Weekend in the Dales - Day 4

We had to go home on Sunday but we had had such a nice time on our trip, it felt like a real treat. We had to check out by 11am, and we managed to get going a bit before that actually, with everything loaded into the cars. Then we went to see the waterfall in West Burton where we were staying. We parked near it but it's actually really close to walk from the village centre. It's really nice - there's a bridge over the river and I'm sure in the summer you could paddle in the water and go under the waterfall too. I'd love to go back then! We took lots of photos. 

Then we drove to Aysgarth Falls to look at the falls there. This was way less accessible than in West Burton which is a real shame, but my mum, stepdad, and I managed to get out of the car and look at the water. My mum and I also went in the craft shop there, but we didn't buy anything. 

Then we went back up the hill to the top of Aysgarth Falls where we went to the pub for lunch. My mum had booked it which was good because it got really busy. We had a main course and a dessert each and some drinks. The food was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed it, but the service was sooo sloooow. We had to ask for drinks more than once, and we waited absolutely ages for the main course to be cleared and to be asked if we wanted desserts, and then when we had ordered them they took half an hour to come. It was annoying! Plus the food isn't cheap so it really needs to have better service!

But I had a beautiful vegetarian pie with Sunday dinner trimmings which was just delicious and exactly what I wanted to eat on such a cold day. Then I had chocolate brownie which was really nice too. After we had finally eaten and got the bill we said goodbye to each other and then set off home. Lee and I had a nap when we got home because we hadn't slept well while away. I had been wearing this Scarlett & Jo dress that I bought off Vinted last year. I think I've only worn it once before though. It's perfect for a winter day and I really like it! 

Info board near the waterfall

The bridge over the river

Looking up towards the waterfall

The water wasn't too high but it was very mucky looking

The waterfall, it was so lovely

My mum and I liked the moss growing on this bench, too

We were standing on the bridge looking the other way here. It would be amazing to swim here on a hot day!

Looking from the bridge up to the waterfall

Me and Lee on the bridge

Look at all the foam! We were getting splashed

I wonder how far this cave goes, too 

Aysgarth Falls

This bit is a bit better without the scaffolding in it!

Looking over the other side of the bridge

Here we all are in the pub, before it got very busy

Pie, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, pureed carrot and swede, vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding. It was SO nice!

Outside the pub

My mum wanted a photo of this sheep. She and I went outside to get something from the car

My mum had affogato for pudding, which she liked (the coffee is on the other side of the glass haha)

My dessert

And finally my dress when we got home. I love the pattern on this skirt!

Weekend in the Dales - Day 3

On the Saturday of our trip to Wensleydale we drove across to Sedbergh. Lee and I went before when we were staying in the area, and it's a really nice drive across the dales. We had had breakfast so decided we would just get cake and coffee in Sedbergh later on. 

The sun was shining and it looked amazing on the drive. Lee drove my mum's car and I sat in the front with him and played some music while my mum and stepdad sat in the back. We stopped in a car park on the way where there was a really beautiful outlook, and took some photos. It was absolutely lovely! We had also stopped in Hawes on the way to visit the sweet shop again.

Sedbergh itself isn't huge but we went in some shops and I got three books for a pound each. We then went in a really lovely cafe about 2pm. My stepdad got a sandwich but the rest of us had cake - I had homemade caramel shortbread which was delicious. Lee had this waffle with the cafe's ice cream which was also delicious! 

We left Sedbergh and went to Fairfield Mill which we had seen a sign for on the way so my mum wanted to go. When Lee and I got there we realised we had been before when we visited last time. It has a ton of the old weaving and mill stuff, which is really cool to see, and it has a ton of artisan and craft stuff. I bought some soaps and a couple of Christmas presents. It was nice to go back! 

We stopped to look at Garsdale viaduct on the way back just as it was getting dark, and dropping a little bit colder. Then we went back to the cottage. Lee had a nap and the rest of us just relaxed. We had sandwiches and stuff in the evening as we weren't very hungry. 

I was wearing this Carolina Dress Room dress that I got recently off Lucia from U Can't Wear That. It's lovely and soft and I love the print of it, it's like an apothecary. It was nice and warm, too! 

Looking back towards Yorkshire when we had just crossed into Cumbria

My mum standing in the car park

I liked this picture of all our shadows. Lee stayed in the car because his back was hurting

This hill is called The Calf, apparently

Look at the car park - it was pretty but it needed resurfacing! It looked like the lunar surface

I liked this picture of the sun on the hill, too

I also liked this little ginnel in the town centre

And it was definitely feeling festive there too!

I loved this little alleyway too

My ridiculous hot chocolate

And my delicious caramel shortbread

Lee's really ridiculous waffle - he let me have some

One of the looms in Fairfield Mill

And the river nearby which powered the mill through a water wheel

Upstream

And the turbine inside the building, it was really cool

This was in an artist's studio on one of the floors and my mum said, "Rebecca and Lee, come and look at this, you'll want to see it!" and she was right, we did. It's really cool

This is the front of it

There was also some bobbin lace! I used to make bobbin lace (I still can, I just haven't in forever) and these were some examples which were really nice to see 

Garsdale viaduct on the way back

Isn't it beautiful?

I love a viaduct

And this was the sun setting over the hills

In my new to me dress just before I put my pyjamas on for the night

A close up of the pattern

And here are the books I got for just a pound each!

