Brrrrreary Park Bramhope

Pursuing our new-found winter walking interest we awoke to this stirring sight in our back yard and and thought, what better day to go for a stroll? There is a little nature reserve/park between us and the Leeds International Airport in our book of walks called Golden Acres http://www.leeds.gov.uk/fol/fol_10.html and we decided it would be a great target considering there was a nearby pub for lunch and a cafe in the park grounds for afternoon coffee and cake. We will admit the walk was more challenging for it's muddy tracks and icy paths than for any great distance we covered but the lunch was fantastic and the coffee/cakes later on very enjoyable.

Jesus Gulls walking on winter water

Tracks of ducks landing on hard water

Fat Duck landed.

pompocali, pub and puddles

Having been enticed by our lakeside walk last week, we pulled out our "West Yorkshire Walks" book and picked a local one to do on the 13th as a pre-valentines day activity. We have done a lot of walks in North Yorkshire now and as we live in what is West Yorkshire we thought it would be correct to walk here too. (the Wetherby boundary moved to be in West Yorks in the 1970s from North Yorks on a vote by residents who wanted the cheaper council rates of Leeds). I have mentioned before the Bingley Arms pub, http://www.bingleyarms.co.uk/history.php it dates back to about 900AD. As it was on part of the loop walk we decided to start off there and return to have a slap-up lunch and a pint. We parked the mini and headed off up the hill. Just around the corner is an old church, All Hallows, dating from 1000AD with Saxon bits and an interesting central aisle having one set of short round arches and one set of high pointed arches due to different building techniques over history.

There is a whole web site just on the Romanesque features of this place which I won't bore you with here but it is a comfy and interesting building with lots of history all spelt out on a little board at the back. There is also a mindblowingly good tapestry and stitchwork triptych done by the local ladies of the village to celebrate the 2nd millennium and an equaly impressive stitched royal crest dating to Henry the VIII.

Out of the church we followed the map badly and took a few wrong turns but eventually regained the recommended track by wading across this stream following the example set by a couple of horses (with riders). Just up the hill from there we came across strange hills and ditches which were most puzzling,,, the map said it was Pompocali but gave no other clues.

What we have since discovered is that no one really knows what the site is, Iron Age fort, Roman mill grit quarry spoil, ceremonial earthworks from an unknown time in pre-history.....some theories but not a clue to be found.... Wonderful to find something that still remains a mystery don't you think?

Leaving these strange heather lined hills we followed the beck (stream) up a hill, past an old mill now in ruin and through a disused railway tunnel which boasts beautiful cut and angled stone and brickwork blended together to forming the internal ceiling of the arch. The countryside all around here is green and lovely with sheep, horses and geese grazing in fields and acres of planted barley and wheat crops just now sprouting up through ploughed fields.

As you can see the day was not all that warm and this shot shows Gail on the final leg of our walk, suitably attired but well ready for lunch.

Back at the pub the pint and wine was welcome and the food, which was spare ribs shared as a starter and Moroccan lamb with apricot and fig was a true winter warmer. It is possible that we will do more of these local walks before winter ends and the trees and hedges become all thick with green and so will obscure the view from the paths. Also it is really nice to walk in isolation without seeing heaps of people, makes it feel a bit more of an adventure.

Winter walk - Fewston dam -

It was an occasionally sunny and rainy and snowy day on the 10th of Feb 2010 and we were rather tired of spending such days inside.

The lake made by Fewston Resevoir can be seen through the trees from the A59, the road between Wetherby and the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Skipton and lots of places where we spend our free time. Whenever we drove past we always said it looks beautiful and we should stop and walk it. The tourist books say it is best to do so in Springtime when the birds, fish and flowers come but we never listen to expert advice and Springtime is weeks and weeks away. The dam wall you see here was built in 1879 for drinking water and feeds into another reservoir below. It is all managed by Yorkshire water board now and they have built a good path right around the edge of the lake. We had a lovely stroll, it is about 3 .5 miles (5.7 km) of mainly level going but it can get very muddy and flooded in the lower spots.

