The Yorkshire Dales

For the late August Bank Holiday weekend Ed and I went up to his family cottage in Nidderdale for four days. The weather was absolutely stunning and we had an amazing time together with Ed showing me some of his favourite childhood haunts.

View from Middlemoor

On Saturday we explored the dale with a stop in Pateley Bridge to look at the vintage fair (sadly the vintage clothing shop was closed - probably good for my wallet!) Pateley Bridge also has England's oldest sweet shop and the village was just so quintessentially English! We then drove up to the head of the valley and ate lunch in Middlesmoor looking out over the incredible view. In the afternoon we went to How Stean Gorge - a limestone ravine carved out over thousands of years. We donned our hardhats and had a wonderful time exploring. We inched our way through a natural cave which was a hideout for a highwayman, Tom Taylor, and he was apparently hanged here by angry villagers. Afterwards we gave my feet a break by driving up onto the moors to Toft Gate lime kiln. Limestone was dug out of the hill here throughout the 19th century and much of the kiln and flue are still standing.

How Stean Gorge

view from the lime kiln

We spent Sunday at Fountains Abbey which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not just because of the abbey ruins but also for the 18th century water garden that was developed around it. The abbey was first founded in 1132 and was used by monks for 400 years. Much of the abbey is still standing and the sheer scale of it was breathtaking. The site is large enough that it didn't feel full of people, despite the large number of visitors! We enjoyed imagining what life would have been like living here both at the time of the monks, and as visitors in the 18th century. Sunday evening we had a very pleasant meal at the local pub and went out on the moors in the dark to see the stars. I saw a shooting star and had a go at some astrophotography. The northern hemisphere doesn't see as much of the milky way as we do and of course light pollution is a problem as well. Still, after months in London, it was thrilling to see the stars again!




Monday was spent scrambling around Brimham Rocks. Such a wonderful place! The rocks have been sculpted by wind, ice, and rain for centuries creating a very dramatic landscape. Adults and children alike could be seen climbing everything in sight. Of course, we were more than happy to join in! I hurt my ankle a bit, I landed funny jumping down off one, but it seems to be improving rapidly.













Before heading home on Tuesday, we stopped at Stump Cross show cave. On went the hardhats again and it was fun to explore this cave with all it's stalagmites and stalactites!

All in all, a really good holiday and it makes me feel refreshed and ready for school in a week's time!