roemin around

Woke up and it's still raining but we have to be off site by 11:00am because of the narrow winding access road. It is not wandering round pretty villages weather so we use chose a route home via Ripon to see the Cathedral and Fountains Abbey, neither of which we have visited before. After a tortuous drive down narrow roads parallel to the A1 (satnav to blame) we finally arrived in Ripon in the rain. The car park for the cathedral was shared with Sainsbury's so was full of Friday shoppers. We decided not to bother and drove on to nearby Fountains Abbey which is managed by NT. The rain was even heavier and running down the access roads, but we made it to the almost empty carpark. Weather map showed rain was easing so we waited and waited until it was light enough to make it to the visitor center. Bought a plant for Mark and were directed to the disabled car park where we could easily stroll to see the Abbey ruins. Well worth another visit in better weather. Exiting th...

We took the van out today to drive up to Hawes in upper Wensleydale to take in the scenary and visit the big creamery. We had cheese on toast and a cheese scone after browsing the gift shop and buying some traditional Wensleydale cheese. Chatted to bikers about our travels. We walked around Hawes which is a popular and picturesque tourist spot with lots of small tea shops and pubs. We were entertained by a duck feeding on the top of waterfall after leaving it's 3 chicks squealing for attention down below. On the way back we parked at Aysgarth to see the impressive stretch of waterfalls. It was a steep walk down to the upper falls and then back up and down again to the middle falls with the Yorkshire Dales Centre in between. It has been too dry recently for the falls to be at their best but photos were duly taken. An ice cream helped fuel the climb back up to the carpark via the church yard. Before Rosemary cooked dinner I went to the local hidden falls at Harmby a short...

We are here for 3 nights and have moved pitch today onto the balcony by the top of the lime kilns. Unfortunately the TV signal is blocked so we are on DVD, Amazon music and iPlayer.  We walked into Leyburn as busses only run in the morning and I walked up to the Shawl viewpoint while Rosemary browsed through the shops around the prettyy market square. On the way back we stopped at the chocolate factory for a welcome coffee and chocolate cheesecake, it was a 3 mile round trip. When we arrived back the peacock called Gerald, which we heard squarking overnight, was wandering around the site having its photograph taken. The sound of a Brass band practicing about half mile away was being carried in on the wind. Its a very quirky site with a lot of charm.

Heading for our final scheduled stop in Lower Wensleydale. We arrived here by taking a B road over the hills and dales of Northumberland and Yorkshire. First there was Weardale, bleak sheep inhabited moorland. Then Teesdale, greener, more scenic and even more sheep to Barnard Castle. An attractive market town made more famous by Dominic Cummings but it was very busy and nowhere to park. Did not even see the castle - should have gone to Specsavers. We joined the A66 which is like a fairground switch back and I was pursued for a long stretch by a very inconsiderate HGV driver on my tail. We pulled off the A66 just before Scotch Corner for a welcome break at a big farm shop and cafe, complete with lamas, camels and donkeys. We bought some steak and lamb for our time at Leyburn where we arrived mid afternoon. The site is in a landscaped disused quarry and is on 3 levels with lots of wild life including rabbits and a peacock. We took a short walk over the heritage railway line, ...

Before we left Berwick we shopped ot the M&S foodhall to tides us over the next couple of days. Then we headed south west for Scotland crossing the border at Coldstream and then on to Kelso, following the River Tweed before stopping in Jedburgh for a lunch break.  When we arrived there was a strange smell of bacon frying. The hairy Scots lad in the car parked next to us was making bacon sandwiches on a primus by his car. Probem solved. We tried to visit Mary Queen of Scots house, it was closed, but we ate a Stovie in the imacculate gardens and a coffee outside the Abbey cafe. The ruined abbey was also closed.  The gift shop was open however so we bought a card to send to our neighbours children Charlie and Alfie who had seen us off on holiday. We crossed back into England over the scenic Carter Bar pass where we stopped to admire the views. Visibility was excellent and we could see for miles in all directions. On the Englsih side is the Northumberland AONB and K...

A quiet day today walking over the river bridge into Berwick to find something to eat for a father's Day lunch. We were rather apprehensive but actually had a nice Sunday roast at the back of a wine bar even though we had not booked. The town is very scruffy and run down so we did not linger very long, taking the local bus back in mid afternoon. We are now surrounded by large motorhomes but leaving tomorrow. After a grey start the sun came out again so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening just chilling out ready to start heading back south tomorrow via the Scottish borders. Wales lost 1:0 to Italy in the Euros but qualified for knockout stages. It appears we have been very lucky with the weather, so far, compared to the rest of the country.

We left Newcastle, after a flying visit to the Powder Monkey, for the Northumberland coast scenic drive.  We stopped at Alwick for a picnic lunch on the beach. We had a stroll down the lovely beach and I had brief paddle in the cold north North sea. Heading north again we tried to get into Bamburgh castle but arrived too late, it was 4:15pm, so had to turn around in a very tight spot by the portcullis.  It was also very busy in Bamburgh village so we left and as the tide was out were able to go over the nearby causeway onto Holy Island. It was now too late to get to Lindesfarne Abbey which is at the far end of the island, so we had a coffee and brownie in the Pilgrims Cafe instead. We had enough time to get back over the casueway although the tide does come in very quickly cos its very flat. But had to leave by 6:00pm anyway to avoid another full days parking.  We finally arrived late at Berwick on Tweed on the south side of the estuary. We have a pitch at the top of the ...