Yet another trip that didn't go quite to plan. The idea was to whizz up to Yorkshire, get the van carpets replaced, visit our lovely friends in Brighouse and then shoot back, collect the Toad and bikes, and head for this year's grape harvest. Phase one worked beautifully, but nature had conspired against us. We set aside 6 weeks or so to cover harvest time. We thought we were safe booking the carpet fitting on Wed 21 Sep, but we had the call from the vineyard to say that the grapes were ready. We agreed to miss the first couple of days and be back on the vineyard on Monday 26th Sep, but apparently the yield was very low and they had managed to almost complete the picking in a week! It was therefore pointless heading back for 1 or 2 days picking so, with some regrets, we had to forego picking this year and make different plans.
On Tuesday 20 Sep we set off for the Motorhome and Cackyvan Site in Mytholmroyd (not Hebden Bridge, as the C&MC call it). We thought that this time we would have plenty of time to pack, but once again it was a bit of a panic as we were watching the Queen's funeral all day on the Monday. We stopped off for a quick visit to the outlet mall at Pontefract before negotiating the steep hills around Sowerby Bridge and finally parking up and settling down for the night.
Wednesday was carpet fitting day. We didn't really need new carpets, but the ones provided by carpets for caravans (www.carpetsforcaravans.com) are of a significantly better fit (there are no gaps) and the quality is, likewise, significantly better. As we use the van over winter, decent carpets are essential. The fitter arrived at about 1pm and, after a few hours work, our van looks lush! I do, however, now have to suffer the "mind the crumbs, use a plate, don't spill that, wipe your feet" constant nagging.
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| Carpets for Caravans |
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| New Carpets |
Thu 22 Sep and a well-deserved day off, so we wandered into Hebden Bridge for a mooch around and a spot of lunch. We sat for a pint and people-watched some of the weirdos that frequent this place. The forecast suggested heavy rain was due later in the day, so we decided to walk the bulk of the journey whilst it was still dry then eat in Mytholmroyd. We got to the pub only to be told that there was no food until 4pm. A real fire, cosy leather armchairs and a couple of decent pints made the wait tolerable as we watched the rain pour down outside. Eventually we left and climbed the hill back to the van.
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| Hebden Bridge |
On Friday we travelled the short distance to Hipperholme, via Morrisons in Halifax to fill up with gas and diesel, and parked up in the small campsite outside the Halifax Steam Brewery. Once settled, we had a call to join Sarah, George, Jane and Emily for Tea and Cake in their garden and a very pleasant afternoon was spent nattering and keeping Emily entertained. This little site is so handy as it is very close to our friends and has a splendid pub right next door. Shame it is now right in the middle of a housing estate construction site.
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| Cock of the North |
On Sat 24 Jane and Tavis very kindly picked us up and took us into Halifax to visit the Halifax Industrial Museum. This is well worth a visit, with very interesting displays and exhibits and excellent volunteers telling you all about it. I'd like to go back - it were reet grand! After a splendid pint in the very quirky pub, the Grayston Unity, we all met up at Jane's House for delicious fish and chips - with mushy peas! How very Northern.
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| The Duke of Wellington's Regiment memorial (The Havercakes) in Halifax |
The following day Jane and Tavis took us out once again on another excursion, this time to the Masham Sheep Fair. It was a really good day out, topped off by a pint in the Black Sheep Brewery, a curry in the Thaal Indian Restaurant in Brighouse (boy was it hot - only 1 chilli he said. He lied!) and then a few pints to finish off a great day in the Cock o' the North - and a 20' stagger home to bed.
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| Masham |
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| Masham Sheep Fair - and the dancing sheep |
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| Jane and Tav |
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| View of t'van from t'pub |
On Monday 26th we sadly said goodbye to our dear friends and headed across to the Leeds DA Temporary Holiday Site in Bishopthorpe, just outside York. We parked up and it started to rain, so we had a relaxing afternoon and evening in the van.
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| Temporary Holiday Site Bishopthorpe, York |
Tue 27 - Walked a long, long way into York where we recovered with a Tea and Fat Rascal in Betty's. We then explored the wonderful street market before heading into the Jorvik centre, a place we haven't been for many, many years. Back out into York and a nice pint in the Shambles pub before hiking back to the van, arriving absolutely exhausted.
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| Knew it was a long walk! |
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| York Racecourse |
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| The old Terry's chocolate works, now housing |
Wed 28 - Up early for another long hike into York by a different route to visit the National Railway Museum. After lunch in a pub, we completed a circuit of the City Walls before deciding that we had walked so far that we had earned a bus ride back to the site.
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| Railway Museum |
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| City Walls |
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| Clifford's Tower |
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| The Shambles |
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| York Minster - you have to be very rich to get in |
The next day we packed up and moved the short distance to the South Yorkshire DA Temporary Holiday site in Whitby, stopping off at the excellent York designer outlet en-route. We wandered into Whitby and had dinner in the Quayside restaurant before returning up the hill to home.
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| Whitby |
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| The Old Town Hall Whitby |
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| Photobombed! |
On Fri 30 the weather was appalling. Gale force 9 winds buffeted us and the rain lashed it down. It was a day for sitting inside and trying not to get seasick.
Sat 1 Oct was a much better day, with bright warm sunshine (well, warm for Yorkshire anyway). Martin and Dave paid us a visit and we enjoyed a delicious lunch in the famous Magpie Cafe, a wander around Whitby and a pint in the grottiest pub we could find.
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| Magpie Cafe |
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| The Chuckle Brothers |
Remarkably, Sun 2 Oct was also a bright, sunny day and so it was that we climbed the 199 steps, wandered around the Abbey and enjoyed a great couple of pints in the excellent Whitby Brewery.
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| 199 Steps |
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| Whitby Abbey |
On Mon 3 Sep we had a last wander around Whitby and a very relaxing lunch in the Magpie.
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| Old house on the seafront as a memorial to the shell damage by German cruisers in WW1 |
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| The Whalebone Arch |
On Tuesday we packed up and travelled the short distance to the Leeds DA Temporary Holiday Site which was just outside Bridlington. After the steep hills of Whitby, it was nice to walk on the flat for a while and we enjoyed our stroll in to Brid, noting that the houses on the Fraisthorpe side are jolly nice whereas the other end of town, with the ghastly amusement arcades, is a bit run down.
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| Bridlington |
On Wed 5 we decided to walk along the beach in the other direction to see where Leeds DA hold their summer THS in Fraisthorpe, stopping for a delicious lunch in the Cow Shed Cafe.
We were meant to head off on Thursday, but we were relaxing so much we decided to stop for another night and do the 153-mile journey home in 1 hit on the Friday. We wandered around the Harbour and Bridlington Museum, before heading off to Bridlington Old Town, where we had a scrummy lunch in the New Georgian Rooms Antiques centre and tea rooms. On the way back we picked up a fresh crab and an artisan loaf for "us tea". The crab was delicious - not quite as good as Cromer Crab, but pretty darn good all the same.
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| Beach Huts at Bridlington |
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| Boxes and boxes of fish heads to bait the lobster and crab pots |
On Friday 7 we set for home with just a very short stop in an awful Morrisons in Doncaster to fill up with LPG and diesel.
