 |
| FOGGY VIEW FROM HIGH CUP NICK |
 |
| PEN-Y-GHENT CAFE IN HORTON |
 |
| FLOWER POT GIRAFFES IN SETTLE |
 |
| MALHAM BECK EMERGING FROM COVE |
 |
| COLD WAR BUNKER IN YORK |
 |
| LUNCH IN YORK'S RAILWAY MUSEUM |
 |
| REPLICA OF STEPHENSON'S ROCKET |
 |
| LINCOLN CATHEDRAL |
 |
| RADCLIFFE CAMERA IN OXFORD |
 |
| RESIDENTS OF OXFORD'S MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY |
Our Hadrian's Wall trek had been the climax of our holiday, but the fun wasn't over yet as we were in no hurry to get home. The plan was to take our time and stop by a few interesting places along the way.
After a lazy start to Sunday 12th August, we had lunch at the Rose & Crown, whose car park we had used to car-camp overnight. We then took advantage of our English Heritage membership once again by driving to Brougham Castle, near Penrith. After spending an hour or two there, we continued on to Dufton, which had a public car park with facilities where we were able to car-camp.
Next morning was wet and dreary, but I had every confidence that the weather would improve as I led Rubi up High Cup Gill to enjoy the magnificent view down the valley from High Cup Nick. A bit of scrambling on slippery rock was required to reach the viewpoint. Sadly, however, the better weather did not materialise. We did manage to get a view down the valley as we had hoped, albeit through the mist, but by the time we got back to Dufton we were soaked through.
After changing into something dry, we continued our southward journey. We were generally heading for Horton in Ribblesdale, but on reaching the YHA hostel in Hawes we decided to stop for the night. They asked for £59 for a family room, but Rubi had seen it advertised on-line at only £49 and they agreed to accept that. We were a little surprised to subsequently discover that this so-called 'family room' contained bunk beds for two persons only, but weren't in the mood to quibble. We made ourselves a pasta and vegetable meal in the kitchen, which we enjoyed with red wine as we chatted to other guests.
On Tuesday morning we drove past Ribblehead railway viaduct and stopped near the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe at Horton in Ribblesdale on our way to the market town of Settle. As I got out the car in Settle I realised that my wallet was missing. It could only be either in Horton or back at YHA Hawes. We drove back to where I had parked in Horton, but there was no sign of it there. Meanwhile, Rubi hade phoned the manager of the hostel who had undertaken a search for it. Happily, it was found in the bin in our room. The bin was located behind a chair, and my guess was that I had placed it on the seat of the chair and it had slid into the bin withput me noticing.
Panic over, we drove back to the hostel to collect it, then back again to Settle. It was lunchtime by now but, as luck would have it, we found an superb place to eat in the town centre. Both the quality and price at the Singing Kettle restaurant and tea room were outstanding. On our walk back to the car, we saw lots of 'flower pot' sculptures outside houses, created for the annual competition.
Our journey then continued across the moors via Black Gill Lane to Malham, where I took Rubi to see the famous Malham Cove where Malham Beck emerges from below the cliff face. Afterwards, we car camped in the car park of Malhamdale United Primary School which was, of course, closed for the holidays.
Wednesday's journey took us to York. We would visit another English Heritage site, the Cold War Bunker just to the west of the city, and arrived outside it just in time for a first class guided tour. It was chilling to think how close the prospect of nuclear war seemed to be just a few decades ago.
Afterwards, we walked towards the city centre, but didn't quite get there because we came to the National Railway Museum. This museum is free to enter, yet contains the most astounding exhibits, including famous locomotives such as the Flying Scotsman, Mallard, Eurostar, a Japanese Bullet Train and so much more. We had lunch at tables made to look like a dinning car. It was hard to drag ourselves away, and by the time we left to continue into York city it was well past 5.00pm. Naturally, we took a look at York Minster.
Back at the car we drove south to Retford where we parked up for the night by a sports field.
Thursday morning we continued on to Lincoln, parking just outside the city centre and walking in. There was a long uphill walk through the main shops before we arrived at Lincoln Cathedral and the nearby Bishop's Palace, another English Heritage site which we entered.
I had arranged to meet an old work colleague, Alan, and his partner Joan, at Sutton Bridge near Kings Llyn in the afternoon, so we didn't have long in Lincoln. Rubi bought some discounted hiking trousers in Blacks, and I bought some camping chairs, after which a brisk walk back to the car was necessitated.
We reached Alan & Joan's house at about 3.00pm, and spent a while exchanging news. Alan is a keen radio ham and cyclist, whereas Joan is more into walking and has trekked a section of the Camino de Santiago.
Alan prepared dinner whilst Joan took us for a local walk. The evening involved reminiscences of times gone by and discussing mutual friends. After several of glasses of wine it was time for bed.
After breakfast, we said our farewells to Alan and Joan and continued south to Cambridge, using the Madingly Road park and ride to get into the centre. The day was warm and pleasant, ideal for wandering around the historic university city. We took lunch in Côte Brasserie which wasn't cheap, but Rubi paid, haha. Most of the colleges charged a fee to enter, but we were quite happy to view the beautiful buildings from the outside.
We resolved to continue the university theme for the final day of our holiday, and drove south-west towards Oxford, parking near some houses just off the A41 on the east side of Biscester. Thus, on Saturday morning, we continued to the Redbridge park and ride to the south of Oxford and soon found ourselves outside the Sheldonian Theatre. We strolled in the vicinity of the Bodlean Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs before popping into the nearby Museum of the History of Science, which was full of scientific instruments, some dating back to when the earth was considered the centre of the universe.
A walk up Parks Road took us to the Museum of Natural History, which was even more impressive, with dinosaur skeletons and exhibits demonstrating the processes of evolution. We didn't leave until closing time.
We were soon back at the car and on the final stage of our journey home. It had been a great holiday. We had been away from home for just over 3 weeks, and during that time we'd had lots of fun and created many memories. It was time to get back to reality for a while - until the next adventure, that is.