Photography Blog
Photography Blog
YORKSHIRE, JAMES BOND & CLIVE OWEN
08/09/2026
Day 1, 2nd September
Setting off at the civilised time of 8:30 we encounter a HS2 connected road closure just before Southam but a short detour gets us back on track and we get breakfast at Greggs at Donnington Services.
Arriving at the Novotel at York I am offered an upgrade including an early check in for £20 which I politely refuse but on advising the receptionist that this is our 4th stay a room becomes available for immediate check in without the extra fee. Walking along the river into the city we head towards The Railway Museum, not because we’re interested in trains but because it’s one of the attractions which we haven’t visited. It’s quite a distance from the city centre and even further if you walk straight past the clearly marked turning to the museum, but it was interesting. Stepping outside, and with rain threatening, we pay £5 each and catch the Road Train shuttle service back to the Minster. Wine, Old Peculiar and crisps in Ye Olde Starre Inne, reputably the oldest in York, we then stroll along the Shambles and arrive at the Golden Lion for lunch (with a 15% AA members discount) and more wine and Old Peculiar. We call in at The Last Drop and Mrs. M poses next to the “To The Shambles” sign, the Pret “Hello York” poster and next to a large dog sat outside a pub before returning to the hotel for the night.
Day 2, 3rd September
A Novotel breakfast and we set off for Ravenseat, home of The Yorkshire Shepherdess where her daughter Edith Owen is selling tea and coffee. Numerous road closures make it a frustrating journey including a long and winding road from Askrigg to Muker which I’ve not travelled before but which is very scenic, we eventually arrive at Ravenseat Farm and order tea and coffee; very pleasant and Mrs. M has a photo with Edith. No other Owens appear to be in residence. Given that the Buttertubs Pass is closed we move on to Brough for tea and coffee at Brough Castle Farm in the cafe run by Reuben Owen’s girlfriend’s sister (aided by her gran). It later transpires that Reuben and his girlfriend Jess ( and possibly other members of “the team”) are filming driving old tractors on The Isle of Man. We are heading to The Wensleydale Heifer in West Wilton but firstly call in at the Co-Op in Kirkby Stephen for essential supplies and then find a parking spot in Hawes which allows us to have a quick one in The Fountain Inn. Arriving at The Wensleydale Heifer we are shown to The James Bond Room, it certainly has the “wow” factor and is packed with Bond memorabilia. It appears that many if not all of the rooms here are themed. We are booked in for dinner in the restaurant and go down to the bar where we here a familiar voice, it’s Clive Owen from Ravenseat. Mrs. M is extremely excited and introduces herself and shakes his hand explaining “I am a massive fan”; for her the highlight of the trip! It transpires that he ie eating in the small bar area. Dinner is good but not fantastic.
Day 3, 4th September
Breakfast in the restaurant and we check out and head to Leyburn. We are attempting a “figure of eight” walk along and around The Shawl but the wind is extremely strong and it looks like rain is heading our way so we turn back after about 40 minutes; still a pleasant walk and one which we will probably return to. It is at this point that Mrs. M is waving her hands to indicate something to me when she realises that instead of having 4 rings on her fingers she has none; a quick call to The Wensleydale Heifer confirms that they were left in the room so we arrange to collect them later (they had also emailed me to advise that the rings were awaiting collection). We get some essential supplies from Campbells and the have a quick one in The Golden Lion before driving over to the lodges at Aysgarth via The Wensleydale Heifer to collect the aforementioned rings. This is our 6th visit to to the Aysgarth Lodges; we check into Lodge 31 after negotiating a £20 Falls End voucher as I was unable to get a repeat booking discount and received no reply to my email. Lodge 31 is for 4 people and probably the best lodge that we have had (so far).
Day 4, 5th September
Breakfast in the lodge. We are going to the races at Thirsk but have to leave early as the road is being closed for the Tour of Britain cycle race. This gives us (me) another opportunity to visit Aysgarth Falls for some long exposure water photography. There are some images in The Yorkshire Gallery. Given numerous local road closures for the Tour of Britain we take a circuitous route to Thirsk and park in the car park opposite the racecourse: it’s Thirsk Ladies Day and surprisingly busy. It’s £14 per head for OAPs (> 65 years) with a race card thrown in for good measure. A short-priced winner for Mrs M and a each-way 3rd for me means that we are well our of pocket but Joanna Mason partly rescues the day when I had £10 on
Nyman which came in at 3/1 in the last race. We travel back to Aysgarth via the Thirsk Aldi where we get supplies for supper in the lodge but not before having several in Falls End where a very talented female singer is performing.
