WELCOME to the AUGUST SUMMARY. I hope you have an hour or so spare to join us on our rambling recollections of a very active month. So much has happened because we are trying to inject every corner of Yorkshire experiences into Noeline's stay, she leaves us early September and there is much left to do! Thankfully we are all enjoying ourselves, as you can see. The first August outing was to Ripley Castle. Gail and I had been there before but August 2nd saw 
the grounds dedicated to a classic car show. I thought it a good reason to return. While I wandered enthralled through the lines of stunniing vehicles and stayed to watch the concourse de elegance judging, 
Gail and Noeline left to stroll the grounds and do the tour of the castle. I have written of this tour before but as you can see this day the weather was wonderful it sort of makes the experience that much more pleasurable. 
After our respective strolls we met up and set off for a lunch in the Ripley village pub which I only mention because it was a lovely and rare experience to be sitting in the sun, outside and eating our meal.. After Lunch , and a famous Ripley Ice Cream, as it was staying such a nice day, we headed off to 
Patley Bridge and Grassington for a drive through the dales on a sunny day.
Patley Bridge and Grassington for a drive through the dales on a sunny day. By chance there was an MG classic car rally at Patley Bridge... what a surprise!
Grassington was, by the time we arrived, mostly closed but we did have a lovely chat to a local artist and walked the streets of this charming village before a picturesque sunset drive home.
From the minute Noeline arrived in Wetherby we had been talking of a trip to the Lakes district as part of the must do list. On finding out Gail's work schedule for the month I had booked a room at Ambleside to overnight in. We headed off on August the 9th via Skipton for a morning tea overlooking the Leeds/Liverpool canal.
We also passed by Ribblehead, a 17 arch brick built viaduct to carry the Settle to Carlise railway , http://www.visitcumbria.com/carlset/ribvia.htm has good photos. 
Our return route to Wetherby took us through Hawes, home of Wensley Dale cheese factory (Wallace and Gromit may have made this cheese famous recently but it is wonderful cheese to be fair) finally stopping off at one of the steam railway stations. We had seen the engine puffing and pulling through the valleys on our way so it was good to catch it as it rolled into the station. Quite a nice weekend. Our August held many more adventures and they can be glimpsed in the following blog pages. I hope you have the time to join us on our recollecting of these travels and that you gain some insight as to why, despite the frequent cold and wet, we quite enjoy this part of the planet. 
Gail was scheduled to work south west of Manchester on August 5 so Noeline and I decided to take the drive with Gail (me in the back of the MINI,,,, that will never happen again) to Tameside. We planned to drop Gail at work and drive to Chester so Noeline could see this ancient walled city. I have covered Chester here before but, not being a great church type person, I have never thought to enter the Chester Cathedral. As we walked around seeing the town from the top of the city wall Noeline wanted to know if we could see the cathedral's huge stained glass window from inside. Chester Cathedral is in fact one of, if not the only totally surviving Abbey in the UK, as HenryVIII didn't destroy it but used it as his northern church base. The head Abbot even converted and stayed on as top god botherer, I guess because he didn't want to leave his life's work.... But http://www.chestercathedral.com/ will give you more pictures and the church's version of history. I particularly enjoyed the Monks Garden in the centre of the abbey as seen here. Lovely sculpture and peaceful gardens. Noeline and I sat here, on a sunny bench, in an alcove garden and about an hour slipped quietly by.
The Chester day also included a river cruise, watching some street entertainers, shopping, lunch by the river and general walking and idling about.
From the minute Noeline arrived in Wetherby we had been talking of a trip to the Lakes district as part of the must do list. On finding out Gail's work schedule for the month I had booked a room at Ambleside to overnight in. We headed off on August the 9th via Skipton for a morning tea overlooking the Leeds/Liverpool canal.
A stop at Gargrave so we could watch some narrow boats and barges use the roadside locks. 
And then a drive up through the peak district, 
and 
into Kirkby-Lonsdale for lunch at 
the Avanti Restaurant and a walk to Ruskin's view. This is supposed to be the finest view in England with the balance of river, mountain, woods and fields..
..http://www.kirkbylonsdale.co.uk/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=91
And then a drive up through the peak district, 
and 
into Kirkby-Lonsdale for lunch at 
the Avanti Restaurant and a walk to Ruskin's view. This is supposed to be the finest view in England with the balance of river, mountain, woods and fields..
..http://www.kirkbylonsdale.co.uk/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=91 Turner painted a famous version as have many others. I have not seen all England's views but this one over the River Lune is fine.
We also passed by Ribblehead, a 17 arch brick built viaduct to carry the Settle to Carlise railway , http://www.visitcumbria.com/carlset/ribvia.htm has good photos. 
Then into the beautiful Lakes district.
It rained all the next day. Well, it is the Lakes and fine weather is rare. But we managed to do a lot of sight seeing , 
had a fantastic meal at the Oak Bank Restaurant, a lovely drive and a short walk through Clitheroe where the John Ruskin museum is 
(he was a renown scholar and patron of the Pre-Raphelite artistic movement)
had a fantastic meal at the Oak Bank Restaurant, a lovely drive and a short walk through Clitheroe where the John Ruskin museum is 
(he was a renown scholar and patron of the Pre-Raphelite artistic movement) 
Our return route to Wetherby took us through Hawes, home of Wensley Dale cheese factory (Wallace and Gromit may have made this cheese famous recently but it is wonderful cheese to be fair) finally stopping off at one of the steam railway stations. We had seen the engine puffing and pulling through the valleys on our way so it was good to catch it as it rolled into the station. Quite a nice weekend. Our August held many more adventures and they can be glimpsed in the following blog pages. I hope you have the time to join us on our recollecting of these travels and that you gain some insight as to why, despite the frequent cold and wet, we quite enjoy this part of the planet. 
