Yorkshire Dales Trip - Day 1

Lee booked a week off work at the beginning of November. We had talked about going abroad, but it was supposed to be just after Brexit and we didn't know how easy that would be. I really wanted to go to Grassington, in North Yorkshire. We went for the day a couple of years ago when we were staying in Aysgarth, but I've always wanted to go and stay. We looked around on all the usual sites but to stay there for a week was coming up really expensive. We could have stayed nearby, but when I thought about it I realised I wanted to stay in Grassington itself where everything is in walking distance.

So we compromised by deciding we would only go for four nights, which wasn't out of budget. We booked a flat above a cafe right on the main square. You had to go through the back door of the cafe and up some steps, but there was a locked front door which helped. There was a good kitchen, a teeny but okay bathroom, and a big living room. It had a huge couch which was nice to snuggle up on, and then in the attic it had a bedroom. It was very cute, I would recommend it so if you want details just ask!

We decided to go Sunday to Thursday, so on Sunday we set off via Ilkley. I had a gift voucher for the Vintage Inn chain, and it happens there's one of their pubs right on the Cow and Calf rocks on the moors. It's even called the Cow and Calf! We booked a table and set off around 11.30. We went through Leeds which was nice, we don't usually drive up that way, and go into the pub for around 1pm.

It was so busy, so I'm glad we had booked. We were sitting right in front of the fire (which wasn't lit, it didn't need to be) and we liked the ambience of it being so full. I went for a roasted tomato and almond tart, which came with roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, and more - basically all the trimmings of a roast dinner. I enjoyed it; the tart was a little bit different but I liked it. Lee had a roast turkey dinner. We both had a mini pudding which come with a hot drink, so I went for a cappucino. We both had brownies, they were nice.

Afterwards we set off to Grassington and got there around 3.30pm. The cafe was still open so we spoke to the owner of the cafe and the flat, Jess, who was lovely. We got settled in and just decided to stay in when it got dark, watching films and just relaxing.

It turned out that this week in Grassington, Channel 5 were filming a new remake of All Creatures Great and Small that is due to be on at Christmas! So they were using the square as the setting for a county show, so they were taking down all the shop signs and making them look like other shops, as well as setting up a fair in the middle. It was so interesting to see and made for some interesting photos! Bear that in mind as I was taking pictures all week, as more and more things happened.

I picked out this pin badge to put on my cardigan

My nails were Lake by Zoya. I love Zoya polishes and recently got a group of six of them for about ten pounds on eBay. This is one of them and I love the colour!

Me drinking cider in the pub

My dinner - and you can get refills of gravy which was good!

Mini brownie for dessert

And finally the pub itself, high up next to the Cow and Calf rocks :)

Films of the Month - October

I only watched ten films in October, it was a slow month!

Sex and the City was on Netflix! I know it's crap, but I do sort of love it - the series reminds me of being at uni. 

My friend Sarah recommended He's Just Not That Into You because I'd watched Sex and the City. I liked it, but probably wouldn't watch it again.

Netflix recommended Did You Hear About the Morgans? because I'd watched Sex and the City. I thought it was silly but perfectly enjoyable. A cute romcom. 

I decided to watch Angels & Demons since I watched the Da Vinci Code the previous month. I think this is better. I want to watch Inferno but I kind of want to read the book first.

My friend Von mentioned that Agatha Christie's Crooked House was on Netflix, so I watched it. I liked it, I would watch similar.

I've had The Secret Life of Bees on my watch list for AGES and finally got round to it. I LOVED it. I haven't read the book and probably won't, now, but I really loved the film. 

I love Singin' In the Rain, it's one of my favourite cosy Sunday afternoon films. I love the dancing and the songs. 

Someone recommended Step Up ages ago because I like films about dancing. I liked it - I like Channing Tatum and his whole being, which helped. It's not as good as Magic Mike and it's basically just a more modern rewrite of Save the Last Dance (which is one of my favourite films of all time).

I had seen there was going to be a film of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn's friendship, so I was really excited to see it. I don't know a lot about Pstsy Cline - I didn't even realise she'd died so young. I liked this, it looked and sounded great. 

