Day 1. 19th April and we leave Cropredy just after 7am in Santy the Santa Fe heading for York. There’s no way that the luggage for this trip could have been accommodated in the Z4.
An inauspicious start; the Greggs at Donnington Services have run out of sausages (although the bacon bap was excellent). A trouble free journey to York, we arrive at the Novotel, pay for car parking and walk into York (this time taking the proper riverside route). Having located the Shambles Mrs M selects her birthday gift from the Shambles Jewellers but as a minor alteration is required we have time to kill which means a visit to the Golden Fleece (the most haunted pub in York and a purveyor of Old Peculier) and then to The Golden Lion to await the call that the alterations. Dinner was sandwiches purchased from M&S eaten in the room followed by an evening stroll and a riverside drink in the Kings Arms, a Samuel Smith pub which is frequently flooded by the river Ouse.
Day 2. 20th April. A Novotel breakfast and we set off for Skipton where we are booked into the Woolly Sheep for 2 nights. The pub is on the edge of the market place; first impressions were not good but once parked up and inside it was actually very smart. We walked down to the railway station intending to get tickets to travel to Carlisle the next day but the lady in the ticket office advised that only travelling as far as Appleby in Westmorland would cover off the scenic part of the journey (part of the famous Settle to Carlisle line). A couple in the local Weatherspoons follows by dinner in the pub restaurant, first class, trio of pork for Mrs. M, pie for me. A couple of drinks in the bar including Coffee Kraken for me.
Day 3. 21st April. Excellent breakfast, walked to the railway station and caught the Carlisle train, disembarking at Appleby. This turned out to be a mistake as the next train back was about 2 hours away and there wasn’t much to see or do except have a couple in The Bunch of Grapes. We decided to alight at Settle and have a quick look around; a pleasant little town and a couple in The Golden Lion. Returning to the station it was announced that the southbound train was cancelled so we had to wait for a replacement bus to take us back to Skipton. My claim for a ticket refund is outstanding! Dinner is tapas in the Ovino Lounge; Mrs. M is not impressed, this maybe our last “lounge” visit for a while. A couple of drinks in the bar at The Woolly Sheep.
Day 4. 22nd April. We set off for Aysgarth where we are staying in a lodge (for the 4th time) calling in at Grassington on the way. It’s very busy and on walking into the village centre it becomes apparent why; All Creatures Great and Small is being filmed, bit of a bonus! A shopkeeper tells us that it takes 5 days to set up the village to look like Darrowby and 3 days to take down, all for a day of filming! We headed to Aysgarth via a cross-country route, stopping of at The Buck at Buckden for a shared sandwich lunch (unfortunately they had run out of beef, a beef and gravy sandwich which was on the menu, would have been a bit of a novelty)! As we arrived at Aysgarth slightly early I convinced Mrs. M that it would be a good idea to drive into West Burton where I took some images of Cauldron Force. We checked into the lodge and were joined by G and E who are joining us. Dinner in the Falls End restaurant was up to its normal high standard followed by a short session in the hot tub and a reasonably early night.
Day 5. 23rd April. Mrs. M uses the hot tub and we have breakfast in the lodge. We revisited the circular walk to West Burton with a slight detour down to the Upper Aysgarth Falls. What a treat; herons, an egret and oyster catchers on the River Ure (and a kingfisher spotted only by the eagle-eyed E). Heading on towards West Burton we (unlike on the last attempt at this walk) took the correct route, spotted a deer, and after a detour to Cauldron Force, called in at the Fox and Hounds. The pub was quite busy and the ex-jockey barman whom we had chatted to on our last visit was a bit flustered although we did have a quick chat once things had calmed down. A couple of drinks including Black Sheep Yorkshire lager and a shared sandwich and chips for lunch before walking back across the meadows and along the stream to the lodge. Hot tub and dinner in Falls End.
Day 6. 24th April. We are heading to Pickering but travel via Thirsk to ensure that our route takes us up Sutton Bank. After a coffee on the visitor centre we checkout “Englands Finest View” before heading off over the moors on a circuitous route to Pickering. Stopping off for a couple of images at Rievaulx Abbey we travel along narrow moorland roads and, just outside
Commondale, Mrs M spots a large bird which turned out to be a lapwing, and there were lots of them and a couple of grouse. Obviously I took “several” images. Arriving in Pickering we check in at The White Swan, a nice (but quite expensive) room and have a walk around Pickering checking out the charity shops and calling in at The Bay Horse for a couple. Compared to Skipton there is a definite shortage of pubs! Dinner in the White Swan restaurant, good but pricey.
Day 7. 25th April. A good breakfast. Drive over to Scarborough and the up the coast to Whitby. It’s freezing. We drive past the Penny Hedge hotel where we are scheduled to stay in June but decide to cancel it as it is too far out of the town. We park up and walk into the town; it turns out that it’s a “goth weekend” and Mrs M takes several images of goths who are very happy to pose for a camera. Given that it feels like -10 after the wonderful weather that we’ve enjoyed all week we decide to move on and once again head over the moors. Inland it is much warmer and there are some fantastic views. We stop at The White Lion at Blakey Edge (a pub on the Coast to Coast Walk) before returning to Pickering where we get lunch / dinner from a local bakery. We have a couple in The Black Swan which had appeared to be shut a day earlier.
Day 8. 26th April. Another good breakfast and a non-stop drive home (with the exception of filling up with petrol at Southam) having missed the exit for Donnington services.
A really excellent holiday, Mrs. M thought it may have been her most enjoyable ever! Although it was not strictly a photography holiday I returned home with in excess of 500 images, some of which have been added to the Yorkshire Gallery.