Being as impulsive as we are, we had donned inappropriate footware which resulted in us spending a lot of time looking where we were treading rather than gazing at the scenery. The path occasionally presented us with what we termed impossipuddles requiring detours from the made track, but all in all a really nice and rewarding stroll. Another box ticked.

The resevoir is in an area of stunning beauty and abundant water, the area's name Blubberhouses refers to an ancient village of huts or stone dwellings gathered around the source of various local springs, where water bubbled up or blubbered in old Saxon speak so we are told.

Regrettably due to the inappropriate season for our visit there was not much bird life to see but this little bloke came up to us while we paused to look at the scenery. And us without a crumb or seed between us,

This is actually the exit to the walk but in our usual style we started here not having read the welcome board. It did mean that we got to talk to lots of folk as they walked the correct way round the lake, these english ramblers are terribly observant of such recomended protocols, something us colonials have a hard time understanding..

This final shot is of Gail all rugged up at the start of the walk. The church is the Timble spire but we couldn't find a population anywhere nearby to make us think it gets used much. There are more photos on my facebook album page.

Australia Day on 31/1/2010

Australia Day in Wetherby 2010. We chose to celebrate on the 31st as Oz day fell on a Tuesday and strangely the UK does not celebrate, declare a holiday, or even know about the significance of the 26th. How quickly they forget. We started off on Saturday getting the place ready, hung the flags, sorted out the fireworks and food, got a full set of lamb legs (4) panned up and ready for the oven and found plates and bowls sufficient to feed the hungry hoard. Well, hardly a hoard, we were expecting about 15. Late on Saturday we drove in and picked up Cora who came up from London, from Leeds rail station. Those of you who have arrived that way to visit us will know our preference for a sweet Margarita in the art-deco Queen Hotel at Leeds station before we head home. That accomplished and Cora recovered from her not so gruelling 2.5 hour train trip we headed back to Wetherby for a fine meal out at Fennel restaurant in town, sort of French, sort of Yorkshire...Cora being Canadian could practice her French on the owners so a good choice as it turned out.. Had a great time catching up on everything as we had not had a chance to just sit and talk about things for about a year, or more. Party Sunday and we planned a noon start, late lunch and early evening fireworks, same as last year. We expected neighbours and some workmates Gail had invited. Amy was the first through the door this year again overestimating the travel time from Darby, I think our neighbours David and Carolyn were next and the party started with more folk arriving and bringing food and drinks and good cheer. The mood continued to improve as more wine flowed and great food was laid out. The scheduled 6pm fireworks we had been buying and laying away since Guy Fawke's night and New Year proved to be most rewarding and provided a spectacular show and heaps of fun as everyone got a chance to set up and light fuses.. Because it was a Sunday night some folk had to leave after the show but as is becoming a welcome pattern, many didn't. Cora was staying the night anyway but Karen, Kylie and Jonathan all ended up staying in a nearby hotel, albeit not for much of the night. Later on Monday morning was a mutual slow start but we did welcome Kylie and Jon back for a quick coffee before they headed off home to Manchester and then out again to see Avatar in 3D for which they had booked tickets. We drove Cora back to Leeds by way of our favourite Chinese restaurant for some nice greasy dim sum lunch and lots of Chinese tea as an aide to settle some tender heads and stomachs. Oh, if you do read this Carolyn, the mark left as a result of your elbow directing your pint of wine all over our lovely cream carpet has been completely eradicated courtesy of an ever-reliable splash of hydrogen peroxide. I know you were worried about it but you are welcome to return to the scene of the crime anytime. Many of you know Gail and I have gone all socially networked and have our own Facebook pages, tags to which can be found in the margin to the right of these words. There are some more shots of the party in there but I will identify the ones below with a few words to help identify the guilty. David caught red-handed draining the mint gravy

Gail celebrating a successful pavlova (two out of three ain't bad, the third would have worked if it could have managed to escape the oven earlier) Half David, Gail, Kylie, Karen, Jon , half Rod After pavlova Light and run Karen Cora, Rod Tina Amy Jon Kylie half Karen Karen leading the Sparkler practice. There was a mass sparkler event a bit later on , the photo of which is in the text above. Post firework discussion group stuck in kitchen, very near the grog cupboard it seems. Jon Kylie Karen Cora Tina Rod A sample of the remaining evidence collected the next morning, the total embarrassingly exceeded the number of attendees. While some folk were abstaining totally.... there were some who didn't abstain very much at all. While Gail and I seem to recall enjoying the weekend, right up to Monday morning, enormously, we are hopefully confident everyone else did too and we are looking forward to holding a third great annual Wetherby Aussie Day next year.