Finally, Lee and I went to the cinema to see a special showing of The Shining. It's maybe my favourite horror film (I'm not a horror fan at all and scare easily) and seeing it on the big screen was really good. It made me pay attention to the shots and camera angles and music a lot more, and it is of course a classic.

Meal Out with Family and What I Wore 1st November

My aunt came up overnight at the beginning of November, to stay with my grandma. My mum said we should all go out for tea on the Friday night, so she booked a table at the Ruddy Duck near where I work in Wakefield. She checked first that there were enough veggie options, and told me there was a whole vegan menu! That's really exciting for me as a vegetarian.

We got there around 6.30 as Lee had had to drive home from work. It was quite busy, but we got served at the bar quickly and the food arrived in pretty good time. I decided to go for the buffalo cauliflower tacos which came with a corn on the cob and lime and coriander rice. It was so nice, all vegan, and really really delicious. I would eat it again in a heartbeat!

I had chocolate fudge cake and ice cream for dessert. Not vegan but they have vegan desserts including ice cream. Everyone else enjoyed their food too, and it's a cheap pub - two courses for all of us wasn't even seventy pounds!

We went back to my grandma's afterwards. I popped into Sainsbury's to get some wine to share, which was nice. We stayed really late but it was nice to see my aunt!

I had put on this Asos dress that I've had forever. I love the tartan skirt and the shirt like top. It's really unline any other dress that I own. I put a plain white top from Simply Be underneath. I think the whole look is "a little bit country and a little bit rock n roll". My aunt liked it too.

Really yummy food

And my outfit when I got home - I love the little peek of tartan in the breast pocket (which actually functions!)

Afternoon Tea in York

On Halloween I wasn't doing anything spooky or scary, I was headed to York to meet up with my two uni friends, Katie and Kate. Katie and I get together quite often, as Katie lives in Wakefield, but we don't often get to see Kate, who lives in Darlington. We all met at York St John university way back in 2002, so we decided to go to York this time. Katie mentioned that she'd seen they serve afternoon tea in the Principal Hotel, which is just next to the station. That's perfect for me, because it's not too far for me to go.

I said I would book it, and when I googled, a website called Yorkshire Food Guide popped up with a voucher. The Principal's champagne afternoon tea is £30.50, but the voucher offered it for £22 each. I had to buy the voucher through them, then book the tea with the hotel itself, but the voucher people did have an online chat so I could check availability, which I thought was good. I hope that all makes sense! I was happy to find the voucher though!

Lee works at home on Thursdays so he took me to the station in Barnsley, where I got on a train to Leeds. In Leeds, I had quite a long wait, so I got a coffee and sat in the waiting room, before getting on the train Katie happened to be on. We arrived in York at around 12.30 so we went into the station pub to wait for Kate.

We went into the Principal Hotel just before 1pm, and went through to the Garden Room where afternoon tea is served. We each got a coupe of champagne and ordered tea - peppermint for me as it's the only tea I like, and I don't even really like it that much.

We got our first course, which was a tiny cup of pumpkin soup, a tiny goats cheese and beetroot muffin, and for me, coriander hummus on a cracker (Katie and Kate had smoked mackarel on theirs). Then the tea arrived on trays. There were egg and cheese and chutney sandwiches for me and beef ones for Katie and Kate. Then there were three mini scones - one maple and pecan, one plain, and one sultana, served with tons of clotted cream and raspberry jam. Then there were the cakes - an apple tart which I didn't really like, a pumpkin spice macaron, a sour cherry and lemon battenburg, and a dark chocolate orange cake. It was nice food and we didn't feel like we were being rushed out of the place.

We got another drink a bit later. I went for something called Answers On A Postcard which was raspberry flavoured with chambord and disarrono, it was really nice!

We finally left at around 4.30 to go get on our trains home. We have already decided that we will look into going to a spa together next year, possibly February, so I'm really excited about that.

