This is partly a photographic holiday but mainly a reminiscence of previous visits - we will be visiting familiar places and staying in familiar hotels.

Day 1. 31st May. We leave on-time at 6am but have to make an unscheduled stop at Greggs at Gaydon as Mrs. M has left her flask of tea behind. Next stop is Staffordshire Services on the M6 for a Greggs breakfast; unfortunately the standards seem to be falling. As planned we arrive at Malham at 10:00 am and park in the National Park car park. We set off to do the circular walk via Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove. The old map that I obtained on a previous visit states 3.5 miles but we manage to do 5 (partly because we set off on the wrong path and have to retrace our steps as do another couple who confirm that we are not on the correct path for Janet’s Foss!). This proved to quite a strenuous walk, especially crossing the limestone pavement above Malham Cove and descending the (hundreds?) of steps to the bottom of the cove; this is probably the last time that I will do this particular route. Refreshments in the Buck Inn in Malham are most welcome. My plan was to move on to Bolton Abbey and The Strid but Mrs. M is not keen on more walking so we instead set off for the Travelodge in Harrogate where I have stayed on many occasions. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we miss our turn in Malham and take a very circuitous but also very scenic route to Harrogate and arrive in The Ginnel car park at about 3pm. I pay for parking until noon the next day to allow us some time in Harrogate. I would normally eat in the fish restaurant which was Gravelly’s and is now The Fisherman's Wife but it does not open on Sunday so, after consulting Trip Advisor, sought out The Pickled Sprout. A perfect steak for Mrs M and a Suet Pudding for me (a rarely available treat), unfortunately I misunderstood the menu and, not realising that it was served with selection of vegetables, ordered an additional side of cauliflower cheese, which proved to be a portion too far! We then retired to the Winter Gardens where we met my sister and brother-in-law for a few drinks including a mandatory pint of Old Peculier.

Day 2. 1st June. Breakfast in the Winter Gardens followed by a walk around Harrogate to pickup a few items including a birthday cake from M&S and a lighter for the candles (note NOT 70) from Mr Arkwrights, an old fashioned hardware store. Before leaving we have a coffee and share an almond slice in Fi:K in The Ginnel before setting of for Morrisons in Ripon to collect essential supplies for the next 4 days when we will be staying in the lodges at Aysgarth (for the 5th time!). We then move on to the next scheduled stop, The Black Bull In Paradise (aka The Theakston BreweryTap) in Masham, parking in The Market Place and paying via an honesty box. I had hoped to do a (3rd) tour of the brewery but they were not running on this particular day so I made do with (unsurprisingly) a pint of Old Peculier “from the wood” and then 3 x 1/3rds; Assassin, XB and Barista Stout. In a bizarre coincidence the man behind the bar used to live in Helmdon, a village quite close to Cropredy. Mrs. M took the wheel for the short drive to Aysgarth where, despite being slightly early, we were able to check into our lodge. A burger and belly pork in the excellent on-site Falls End restaurant and a soak in the hot tub completed the day.

Day 3. 2nd June. The big day, I am 70, although I am not sure that it is something to celebrate! My sister and brother-in-law are staying with us for 3 nights. They arrive in their motorhome at 10:00 and, despite me clearing it at the time of booking, have a bit of a debate with reception before being allowed to leave it in the car park. The plan is to do the Aysgarth to West Burton circular walk. This will be my 4th time ( and my sister’s 2nd), the most recent being about 5 weeks ago (so no excuse to get lost). After the steep ascent up into Aysgarth we walk into the churchyard and take a slight detour down to the bridge over the River Ure where the falls are in full flow and thundering under the bridge; a complete change from a few weeks ago and a real treat. A few images are taken from the bridge. We then go back to the churchyard and along the side of the river, no wildlife on this occasion, there’s probably too much water, but I take (far too) many images of the fast flowing water; it’s one of my favourite subjects. Moving on around the walk we take the slight detour to Cauldron Force but can’t stay for too long as we know the kitchen at The Fox and Hounds closes at 2:00pm. We arrive in good time, have a drink and a sandwich with some chips and then retrace our steps to the falls as Mrs. M has spotted a dipper and wants another look (and I’ll never turn down the chance to visit a waterfall). A few more images and it’s back onto the path back to the lodges. This is a first class walk! A drink in Falls End and a birthday feast in the lodge before turning in.

