Last few days of September and really the end of what passes for a summer in Yorkshire. To be honest, we are probably acclimatised to the short summers now as this year we really enjoyed the sun shine and took every advantage of the fine days. It was a much nicer summer all in all.
On the remaining days of Gail's scheduled days off we took a drive up to Coldstones Cut near Pately Bridge, about 45 minutes from Wetherby. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8994000/8994655.stm
This site tells you all about the cut but briefly, it's at the top of the Yorkshire Dales, views for miles, has been a limestone quarry and Lime kiln for well over 100 years and the sight is more spectacular that these pics can relate.
On the day we went it was cloudy and the winds were ferocious but that just added to the stark raw feeling of this exposed spot. We have put it on the must see list for future visitors to our home in Wetherby.
The viewing platform is in fact a major walk-through landscape sculpture. There is the usual artistic interpretation, in this case a street scape indicating the location as a common cycleway and walking route, a junction for historic trade routes and old farming and mining settlements blah blah blah as you do.
The scale of the Quarry is a little bit big but nothing to rank highly on the scale of world quarries, despite the local claims. The Quarry has an expected life of another 20 or so years as the mining methods are much more efficient now and much more limestone and associated mineral recovery is possible in larger volumes and over shorter timescales. That said, the viewing platform will endure for much longer and hole in the ground working or not, the views, the climb and the information boards erected on the monument are all worth the visit.
I mean there is even an indicator board showing where Wetherby is from the top of one of the spiral viewing platforms.
I mean there is even an indicator board showing where Wetherby is from the top of one of the spiral viewing platforms. 
The next day Gail was off at work again and I had arranged to meet up with some other folk to draw some horses, That is, not draw horses as in harness them to traps and carts, but to try and sketch them on paper with pencils.... It was to be a nice afternoon with a few ales after and to compare what we each had drawn.... I was unable to produce anything that looked much like a quadraped let alone a horse.
But Ginger was really sweet, liked a hug and the day was most enjoyable. I did take these photos and some others with the intent to try and draw a horse from the 2 dimensional image.... I may still give this a go but I do wonder if I have the basic motor skills or in fact the passion and patience to draw recognisable things.
October holds a couple of events, the Wetherby Festival of Comedy, Drama and Music is on again, a rather scaled down version from last year but Gail has already identified some Barbershop and Lady Choir shows she wants to see. I quite fancy the music/comedy/burlesque show which is again on in the crypt of the St James church. I have booked a trip to Sheffield and so with any luck and our usual habit of finding things to do no matter what the weather, next month's blog should hold some interesting reviews.