I used my Benefit eyeliner, some Urban Decay eyeshadow, and my Body Shop powder foundation

Gorgeous Kate

Me

Gorgeous Katie

The first course - I'm not sure I've ever had pumpkin soup but I really liked it

Cakes

Scones - I wasn't keen on the maple and pecan one but liked the others

Sandwiches

I was wearing this Simply Be dress, I love the mint skirt and the shoulders of the top

And here's my cocktail later!

Trip to Todmorden and Hebden Bridge

At the end of October my BFFs Sam and Jac and I went away to Todmorden overnight. It wasn't for anything special, just for the sake of being together and having some fun. Sam works Saturdays so we weren't sure what time we would be able to set off. I suggested that we went to Hebden Bridge because I've been meaning to go for ages. I looked for accomodation in Hebden Bridge but it was expensive, so I looked a bit further away in Todmorden.

This apartment popped up and it was perfect for us, especially as it has on site parking. I booked it and we made plans to meet in Huddersfield first. Sam managed to finish early so the three of us met at the Turkish restaurant and had lunch. I had cheesy poppers and then vegetable kebab, both of which were really nice. We set off to Todmorden at around 2pm. It didn't take long to get there but there's a lot of twisty, turny roads to get up there!

The apartment was absolutely gorgeous, really clean and with a lot of amenities. I would recommend it, if you're ever up that way! The host, Shirley, was really lovely too. We told her we were just planning to stay in. We had brought supplies! We all got into our pyjamas really early and watched terrible TV. There were a couple of games so we played Trivial Pursuit and then Speechless, which we ended up modifying into charades. It was a fun evening, really funny times with my friends.

On Sunday morning we left the apartment at around 10am and went into Hebden Bridge. We parked and walked across one of the bridges towards the market. The market was so good - there were so many stalls selling delicious food and handmade things. I honestly could have spent a fortune there! We walked down to the ducks and then popped into a tea room for breakfast. A hot chocolate and a currant teacake later and I felt so much better! I hadn't slept well and I've been having a lot of pain problems and driving has been difficult. But I wanted to press on.

I bought Lee some bread and some brownies as I knew he'd like them, and then I suggested that we went up to Heptonstall to see Sylvia Plath's gravestone. It happened to be her birthday, so it felt apt. I've never been, even though it isn't that far away from where I live. I'm a huge Plath fan but I thought the grave was hard to get to, like a steep walk from the village. However, when I googled it, someone on Tripadvisor had said that it was easy to find, so we set off. It is a bit complicated, but you can drive right up to the church, and then the grave is in the cemetery just across from it.

It was moving to see her grave, I'm really glad we went. You can read more about it here on my book blog.

After that we drove through Mytholmroyd to go to Sowerby Bridge for lunch. The countryside around there is just so beautiful and breathtaking. I really haven't spent enough time up there in recent years. Sam suggested going to Temujin which I've been to before, but years ago. They do an endless buffet now, where you go to a buffet and choose noodles, vegetables, protein including tofu or meat, then hand your plate to a chef who stir fries it all fresh. You can choose from a bunch of different oils to cook in, and then from a bunch of sauces. It's quite fun to do. For my first go I had Quorn and veggies in Penang sauce, which was really spicy but really delicious. Sam and Jac both enjoyed the variety of meat on offer, including wild boar and kangaroo!

After lunch we headed back to Huddersfield where we said goodbye until next time!

Playing Trivial Pursuit with snacks

And then Speechless, which was boggling and didn't have a timer but had silver balls coming down the tower instead? Weird

River Calder in Hebden Bridge

And the other way

How pretty was this plant?

Me and Jac and Sam, I love this photo!

I'm pretty sure this stencil is Sylvia Plath

The river was really high but it had been raining a lot

These ducks are really friendly

Especially this one, who let us get up close

Hot chocolate

I do not eat enough currant teacakes, for sure

Sylvia's grave

It's got stones left on it, and pens, which I liked

The epitaph is from the Bhagavad Gita

Looking down the road in Heptonstall, isn't it gorgeous? 

The canal at Sowerby Bridge

I'm so glad the weather was nice for us cos it made it such a nicer day

I took this from inside the restaurant

A look at some of the stir frying

Penang curry

I chose tons of really nice veggies

And here's Jacqui waiting for hers to be cooked!