God’s Own Country

There’s a reason people in Yorkshire call this ‘God’s Own Country.’ Seriously, can there be anywhere better?

This week the weather has been glorious – high 60s temperatures, feeling like low 70s in the sun, with bright blue skies, endless sunshine and whispy white clouds. And we made the most of it. On Monday night after we finished work, we grabbed our things and headed out for a drive up into Nidderdale. Not actually part of the Yorkshire Dales national park, it’s nonetheless a lovely spot. Just 15 minutes took us into some gorgeous countryside, all rolling hills, bright green grass, stone walls, and sheep

And 45 minutes brought us to what felt like the middle of nowhere, but was actually Middlesmoor, a tiny village set high up at the top of the dale.

Unfortunately, we scared the locals when we wandered past the local church, where apparently the sheep keep the grass short

The view from here was just amazing, stretching literally for miles

I took this short video and if you turn up the sound, you can hear right across the valley including a faraway dog barking and the sound of sheep in a distant field.

After driving back down, we were in need of some sustenance, so we headed for the Boar’s Head in Ripley.

This is my grilled trout with crab mashed potato and honey roasted carrots. Yum!

We were home by 10 o’ clock. It’s amazing to think that such lovely countryside is right on our doorstep and – at least in summer when the nights are long – that we can enjoy it any evening we want to. All the next day I kept reliving the feeling of being up there far from everyone, looking out at that stunning view and feeling truly at home. Priceless!

Then today, we needed to do some shopping so we decided to head into York. It’s 40 minutes away and it’s a place I took for granted all the years I lived nearby. But now I see it with new eyes and appreciate it with all the enthusiasm of a camera-wielding American tourist. How great is it to be able to wander round a city that was founded by the Romans in 71AD?!

The drive in took us past one of the old medieval bars (or gates) used to restrict traffic in olden times and extract tolls from visitors

Once in town, we were supposed to be shopping but I couldn’t resist snapping photos.

I mean look at this stone for Pete’s sake!

Stonework like that is everywhere in York and it gives you a weird, contradictory feeling that is both a firm sense of your own insignificance and the rather pleasing notion that you’re playing a part, however small, in an important story.

I had a lovely time browsing around this street market while Phil was buying some electrical device or other

And even though there was much photo snapping, we did actually do the chores we set out to do – including buying overnight bags for the many trips we plan to take once we find a catsitter. All in all, it was a lovely day.

And seriously … where could be better?