Wednesday 22 October 2014

Yorkshire

On the second Monday of our holiday we left Peebles (after me being able to buy shoes) and made our way to our next destination; Finghall in Yorkshire. Again we had hired a small self-catering house on a lovely farm, to stay for the next four days. The house is called The Smithy and is a really well thought out refurbishment of an old barn. More about that shortly though. Coffee first. The first place we went while staying in Finghall was to Chesters by the River. Just to have some of their coffee and delicious scones. Quite a long way to go for said refreshments but worth the trip. Chesters is at Skelwith Bridge, a few miles outside of Ambleside in the Lake District. This is the river that is overlooked by the outdoor seating area. It's the river Brathay.
 

The weather was nice enough for us to take a table outside.


These quaint cottages are on the other side, away from the river.


Coffee and scones with jam and cream. Yummy!


And we also, very indulgently, shared this piece of coffee and hazelnut cake. They must have run out of walnuts!


Back to The Smithy. This is it ... didn't realise it was such a blurry photo but I've only got this one.


There were a few small caravans also staying at the farm. Everything was really clean and well appointed. I loved this clock on the outside wall.


The flowers were still in bloom and looking very colourful.


This friendly old collie just wanted to play constantly. He brought his ball for us to throw so he could catch it. Sounds pretty normal, doesn't it? Not when you discover that his preferred ball is of the golf variety! Every time he caught the ball you could hear it rattling his teeth. I'm surprised the poor thing has any teeth left!


While staying in Finghall we took the opportunity to visit the Bowes Museum.


The artifacts are housed in this magnificent building. It looks like someone's residence but it was actually built specially as a museum.




We really enjoyed our time at the museum. It was very interesting and the guide knew a lot about it. The highlight was seeing the Silver Swan, a magnificent musical automaton, being wound up and going through its motions.

The husband took the opportunity to go for a few cycle rides while we stayed at Finghall. So I took the opportunity to crochet some more of my cotton blanket!



I sat outside in the enclosed patio area and discovered this sign above the back door.


The blanket was really coming on well - part of it is draped behind the bench.





Another place we visited was the National Railway Museum in York. The husband thought it would be a good place to visit not least because the entrance is free. What we didn't realise was that it would cost £9 to park the car! We didn't mind as the museum is well worth visiting. Here's a few photos of trains just to let you see what it was like.







This is the Chinese engine, one of the largest single-unit locomotives ever built in the UK. It was presented to the museum by the Chinese Government in 1981. It's hard to tell from a photo but this thing is huge.



There's a separate hall for the royal trains.


I was amazed to find this special van for transporting bananas.



The next day we decided to just take a drive and admire the beautiful scenery. First of all along the side of a lovely river.


We stopped here to take some photos as it was so peaceful.






Not another car in sight!


We climbed up, getting pretty high, crossing the bleak looking moor.



The scenery was just spectacular. On the way down again we spotted this viaduct and wondered why there were so many cars parked at the side of the road. Then we realised a train was about to cross over so we very quickly parked, jumped out and took some photos.





We headed on into a lovely village called Ingleton where we had tea and a bit of a wander round.
 
I love the names of some of the wee villages in this area. Names like Constable Burton, Patrick Brompton and Newton-le-Willows.
 
At the end of our four days staying at The Smithy we only had another couple of days left before going home. We were intending to visit Yarndale on the Saturday so we spent the Friday night in a nearby hotel. I've already told you about our time at Yarndale in my first holiday post here - thought I'd better do Yarndale first!
 
There's very little left to tell you now but I'll leave it until another time. It's great to get your lovely comments and I can't believe I have some more very welcome followers.
 
I'll leave you with a tiny posy I cut in the garden today. Roses, crab apples, crocosmia (just the seed heads left), fuchsia and something with berries that will have to remain nameless because my mind has gone blank.
 

 
Bye for now!

