I went on a little holiday (part 4)

 My last post was huge. 

Well it was a huge week! I think of it as one whole chapter and found it tricky trying to break it up. I'm not really a professional writer type person so I'm sure someone else could have done it better. But it's out there now for me to look at, and read and remember how amazing and overwhelming it all was.

If you're jumping in now and haven't caught  up with the first bits of our trip to the U.K. you have totally missed out on so much. Encounters with rampant squirrels in cemeteries, unexpectedly large taxidermied birds, awful London coffee, and crocheted luggage.

I went on a little holiday (part 1)

I went on a little holiday (part 2)

I went on a little holiday (part 3)

After leaving Liverpool we headed north. We decided to have lunch in Leeds and ended up at the beautiful Roundhay Park.

How lush is this grass??

We wandered around duck ponds and through the Alhambra Garden at the top end of the park.

After running around Liverpool for 6 days, I needed a calm space. 

And then set off to a sweet little village in west Yorkshire called Micklethwaite. 

Along the way we found ourselves driving through the most beautiful countryside.

And finally into this adorable village. We were just here for a night. I had booked a little 2 storey townhouse with a kitchen and living room downstairs, and a bedroom and bath upstairs. It was old stone, warm wood and smelled of lavender and camphor and disappointingly not haunted.

We drove into Bingley for dinner and found an old, low beamed pub which was open for dinner. It was Sunday night so Roast was the dish of the day. We had Roast beef and pork, with vegies and a big Yorkshire pud on top, slathered in gravy. My first yorkshire pudding served to me in Yorkshire. Perfect! 

I mark this moment as the the main contribution to the 4-5 kilos I put on during this trip! 

The next morning we left Micklethwaite for the next stop on our trip. The GPS took us up and down all sorts of little roads.

We headed for Bolton Abbey which was built in the 12th century.

The grounds are wide ranging and stunning. It was a beautiful spring day. 

A whole section of the priory has been restored and is in active use by the Church of England with regular services.

There are many other buildings on the grounds including some fortuitously situated cafes!

We tromped along paths past the priory, walked through the graveyard taking time to read the headstones, and down along the river.

Our next stop was the picturesque market town of Skipton.

Skipton is connected via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal system. I was bummed to miss out on booking a 'devonshire tea cruise' on one of the delightful canal boats, but we found a skipper who took passengers on a little trip up and down the canals for just 4 pounds each. He didn't say much, so he probably thought we were getting our 4 bucks worth just sitting and looking. But that was totally ok with me!

One of the largest features of Skipton is Skipton Castle and the Skipton Castle Woods. 

After a day of tromping back and forth around Bolton Abbey, the Bears legs were about to fall off.

We just missed out on visiting the castle before it closed for the evening, but it was still going to be light for hours and this was my only chance to explore the woods so I dragged poor Bear into the leafy green.

Filled with oaks, hornbeams, beech trees and more.

And soon upon entering I found this beautiful lady. Her skirt is adorned with wild garlic flowers. We also picked some flowers to add to her dress.

The whole wood had this delicious aroma of wild garlic. I've never experienced anything like it. 

The next morning the Bear went to explore Skipton Castle.

I took myself off to meet with someone.

I walked to Coopers' Cafe just off the High street and had a cappuccino with this lovely lady. 

Lucy from Attic 24. Hi Lucy! 

We sat upstairs in one of the little rooms overlooking the street and chatted the chats and drank the coffees. If nothing else happened in the whole time we were in Yorkshire, it was worth the trip to be able to spend some time hanging out with the lovely Lucy. 

I have followed her blog for maybe 13 or 14 years now and am hugely inspired by her colour work and designs. It was her posts featuring photos of her beautiful Skipton that made me want to travel to Yorkshire to visit this picturesque village. We hunkered down comfortably at our table at Coopers and it was like sitting down for a cuppa with an old friend.

So that's enough for part 4. 

After my coffee with Lucy, we jumped into the poor little Fiat500 who clearly didn't know what it was in for when a couple of Australians started filling its' belly with the worlds largest luggage.

And we headed south for the Cotswolds.

Louise

🌳🌲 Red Haired Amazona 🌲🌳