A chilly but bright Saturday, we decided to pack up our bikes, drive into the Derbyshire countryside and cycle along the Longdendale Trail, a 7 mile cycle track which was once an old railway line. A safe off-road cycle combined with lovely views sounded just the thing. The trail is part of the Trans Pennine […]
Our first full day in Yorkshire and we drove along the coast from Staithes to the lovely old fashioned seaside resort of Saltburn by the Sea. Just twenty minutes easy drive but better than that, it was cloudy, overcast and chilly in Staithes but Saltburn had a (teeny) bit of sun and was a few […]
We could not have picked a more perfect base for our Yorkshire explorations than the sleepy, quaint and utterly gorgeous village of Staithes. It was a lucky coincidence the cottage that most suited our (last minute) needs happened to be here. Staithes was never on my radar of places to visit, I’m glad we inadvertently […]
We took a trip to Liverpool on a gloriously mild early autumn day. a treat we decided to take the famous ferry across the Mersey. The River Mersey is so iconic, played a huge part in shaping the character and fortunes of this great city and a trip on the ferry is the perfect way […]
Dover is no top tourist hot spot, more the kind of place people drive through en route to the ferry to go someplace else. We decided to buck the trend and stay a couple of nights to explore a little before our ferry crossing. Top of my list was the famous white cliffs – where we […]
Having explored Alnwick Castle and immersed ourselves in all things Potter the castle gardens were next up. A bit of a shock to have to buy another separate ticket – this makes it a super expensive experience, but we didn’t want to come all this way and miss out. The (free) public park / walk linking the castle to […]
This place turned out to be a bit of a surprise – meant to be a Yorkshire stopping off point on a long car journey, we thought we would find a few rocks, a place to stretch our legs for half an hour and a cafe. That we did discover, but so much more – some […]
Ordsall Hall is a bit of a gem. Right in the middle of a housing estate, it is an unlikely location for a Grade 1 listed Tudor manor house that dates back to 1177. However it harks back to a time when there was nothing but countryside in this urban sprawl and is a lovely place […]
Dungeness, a National Nature Reserve and end of the train line for us was a real surprise – a desolate but stunningly beautiful place. Right by the sea but a far cry from the traditional English seaside resort, I loved it with its unusual and captivating shingle landscape. Apparently officially termed a desert (Britain’s only one) due […]
A short drive from our hotel and we were in the small and very beautiful city of Durham. We didn’t have too much on the agenda for this visit, see the cathedral and just wander a bit was my plan. This place is made for that – lovely old cobbled streets, a city that is […]