Day 4. 3rd June. I’ve booked us a parking slot at the Snaizeholme red squirrel reserve. It’s raining when we arrive and it gets heavier as we approach the viewing area; squirrels are conspicuous by their absence although there are a few pheasants which are quite photogenic. We wander deeper into the woods before returning to the viewing area and are close to giving up when a red squirrel appears followed by several more. I have pushed the ISO on my cameras to give a decent shutter speed in the poor light and manage a few very nice images some of which are in The Yorkshire Gallery. The plan was to move on to the Ribbleshead Viaduct and do a short walk but the road is closed (and it’s still raining!) We drive back into Hawes, parkup, have a look around and get a coffee in the Penny Garth Cafe. In a change of plan we are heading over The Buttertubs to Low Row for lunch at The Punch Bowl Inn, but change plan again and drive over the moors, through the All Creatures Great and Small water splash and onto the Charles Bathurst Inn for lunch; slightly disappointing (we had an excellent lunch there on a previous visit) with one man attempting to act as barman and waiter (and not quite succeeding). We return to the lodge via a moorland route, have a soak in the hot tub and a drink in Falls End before calling it a day.

Day 5. 4th June. I had planned to do the Keld To Muker circular walk but given a forecast of inclement weather we decide to drive to Richmond and watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 at The Station Cinema. We set off across country and as we near the Aysgarth Falls it is obvious that there is even more water flowing down the River Ure. A chance not to be missed, we park up in the Visitor Centre, walk down to The Upper Falls, put our entry money in the honesty box and I proceed to take more than a few images of the water crashing over the falls. Had I been on my own I could probably spent all day at the series of three falls here! Moving on we drive over the moors to Richmond with a short stop to photograph some grouse close to the roadside. We drive to the Station but given that the maximum stay in the car park is 4 hours (not long enough for us to watch the film which doesn’t start for a couple of hours) we go back to the Market Place and park up displaying the “disc” which I’d obtained on an earlier visit and kept in the car. A wander round and a coffee (and a free slice of lemon cake as it’s close to my birthday) in the Costa where an eagle-eyed Mrs. M spots Violet Owen, one of The Yorkshire Shepherdess’ daughters; it transpires that she attends school in Richmond. By now the sun is shining so we abandon the cinema idea, visit the tourist information office in the Market Hall and get a brochure detailing some local walks. The man in the office recommends the Easby Abbey circular walk which starts from The Station and, he assures us, “is flat”. The walk follows the River Swale and then crosses the river to the ruins of Easby Abbey (which really impressed Mrs. M) and then returns to Richmond along the banks of the Swale. We take a slight detour to the falls on the Swale and then pay a quick visit to The Station which is a very impressive facility. We return to the lodge via the moors stopping to get a few images of a lapwing. Into the Falls End for a pie (me) and wings (Mrs. M) before retiring to the lodge where the hot tub is malfunctioning and won’t turn off (or will it? we’re not sure but the staff member who was coming to sort it out forgot about it and arrived at 10pm by which time it had stopped by itself!)

Day 6 5th June. We check out of the lodge at 10am and set off for Thirsk where we take one of the last remaining places in The Golden Fleece Hotel car park. A quick tour of the Thirsk charity shops, and the purchase of a relatively expensive fish from a gift shop, and we are off to the races. My first and only previous visit here was about 35 years ago! 2 x OAP entries (about £25 including race cards) but we don’t have access to the Premier Enclosure, which is “neither here nor there”. 2 winners for me, 1 for Mrs. M but an overall loss, the upsides being a). that Mrs. M enjoyed her first taste of flat racing and b). the entry fee is about half the price of jump racing in the Midlands. We walk back into Thirsk for dinner at The Istanbul Bar and Grill, The House Special for sharing at £52, we make a reasonable job of devouring most of it (even though we weren’t sure exactly what we were getting). Back to the Golden Fleece for a drink and an early night.

Day 7. 6th June. Breakfast in the ‘Spoons which is a couple of doors down from the hotel (but about half the price) where Mrs. M discovers that a mushroom muffin without the muffins is the perfect size breakfast for her (apparently Spoons can delete items from a meal but any additions have to be paid for). We drive to York and park up in The Novotel for what is our third (or is it 4th?) visit. We walk into the city and find our way to The Castle Museum; I wanted to revisit here as I had been about 60 years ago and it had made a lasting impression on me. It probably didn’t impress a 70 year old me as much as a 10 year old me but I’m glad that I went (and I can return again within a year for free!). The city is extremely busy and most pubs are full but for some reason The Last Drop near to The Shambles is quiet and we spend a couple of hours here (by which time it has filled up). It has just been named CAMRA City Pub of the Year and serves a nice pint of Old Peculier amongst several other real ales. I had planned to take in a Ghost Walk but the 8pm start time was a stretch too far so we bought some sandwiches from M&S and had dinner in the room.


Day 8. 7th June. A Novotel breakfast and a drive back to Cropredy with brief stops at Donnington Services for coffee and Southam for petrol. A very successful week away but still plenty left to do on our next visit (possibly in September?).
There are some images in the Yorkshire Gallerty from the approximately 600+ taken during the week.