Day 5, 6th September
Breakfast in the lodge. We drive to Semerwater where the plan is to complete a circular walk of the lake but on arrival in the car park it transpires that a fee has to be paid (fair enough) which necessitates a sort trip to the nearby Low Blean Farm where Mrs. M completes the necessary admin and pays £3 for all day parking; a 6-point turn and we drive back to the car park with our yellow ticket on display. I had printed route details of this walk before leaving home but mislaid them so had to make do with a very basic map that I’d picked up in Reception at the Lodge. All was going well for about 50 minutes but then I was less certain that we were on the right track. The path seemed to disappear into a river but at the last minute a detour and a bridge appeared before the track went through a gate into farmland where a farmer was feeding 2 cows. A quick conversation confirmed that we’re going in the right direction and it was pretty plain sailing from there back to the car park, about 4 miles in total and a walk that we may well do again. Returning to Aysgarth we stopped in Bainbridge to admire the waterfall and Archimedes screw turbine on the river Bain; unfortunately it was by now raining and there didn’t appear to be a way to get close to the falls but there is a good view from the road bridge over the river. Also unfortunately the pub in the village, the 15th century Rose and Crown Hotel is currently closed following severe damage caused by burst pipes; it remains to be seen if it re-opens. Also unfortunately the George and Dragon in Aysgarth closed down in 2025 so we called into the Aysgarth Falls Hotel for a quick one before returning to Falls End where we had booked Sunday lunch; the roast beef did not disappoint!
Day 6, 7th September
We made an early (7:15 am) start and called in at Leeds Skelton Lake Services for a Mc.breakfast. Mrs M fancied some chocolate but had to wait behind 2 young men in the queue to pay. It went through my mind that one looked exactly like Patrick Bamford, the Sheffield United and ex-England footballer. The reason for this was that it was Patrick Bamford and his colleague was Kelvin Phillips, also of Sheffield United and ex-England. They drove off in what I assume was Kelvin’s black Bentley SUV, we drive off in our Hyundai SUV. Arriving home just before noon, a memorable trip and some seeds down for the next one! There are images in the Yorkshire Gallery.
Setting off at the civilised time of 8:30 we encounter a HS2 connected road closure just before Southam but a short detour gets us back on track and we get breakfast at Greggs at Donnington Services.
Arriving at the Novotel at York I am offered an upgrade including an early check in for £20 which I politely refuse but on advising the receptionist that this is our 4th stay a room becomes available for immediate check in without the extra fee. Walking along the river into the city we head towards The Railway Museum, not because we’re interested in trains but because it’s one of the attractions which we haven’t visited. It’s quite a distance from the city centre and even further if you walk straight past the clearly marked turning to the museum, but it was interesting. Stepping outside, and with rain threatening, we pay £5 each and catch the Road Train shuttle service back to the Minster. Wine, Old Peculiar and crisps in Ye Olde Starre Inne, reputably the oldest in York, we then stroll along the Shambles and arrive at the Golden Lion for lunch (with a 15% AA members discount) and more wine and Old Peculiar. We call in at The Last Drop and Mrs. M poses next to the “To The Shambles” sign, the Pret “Hello York” poster and next to a large dog sat outside a pub before returning to the hotel for the night.
Day 2, 3rd September
A Novotel breakfast and we set off for Ravenseat, home of The Yorkshire Shepherdess where her daughter Edith Owen is selling tea and coffee. Numerous road closures make it a frustrating journey including a long and winding road from Askrigg to Muker which I’ve not travelled before but which is very scenic, we eventually arrive at Ravenseat Farm and order tea and coffee; very pleasant and Mrs. M has a photo with Edith. No other Owens appear to be in residence. Given that the Buttertubs Pass is closed we move on to Brough for tea and coffee at Brough Castle Farm in the cafe run by Reuben Owen’s girlfriend’s sister (aided by her gran). It later transpires that Reuben and his girlfriend Jess ( and possibly other members of “the team”) are filming driving old tractors on The Isle of Man. We are heading to The Wensleydale Heifer in West Wilton but firstly call in at the Co-Op in Kirkby Stephen for essential supplies and then find a parking spot in Hawes which allows us to have a quick one in The Fountain Inn. Arriving at The Wensleydale Heifer we are shown to The James Bond Room, it certainly has the “wow” factor and is packed with Bond memorabilia. It appears that many if not all of the rooms here are themed. We are booked in for dinner in the restaurant and go down to the bar where we here a familiar voice, it’s Clive Owen from Ravenseat. Mrs. M is extremely excited and introduces herself and shakes his hand explaining “I am a massive fan”; for her the highlight of the trip! It transpires that he ie eating in the small bar area. Dinner is good but not fantastic.