19 comments:

  1. Lovely scenery looks like you had a good holiday :)

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  2. I've just caught up with your holiday posts, Gillian, Sounds like you had an enjoyable time. Sometimes I think we should spend more time exploring Britain and Ireland on holiday like this rather than going abroad - there's so many beautiful areas. I've not visited any of these places and don't the Lake District that well even though is is only a couple of hours from here.

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  3. oh thanks for sharing cause i'm discovering news places. Your holidays seems to be good and enjoyable..... and your blanket is gorgeous !! I like the colors .... Have a lovely day !

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  4. What a lovely post Gillian! I enjoyed all of those photos and your blanket is beautiful, I'll look forward to seeing it finished :) By the way, I smiled reading that you took it away with you. I never go anywhere without my crochet eithers ;) Hugs, Elisabeth

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  5. We have some absolutely beautiful places here in Yorkshire, I just couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Parking in York is very pricey, we usually use the park and ride which is much better value. Your blanket is beautiful, I really must get my book out and give some of those squares a go though I'm not an accomplished crocheter so I'd probably struggle.

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    1. We'd considered using the park and ride but then drove on to the museum and didn't want to go back out again. We'll know for future though! Most of the squares in the book are easy enough. I suppose the ones with the flowers that sit out (hope you know what I mean) are more tricky but not too bad. Give it a go and you'll probably be very pleased with being able to make many of the squares.

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  6. Fantastic, thanks for the photo tour.
    So nice places and nice pictures, have a nice autumn day.

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    1. After several stormy, rainy days we are having a really beautiful autumn day. I'm just back from a long walk and I'm really, really warm now!

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  7. Hi Gillian,
    Lovely pictures of Yorkshire, coffee and scones=happiness in my book. Glad you had fun at the railway museum, we saw a production of the railway children there some years ago-simply amazing set by the track.
    A lovely project throughout your holiday with the blanket, a memory incorporated into each square.
    Best wishes
    Helen

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  8. Hello Gillian

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful pics of Yorkshire. Yes, the scenery is beautiful no matter what the weather.
    And, also or letting me know the price of the carpark in The Railway Museum, it's somewhere we are thinking of going.
    I'm so pleased you enjoyed Bowes Museum, I live not too far from there. If you ever get the chance please try to visit Beamish Museum, it's brilliant.

    Your fruit scone and frothy coffee - just perfect.
    luv
    irene
    xxxx

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    1. We'll have to try that next time - probably next year. Thanks

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  9. What a lovely visit to Yorkshire. I've never been there but I am sure I would enjoy it. The scenery is beautiful and there are so many interesting attractions. Your blanket looks beautiful, I love the colors and I really like the way it looks draped on the bench. Your coffee cake looks wonderful, I'd like a taste of that one. Hazelnuts are so good. Hope you're having a good week!

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  10. It really does look like you had the best time. We've been to the National Railway Museum a couple of times, but get the train or use the park and ride. Parking in York is horrendously expensive! That coffee and hazelnut cake looks so good, I have to say. x

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  11. That looks a wonderful holiday with lots of places to visit and breathtaking scenery. The Bowes Museum looks amazing and I'll add that to my list of places to visit!
    Your crochet blanket is lovely, full of interest with the different designs and lots of colour!
    Thanks for sharing Gillian, glad you had a great time!
    Gill xx

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  12. It really looks like you had an amazing time of your trip. So much to see and do and getting some much needed time to relax too.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  13. Hi Gillian! Thanks for sharing the lovely photos and telling us all about your trip!
    It really sounds like you both had a wonderful interesting and relaxing time! Love those old trains!!!
    Hope you have a nice weekend!
    Ingrid xx
    http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

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  14. What a wonderful post and exciting holiday and your blanket is coming along a treat with so many patterns and colours included in it! Thank you so much for sharing so much beauty with us and also for your sweet message on mine! I hope your weekend is working out really well! xo Joy

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  15. This wonderful landscape looks like the home of James Harriot (I like the books so much since I have been a child).
    And I took a look at all your needlework, so many beautiful things (wish I could read and write properly).
    Have a good time, Birgit

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    1. It really is James Herriot country - truly beautiful. You write very well!!

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