Some Road Trip Photographs

Afternoon Everyone,

Another wet, though warm and muggy, day here - I'm beginning to doubt the sun will ever shine again :(

And, the rain stopped play at Wimbledon, just when our very own Andy Murray is battling it out too! Delighted  to see he's made it to the quarter-final ... doing a little happy dance :)

I've been sorting through the holiday photos ... do I hear a cyber groan somewhere :)) I'll try not to bore you rigid but thought I'd bring you a wee selection of the highlights ... from a holiday full of highlights.

Warning: this is a photo-heavy post! I've grouped the photos together and condensed them, otherwise this would be an even longer post, but, if you want a better look, just click on a photo to enlarge it.

First up are the pics I took as we set off and motored through the south of Scotland, Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Our travelling companions seem happy to be leaving Scotland behind. That's me - chief driver's mate - with the map on my knee. Going across country, the nearest we got to a traffic jam was caused by these caravans ... aren't they fabulous?

Kirkby Lonsdale - a very pretty market town situated just between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales - a great place to stop and break the long drive to Harrogate. The name of the shop, Shades of Green, caught my eye because I'd just read a review about the novel that is causing a bit of scandal at the moment, entitled Shades of Grey.

Salt Pie Lane - so called because an enterprising lady living in the yard made hot salted mutton pies for sale to the traders in what was once the adjoining Horse Market. After consumption of the salty pies it was necessary for her diners to adjourn to the nearby 'Green Dragon' pub to slake their thirst - the landlord of which just happened to be a relation to said enterprising lady!

The first stopover on the trip was the famous spa town, Harrogate. Here you can see the Pump Room and the Royal Baths.

You can also see the EM descending the stairs inside what was the Winter Gardens, behind the Royal Baths, where visitors used to socialise after taking the waters - which apparently contain iron (chalybeate), salt and sulphur - smelly but apparently medicinal! The Winter Gardens are now a pub/restaurant.

Harrogate is justly proud of it's flowers and gardens, the crowns being part of this year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The town has also supplied this perfectly framed photo opportunity :)

The Old Swan Hotel - the hotel that Agatha Christie, bestselling crime-writer, disappeared to in 1926. Her disappearance sparked off the biggest 'manhunt' in history ... I just had to take a look!

We stayed in the Montpelier Quarter of the town, conveniently close to the world-famous Betty's Tea Rooms. The food is delicious - I had chicken and asparagus rosti and it was very tasty. However, my lasting memory will always be the homemade lemonade - incredibly refreshing and moreish :)

A drive over to Pateley Bridge we passed along the Nidderdale Way, designated An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which rewarded us with the best views over the valleys we are ever likely to see. Oh, and we passed through Bedlam on the way:)

At Pateley Bridge we visited the Nidderdale Museum - we weren't allowed to take photos inside but we found an old mangle and this touching memorial to a miner's pet dog, Prince, just outside. And wouldn't you know it, the little town has the oldest sweet shop in England to tempt us :))

After two days in Harrogate we carried on our journey to Chesterfield, home of the crooked spire and what I think might just be one of the biggest outdoor markets in England.

This brought us to the end of our first week, so I'll stop here for now ... I bet you're relieved. Seriously, I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the lovely places we visited on our holiday. What isn't evident in these photos is just how nice the folk we met were and how welcome we felt wherever we went ... and it is this that made the holiday extra special.
If you can stand it I will do a second post showing highlights from our second week - spent in Wiltshire - some time soon.

Update on the peds horribilis (horrible feet!?!?) ... situation improving, and I'm hoping to be able to wear shoes again very soon ... and, dare I say it, venture into the craft space for a bit of crafting time too :) I am so tired of watching TV, there's only so many repeats a woman can stand!

This post is a lot later than intended so in just a few hours I will be joining many of you for WOYWW  ... see you there.

Happy Crafting,