New Year Same Snow

Yeah, we know it's a long time since xmas and the new year snows. But, we can't let January pass without a brief if tardy seasonal update to these pages.

To be fair, we have been a bit recluse for the past few weeks, had a few meals at pubs, a night or two out at the cinema, a few drinks with friends, a couple of quiet celebrations of the obligatory annual events.... Of those annual events,,,, Xmas was celebrated as you can see in this shot with some powerful Gail-made eggnog and lots of beautiful pressies. Boxing Day was spent with a quiet drive north to look at Barnard Castle,

http://www.barnardcastlelife.co.uk/castlehistory.html closed on the day but a nice way to get away from the temptation of eating even more wonderful leftover xmas pud and roast meats....

My birthday was a lovely day of favourite home cooked food and a walk in the snow around Skipton Castle

http://www.skiptoncastle.co.uk/hist.asp?page=3

It was on this walk around Skipton castle we found our dream home nestled in the shadows of the castle, on the banks of a small lake and with all the charm of the ideal Yorkshire hideaway but right in the heart of the town. After a bit more dreaming we took a drive up to

the headwaters of the River Wharfe for a grand pub meal in the little hamlet of Appletreewick just up from Bolton Abbey(priory) and overlooking the beautiful Wharfedale hills.

New Year's Eve saw Gail working late so a quiet night in was enjoyed with just us two, a few explosives and a gentle waft out of 2009 and into 2010 on a small bubbling wave of champagne.

We have not been too boring though because with the snow so beautiful and the sun shining, it was impossible not to be tempted out into the Yorkshire countryside and be in the landscape as it rarely can be viewed. All the fields wrapped in white sparkles and tracked through by laughing families and bounding dogs, the occasional fox and random birds.

Speaking of bounding dogs, the new year marks the commencement of the Hunt season....We had to see this traditional event and set off to the Blacksmiths Arms for lunch hoping to catch the start of a local hunt gathering. We missed it and only saw empty Range Rovers and horse trailers with a glimpse of red riders on horses disappearing over the distant fields to the fading sound of baying hounds. Lunch was fantastic though. In recent years it has become terribly politically incorrect (too posh and elite) to set hound dogs on to the trail of escaping foxes for sport. So the Hunt is now what is called a dry Hunt. That means the fox is let out the night before to escape safely, or conversly a scented rag is trailed through the country, and after a few snifters at the local pub, the Hunt mounts up and heads off in persuit of phantom foxy. Still a hoot I am sure and lots of folk park on the roadside to catch a glimpse of all the toffs on horses pounding through the fields and over hedges... Quite spiffing I bet....

Anyway as I said there was no fox hunting spectical for us to see so we spent the afternoon sipping wine by the pub fire. More our sort of sport anyway and a victory is most attainable..

I will leave this months blog entry with some local shots of the lovely winter days we enjoyed, it has returned to the normal cold wet grey dreek days of chill again but the memory will linger. Here is a little reminder of why you don't take our mini up back lanes looking for shortcuts. The neighbours were lovely.

This is the bridge over our River Wharfe and a view of the Ings (or water-meadows) both just over the road from our home.

A shot of the sycamore tree at the back of our yard with snow blinging and clinging to its branches in the sunlight.

Spofforth Castle, about a three mile walk up the road from home, with its resident snowman.

some cold sheep.

Next post to the blog will be in a couple of days if the planned Aussie day party and guest stay-over does present some photo opportunities worthy of these pages....