Ey Up

Fall is winding down here.  The red ivy climbing up the brick buildings is fading, the city is stringing Christmas lights across the cobbled streets and a ferris wheel and skating rink have popped up in Parker's Piece. I'm so looking forward to celebrating the season in England but it also means that our time here is quickly coming to close.  I have so much I still want to do but lately have been feeling a bit unmotivated to plan, go, do, see all the things. My early enthusiasm and energy has waned a bit. Our unexpected house move earlier this month was a bit disorienting and I preferred to hunker down until that was sorted. But I'm happy to report our new refuge is working out quite nicely. It’s cozy and closer to the center of town and we're finding new routines, pubs, cafes and parks. We've reached the part of a move where I normally start to pull back and look ahead to where we’re going next. But I don’t want our remaining time to be wasted. When I leave here I want be exhausted and full to the brim and bursting with gratefulness. So I needed a bit of a refresh. Actually... it's turns out what I really needed was a trip to the Yorkshire Dales! 

 TJ took a couple days off work and Thursday we loaded up our tiny car with everyone’s winter coats and Wellies and drove North. The cobblestone congestion of Cambridge gave way to the countryside where soon the sheep would outnumber the cars. It’s about a three hour trip (longer if you have to stop because you’re queasy from turning around backwards to break up slap fights or soothe a little sister) but we broke up the drive with a stop in Knaresborough.


My parents had passed through this village on their way home from their trip to York and said it was bursting with charm. We pulled into a car park in the town and made our way to the Knaresborough Castle ruins sitting up above the winding River Nidd, overlooking the viaduct. The caretaker unlocked the doors so we could poke around this c.1100 Norman fortress and then we walked down the hillside path to a riverside cafe for lunch.

 This first little stop in an unassuming town made us even more excited for the beautiful Yorkshire countryside awaiting us further up the road. We hurried to try to beat the sunset as navigating unknown single track roads in the dark is not my cup of tea. We were graced with golden hour rays over the rolling green fields and pulled into Grassington just before dark.

 As we’d already established there are plenty of little villages full of charm and cozy stone houses and cafes, that narrowing down where to stay was a bit tricky. Ultimately we chose Grassington because of All Creatures Great and Small. Honestly, and if you’ve seen this show then you’re familiar with the quaint town of Darrowby and you get it! T.J. and I have been binge watching since arriving in England and when we learned it was filmed in Grassington we knew we had to stay there during our time in Yorkshire.

Since it’s the off season we lucked into the perfect house right in the center of the village. We dropped our bags and then went to explore, admiring the twinkle lights strung across the square in preparation for the upcoming Christmas market. We headed to the Black Horse Inn, one of three main pubs in town and had dinner at its restaurant The Morral.

 The next morning we woke and had breakfast in our house before loading up the car with a picnic for later and driving to Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. It was foggy and misty but we were bundled up and ready for our hike. We had the park mostly to ourselves and managed to go about 2.5 miles round trip over slippery rocks and narrow bridges with the water rushing beside us. We saw three of the six main falls on the trail before turning back. The tree cover kept us from getting too wet but it did not keep little boys from stomping right in the middle of muddy puddles.

 Having earned our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches back in our warm car we drove just a few minutes down the road and through the fog could just about make out Ribblehead Viaduct. We remarked on how nice it was to see these sights without the large summer crowds and buses of tourists filling up the car parks like we experienced in The Highlands. It felt like we were discovering secret places just for us.
 We did not linger long as the wind had picked up and it was much cooler out in the open fields. We headed back into town and treated ourselves to cappuccinos and hot chocolates at the Stripey Badger Cafe. Afterwards we looked around the attached book shop and then popped into some other little shops picking up a couple Christmas gifts for family and a couple souvenirs for ourselves. We had dinner that night at The Drovers, ahem, I mean the Devonshire Arms. Daisy and I headed back to bed early and the boys stayed out for dessert and another pint but they were sweet enough to bring some sticky toffee pudding back for mama.

