When we came to the area a couple of months ago we travelled over to Helmsley to take a tour of the castle and have a look around the lovely village itself. We had also considered going 'up the road' to the nearby Rievaulx Abbey, but as it was pouring down with rain we decided to save the visit to another holiday. And today is that day.
Donna had checked the weather forecast last night and it predicted heavy rain coming up the country and hitting this part of the world mid-afternoon; but until that time just dull and grey. Ok, as with much of the week so far, and the rest of the week as predicted not great for taking stunning photos, but at least the waterproofs only need to be worn as a backup.
As the drive inland would take close to an hour, we planned to set off around 9am to ensure that we got there as it opened for the day. This however meant that I had to buck my holiday trend of getting up later that I normally would to make sure we were ready for hitting the road at the planned time. No problems today though as I awoke around 5am and after fighting to get back to sleep for an hour, eventually made my way to the lounge for BBC Breakfast.
We reached the site a few minutes after 10am; and I forgot to say, an English Heritage site so again free entry. Of course though, we coughed up the £3.99 for the excellent guide book which is a must for Donna as we tour the site and she can narrate as we weave in an out of the remains. It's like being on holiday with a female version of Tony Robinson :-)
The site was much bigger than I expected, taking us around 2hrs to take in all that it had to offer. Some area's better preserved than others, but no matter what remained you could always use the guide book to help you picture what it must have looked like all those years ago.
By a little after noon we had completed our tour of the site, so decided to have lunch in the cafe on the site. Yorkshire Rarebit and a cup of coffee for me, and Donna had a Sausage and Onion Marmalade sandwich; both with salad and crisps as trimmings. Donna had a Fentimans Curiosity Cola to drink, and to say it was a glorious drink wouldn't be stretching the truth. It was possibly the tastiest soft-drink that I'd ever sipped. One of those for me next time!
Our route back to the cottage took in a detour via Scarborough as we had to go and have a picture from the wall of the cottage re-glazed. Unfortunately yesterday when checking the thermostat setting I leaned against a picture on the wall and broke the glass. It cost me £10 so not as bad as I had expected. We arrived back at the cottage just before 3pm, and just as the rains had arrived...
Donna had checked the weather forecast last night and it predicted heavy rain coming up the country and hitting this part of the world mid-afternoon; but until that time just dull and grey. Ok, as with much of the week so far, and the rest of the week as predicted not great for taking stunning photos, but at least the waterproofs only need to be worn as a backup.
As the drive inland would take close to an hour, we planned to set off around 9am to ensure that we got there as it opened for the day. This however meant that I had to buck my holiday trend of getting up later that I normally would to make sure we were ready for hitting the road at the planned time. No problems today though as I awoke around 5am and after fighting to get back to sleep for an hour, eventually made my way to the lounge for BBC Breakfast.
We reached the site a few minutes after 10am; and I forgot to say, an English Heritage site so again free entry. Of course though, we coughed up the £3.99 for the excellent guide book which is a must for Donna as we tour the site and she can narrate as we weave in an out of the remains. It's like being on holiday with a female version of Tony Robinson :-)
The site was much bigger than I expected, taking us around 2hrs to take in all that it had to offer. Some area's better preserved than others, but no matter what remained you could always use the guide book to help you picture what it must have looked like all those years ago.
By a little after noon we had completed our tour of the site, so decided to have lunch in the cafe on the site. Yorkshire Rarebit and a cup of coffee for me, and Donna had a Sausage and Onion Marmalade sandwich; both with salad and crisps as trimmings. Donna had a Fentimans Curiosity Cola to drink, and to say it was a glorious drink wouldn't be stretching the truth. It was possibly the tastiest soft-drink that I'd ever sipped. One of those for me next time!
Our route back to the cottage took in a detour via Scarborough as we had to go and have a picture from the wall of the cottage re-glazed. Unfortunately yesterday when checking the thermostat setting I leaned against a picture on the wall and broke the glass. It cost me £10 so not as bad as I had expected. We arrived back at the cottage just before 3pm, and just as the rains had arrived...
Comments
Post a Comment