at 3pm the main lights are turned out for the ultraviolet experience. As well as being given a normal torch to light your way, you're given UV torches to shine on the calcite rock formations which then glow.

Here's a stalagmite under normal light.

Here's the same stalagmite under UV light.

It was an amazing experience, you just never know what's underneath the ground you're walking on. The number of times we've passed this attraction and yet we've never been before, both Daniel and Eleanor would have loved this when they were young, it's an attraction suitable for all ages, though you do need to be quite fit as there are a lot of steps to get down into the caves and there are some rather low ceilings, hard hats are provided, and needed!

Our last port of call was less than ten minutes away in Appletreewick. The Craven Arms is a 16th century pub restaurant which we've been visiting for as long as I can remember. Serving traditional food, you're always sure of a good meal, and that's exactly what we got. A lovely way to end a lovely day.

It's such a welcoming pub with roaring fires when it's cold and cosy corners. It's been used as a filming location for many programmes, most notably the interior scenes of The Drovers Arms in All Creatures Great and Small.

And what have we here next to the beer barrel. Why, it's a little mouse door, a pint of milk waiting on the doorstep.

What a lovely day doing new things, we both really enjoyed it, despite the little hiccup with Dent!