 We were surprisingly pleased to see the sun the next morning and the previously misty covered farms now opened up to rolling hills crisscrossed with ancient stone fences. We gave up counting sheep and instead were excited to spot pheasants here and there grazing with their fluffy friends. We arrived at our destination and saw several tweed bedecked outdoorsmen in the car park with their shotguns and pups setting out in search of the same pheasant. TJ began mentally questioning his life’s plan and wondering how he could pivot to country doctor in the Dales.

Bolton Abbey is perhaps one of the prettiest places I've ever been in my life. It is hard to capture in pictures or words the peaceful serenity and awe that comes over you as you walk down the path. The arches and walls of the old priory sit up overlooking the river, the now empty window pane framing the hills and valleys around it. Again we felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was quiet except for the river and my children who excitedly hurried down to the water's edge to skip across the stepping stones. First Tommy, then William with T.J. coordinating each slippery rock together managing not to topple in. Daisy and I watched from the foot bridge and met them on the other side. We walked through the fields and admired the breathtaking view from this new angle. There are miles of trails and public paths around the river, mingling with the sheep, with low fences to climb over and livestock gates to close behind you, but we crossed back over to take a closer look around the Augustinian monastery's stone walls. 


While the original priory was closed by King Henry VIII in 1540 and the east end remains in ruins, a tower was left half standing and more updates and care were shown in later years and today the Bolton Priory, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Cuthburt, is an active Church of England holding regular Sunday services.  
We walked back into the little village, also called Bolton Abbey after it's namesake, and popped into Grove Rare Books. We found several new additions for our library and when the shopkeeper noted that his card reader wasn't very reliable, he decided we looked trustworthy and packaged them up for us anyway with a promise to email him payment at our convenience. Just highlighting another thing we loved about Yorkshire- the warmth and friendliness of the locals we met. The casually affectionate "love" added to each question, the jovial accent and unique phrases we sometimes struggled to understand ("ey up" is a simple greeting hello), the helpfulness. 
We left the bookshop and walked into the tea cottage next door for a lunch of soup, sandwiches and sausage rolls. Then we headed back to our airbnb to drop our car and take a rest. But first we went for a quintessential Yorkshire ramble through Grassington, down between the stone fences and across the River Wharfe into Linton. We found more stepping stones past the Linton Falls but decided not to press our luck  this time.  Feeling totally satisfied with our day we tucked ourselves into our own cottage. T.J. lit a fire in the wood burning stove, Daisy napped, and we read books and watched a movie. 


We had made a booking at a pub just outside of the village, truly only a 5 minute drive, but we ended up canceling it preferring instead to walk to the third pub in town, the Forresters Arms for our last dinner in town.
In the morning we walked through the Hallmark movie worthy Sunday market and selected some jars of local honey and a fresh loaf of sourdough to bring home with us. Each time we leave Cambridge, the boys are a bit confused about whether we're going on vacation or moving somewhere new all together. I can't really blame them when they ask are we still in England? Are we going to live here now? For how long are we staying? What house are we going back to? I'm happy they are able to travel and adapt so easily, to find the comforts of home wherever we roam. And while T.J. and I contemplated sending for the rest of our household goods and setting up residence in the high Dales, we had to "say see you again someday" and head back to Cambridge.  We returned feeling refreshed and inspired to soak in as much beauty and wonder in our remaining days across the pond. 

Comments

  1. Such beauty! You truly are embracing opportunity while you can.

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  2. What a beautiful place! I'm a big fan of All Creatures, and now I want to visit this village. What a blessing to have some sunshine on your trip. We spent an October break in York and the Highlands about 10 years ago, and it was such a great time to travel with light crowds.

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  3. Glad you had a spell of good weather while you were there. We've been to Knaresborough but not Grassington but the whole area is lovely, especially when not crowded with tourists.

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  4. Dad and I are in to the show now and we're okay with you moving there so long as you add a cottage for us : ) Those boys just rolling with it are something else! We love that you're making the most of your time, but we also love that you'll be back stateside soon xo

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