Weekending

Well, I haven’t blogged for a few days but the pictures below should help to explain where we’ve been over the weekend. Some friends of my mum and dad own an old farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales and we were lucky enough to get an invite to go up and stay for a few days. It really was like stepping into another world – the only sounds were from the moorland birds and sheep, the nearest village was five miles away, no mobile phone signal or broadband internet. The view across the valley was an ever changing panorama – the photos really don’t do justice to the quality of the light at different times of the day. The weather was in constant flux too – mist and clouds in the morning scudding down the valley and sun breaking through giving some scorching temperatures by late afternoon.

Saturday night we went out for a meal for Jan’s Birthday at the CB Inn in  Arkengarthdale  – not a greasy truck stop but actually a rather nice restaurant named for an 18th century lord of the manor called Charles Bathurst. The meals that we had were good on the whole, although the baby lobsters that we had were not really much more than a garnish to the sea food risotto. Still, it was spectacular to be sat outside with a drink at nine o’clock at night, when it was still light and warm enough to be comfortable wearing a tee shirt. Sheer bliss.

Even though there were some tears from just about everybody when we left to come home, I think that everybody was able to do just as they pleased for a brief while – whether it be reading a book, walking on the moors, playing silly word games, knitting, playing Drill Spirits wireless multiplayer or just sitting with a cold beer and enjoying the view.

Life doesn’t get any better than this.