Weekend in the Dales - Day 2

On the Friday of our trip we went to the Wensleydale Creamery! Lee and I went there before in 2017 and really liked it, so we decided all four of us would go back. As it's on the winter timetable now the cheese making demo is only happening twice a day, at 12.15 and at 1.30. I had booked lunch for us at 1pm so needed the earlier demo... but then couldn't book the tickets online. So we left the cottage at about 11 to get to Hawes, and then we went in to the demo bit to buy tickets. We had a bit of time so we looked round the gift shop for a bit. My stepdad bought some Theakston's Old Peculier liqueur - it is basically like a whiskey but it can't be called that. I had a taste of it later and really liked it, it was smoother and sweeter than whiskey.

We watched the cheese making demo and then had a quick look at the factory. It's interesting to see. There was a tasting too - Lee and my mum don't like cheese so they didn't have any but my stepdad and I both did. Then it was lunchtime! We headed to the restaurant. It was nice and warm in there and it's got a lovely view of the hills outside. We had all looked at the menu beforehand and my stepdad and I said we would share the Wensleydale cheese tasting platter. It had five types of cheese plus chutneys, olives, crackers, bread, and butter. It didn't look like loads of food but it was absolutely gorgeous and we were both stuffed! I liked tasting all the different ones, including the blue Wensleydale that they make. I don't particularly like blue cheese but this isn't too strong so it was nice. Lee and my mum both had soup. 

We looked round the shop again and bought some bits before going into Hawes itself. It was about 3pm by this point and it was dropping cold, so I borrowed my mum's hat. She then borrowed my stepdad's flat cap, haha. We went in a few shops and headed down towards the bridge across the river to look at the water. It was a bit full but not totally, but it was nice to see. Loud, too! 

We headed back to the cottage and spent the evening in, playing games and drinking. It was so nice and cosy, and relaxing. I was wearing a new t shirt I got recently which says Show No Mercy, Hold No Quarter, which is a reference to Our Flag Means Death which I love. I like it! It was pretty cold in the cottage so I had a cardigan and thick socks on too. 

My mum and I stepped outside about 6pm to look at the stars and there were lots out. My phone takes decent pictures of the night sky, as you can see! After this I put my pyjamas on though!

I love this map of the area that is in the creamery. It really is such a beautiful part of the world

Here's Lee next to an outline of the biggest cow on record. I took this exact photo six years ago, too 

The view from the restaurant

Our cheese platter. The chocolate on the bottom right went with the Wensleydale with ginger in it

It is PERFECTLY normal in Yorkshire to eat a creamy cheese like Wensleydale with Christmas cake or other fruit cake. So there

View in the car park as we left

I think I looked cute in my mum's hat!

This plaque is on the side of one of the shops in Hawes - Kit Calvert helped to save the creamery in the 1930s and they make a 'farmhouse' Wensleydale named after him. It's firmer and a bit stronger than normal Wensleydale

My mum and I on the bridge in Hawes. I love this picture of myself, I'm feeling myself here 

The falls just from the bridge

We accosted a nice stranger to take our photo on the bridge. You'll see that even Lee thinks it's winter because he's wearing jeans again not shorts

Looking facing downstream at the other side of the bridge

There seemed to be some kind of warehouse on the left here

Our Flag Means Death t shirt, plain lback cardigan, and Scarlett & Jo skirt that used to be a dress

And finally, some stars. The bright light just to the east of the chimney stack is Jupiter

I might have caught a shooting star here?

Weekend in the Dales - Day 1

In the middle of November we went to Wensleydale for the weekend with my mum and stepdad. We had booked it in August I think and when it got to it I was really looking forward to it. It felt like the beginning of Christmas because it was nice and cold and festive! It was lovely to spend the time with my mum and stepdad too. 

Lee and I set off at about 1pm I think, I can't remember for sure now actually. I drove there so he could do some work from his phone. We stopped at Skelton just north of Leeds for lunch, and I had an amazing burrito with vegan chilli and plenty of guacamole. Lee had KFC I think. We got to West Burton where we were staying at about 3.20 and were able to check in straight away. We got the heating on because it was freezing! My mum and stepdad arrived not long afterwards. They had been to Bedale to meet some friends for lunch first before coming over. 

Lee was still working so the rest of us sat about for a bit and I did some crochet before we set off about 7pm to the local pub to get food. However, it turned out the kitchen was shut, which was a bit unfortunate. The landlady told us to go to Street Head Inn which was about a mile away. When we got there we weren't sure if we could get in because there was a meeting going on, but they found us a table in the restaurant. The pub is really nice and cosy and I would recommend it. 

We got back to a warmer house and relaxed for the rest of the night! I was wearing my heart print Simply Be dress which is nice and warm so good for the winter. I was also wearing a pair of heart print tights from Snag that I've had for a while but haven't worn often. I paired them with a pair of Kickers shoes that I got from Vinted earlier in the year and haven't worn yet. They're more winter shoes really! They're so cute, I love them. They're sort of a suede effect leather and I love the colour. I bought them for less than fifteen pounds all in, and they're in really good condition! They do have a few scratches on the front but firstly they're not very visible and secondly I will only scratch them myself so I don't really care! They're comfy too.

Heart print tights with nubuck pale Kickers dolly shoes - I do love dolly shoes so much!

Oh I also bought this lemon cheesecake from a deli in our village for us to eat while we were away - it was really nice! Not as good as my mum's but still pretty delicious

My heart print dress last thing at night before I took it off to go to bed!

Finally I took this photo on Friday morning but I'll post it here anyway. This was the cottage we stayed in - it had attached neighbours to the left and behind, but it was nice and private and comfortable anyway. My mum and stepdad got the bigger room, but they both had en suite bathrooms and there was  a downstairs loo too