Day 3, 4th September
Breakfast in the restaurant and we check out and head to Leyburn. We are attempting a “figure of eight” walk along and around The Shawl but the wind is extremely strong and it looks like rain is heading our way so we turn back after about 40 minutes; still a pleasant walk and one which we will probably return to. It is at this point that Mrs. M is waving her hands to indicate something to me when she realises that instead of having 4 rings on her fingers she has none; a quick call to The Wensleydale Heifer confirms that they were left in the room so we arrange to collect them later (they had also emailed me to advise that the rings were awaiting collection). We get some essential supplies from Campbells and the have a quick one in The Golden Lion before driving over to the lodges at Aysgarth via The Wensleydale Heifer to collect the aforementioned rings. This is our 6th visit to to the Aysgarth Lodges; we check into Lodge 31 after negotiating a £20 Falls End voucher as I was unable to get a repeat booking discount and received no reply to my email. Lodge 31 is for 4 people and probably the best lodge that we have had (so far).
Day 4, 5th September
Breakfast in the lodge. We are going to the races at Thirsk but have to leave early as the road is being closed for the Tour of Britain cycle race. This gives us (me) another opportunity to visit Aysgarth Falls for some long exposure water photography. There are some images in The Yorkshire Gallery. Given numerous local road closures for the Tour of Britain we take a circuitous route to Thirsk and park in the car park opposite the racecourse: it’s Thirsk Ladies Day and surprisingly busy. It’s £14 per head for OAPs (> 65 years) with a race card thrown in for good measure. A short-priced winner for Mrs M and a each-way 3rd for me means that we are well our of pocket but Joanna Mason partly rescues the day when I had £10 on
Nyman which came in at 3/1 in the last race. We travel back to Aysgarth via the Thirsk Aldi where we get supplies for supper in the lodge but not before having several in Falls End where a very talented female singer is performing.
Day 5, 6th September
Breakfast in the lodge. We drive to Semerwater where the plan is to complete a circular walk of the lake but on arrival in the car park it transpires that a fee has to be paid (fair enough) which necessitates a sort trip to the nearby Low Blean Farm where Mrs. M completes the necessary admin and pays £3 for all day parking; a 6-point turn and we drive back to the car park with our yellow ticket on display. I had printed route details of this walk before leaving home but mislaid them so had to make do with a very basic map that I’d picked up in Reception at the Lodge. All was going well for about 50 minutes but then I was less certain that we were on the right track. The path seemed to disappear into a river but at the last minute a detour and a bridge appeared before the track went through a gate into farmland where a farmer was feeding 2 cows. A quick conversation confirmed that we’re going in the right direction and it was pretty plain sailing from there back to the car park, about 4 miles in total and a walk that we may well do again. Returning to Aysgarth we stopped in Bainbridge to admire the waterfall and Archimedes screw turbine on the river Bain; unfortunately it was by now raining and there didn’t appear to be a way to get close to the falls but there is a good view from the road bridge over the river. Also unfortunately the pub in the village, the 15th century Rose and Crown Hotel is currently closed following severe damage caused by burst pipes; it remains to be seen if it re-opens. Also unfortunately the George and Dragon in Aysgarth closed down in 2025 so we called into the Aysgarth Falls Hotel for a quick one before returning to Falls End where we had booked Sunday lunch; the roast beef did not disappoint!
Day 6, 7th September
We made an early (7:15 am) start and called in at Leeds Skelton Lake Services for a Mc.breakfast. Mrs M fancied some chocolate but had to wait behind 2 young men in the queue to pay. It went through my mind that one looked exactly like Patrick Bamford, the Sheffield United and ex-England footballer. The reason for this was that it was Patrick Bamford and his colleague was Kelvin Phillips, also of Sheffield United and ex-England. They drove off in what I assume was Kelvin’s black Bentley SUV, we drive off in our Hyundai SUV. Arriving home just before noon, a memorable trip and some seeds down for the next one! There are images in the Yorkshire Gallery.
