Best laid plans . . . .

We’ve been to Yorkshire for a week and I was proposing to post daily, the idea being to find Wi-Fi hotspots on our travels. I had assumed that in this Internet age such a thing would be relatively easy. However, as a fall-back I subscribed to BT FON, which is a BT community scheme that is free to join for BT Internet customers. This allows legitimate use of other BT customers’ access points (those who have subscribed and have BT Home Hubs), and they can use yours, all of course in a secure and controlled manner.

That’s the theory. In practice we spent about 45 minutes one day cruising the residential streets of Ilkley and despite detecting quite a few BT Home Hubs, not one FON point was picked up. There were an amazing number of unsecured wireless access points, but I resisted the temptation to (illegally) piggy-back one of these.

As for other access points, the library couldn’t help, other than direct us to a Costa Coffee shop that didn’t have public access anyway. Of course, not being able to access the Internet curtailed further detailed research. It seems, therefore, that forking out for mobile broadband is the only reliable way to blog on the move.

The upshot is that although I wrote daily, I have had to wait until I got to Helen’s sister’s in Durham to publish, so apologies for everything appearing in a single hit.

Yorkshire – Thursday 9th

Back to Kilnsey today to walk the trail that we missed on Monday due to me indulging in some fly fishing.

We were pleased we returned as it gave Helen the opportunity to feed ducklings and allowed us to see the red squirrels. Neither of us had seen a red squirrel ‘in the flesh’ before.

Another contender for the bird food!

There was also the opportunity to see how the trout are reared on site. You are given pellets to feed them, the ‘giant trout’ pool producing scenes reminiscent of a piranha attack in a horror film.

They breed 35 tonnes of trout every year, equivalent to around 157,000 ten-inch fish. All the water comes from a spring that is dammed above the site. They also have a small (50kW) hydro-electric station, but it wasn’t running while we were there.

The stream just below the spring

A recently added bee observatory allows you to watch the bees at work in a glazed panel containing the honeycomb. The bee-keeper pointed out the queen, which they had marked with a small red dot. Quite fascinating.

The red squirrels are enclosed, for their own protection, which made photography difficult. However, by using telephoto and placing the lens tight to the mesh, I managed some shots that threw the close-up wire strands so far out of focus that they became virtually invisible.

 

We rounded off the day with a trip back into Skipton where Helen did some gift shopping. Tomorrow we leave for Durham, but will pop into Silsden (to a previously spotted gift shop), Addingham (ditto) and, lastly, Betty’s Teashop in Ilkley for lunch. Helen loves little tea shops and they don’t come much better than Betty’s.

Yorkshire – Wednesday 8th

Off to Skipton today. The intention was to follow the Millennium Walk, a two-hour walk around the town that promised to reveal some of its hidden facets. We had been to Skipton a couple of years ago but not really explored.

The town has a very long history, having been the economic centre of the local community for centuries. It takes its name from sheep, being recorded in the Domesday book as Scepeton (or Sceapton), sceap being the Anglo-Saxon word for sheep.

Holy Trinity church

Settled by the Angles, it was a garrison after the Norman Conquest, being in a strategic location; this ensured its importance. Served by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and the railway, it prospered during the industrial revolution. Dewhurst’s Mill, a prominent feature of the town, made the Sylko cotton bobbins; a name that will be familiar to anybody of a certain age, as their cotton could once be found in virtually every sewing basket in the country.

The guide obtained from the town’s Information Centre acquainted us with many facts that we would certainly have missed by just casually walking around. Down one small path, the Ginnel, which we probably would have overlooked without the guide, was the The Society of Friends’ (Quakers) meeting room. It was built in 1693 and, as we were peering through the iron gate, a lady invited us in and opened up the room so we could see inside. As she said, it’s not that often you get the chance to go into a building built in 1693.

She spent quite a while telling us about the Quaker movement and its history, and told us that at the meetings held there each Sunday about 25–30 people regularly attend, not all of whom are necessarily Quakers. Apparently the Quaker movement has a long history in Skipton, and the meeting place was one of the first to be established after the passing of The Toleration Act of 1689 that ended the persecution of the movement’s followers by the established church – you live and learn.

We skipped the Castle, as this will be explored more thoroughly on a future visit (yes, we’re certainly coming back) and there were other attractions that we’ve noted for more thorough exploration at some future date.

Went fishing again this evening. Not quite as good as yesterday, but still good sport.

Yorkshire – Tuesday 7th

Today we went to Bolton Abbey, or to be more precise we went walking in the grounds of Bolton Abbey. We parked at the Cavendish Pavilion and walked the 4.7 mile loop to Barden Tower and back. This takes you along both sides of the River Wharfe and passes the ‘Strid’, a narrow channel (which could be strided if you didn’t value your life too greatly) that concentrates the river into a deep powerful torrent.

Yet again the weather held and we were treated to nature at its finest, both at the panoramic level and the macro level of the wild flora.

Near Barden Bridge, on the return route, there was a thoughtfully placed stone chair, with an even more thoughtfully placed post (securing a young tree) in front of it where I could rest the camera for a timer shot. The result is a somewhat saccharin picture of Helen and me. Well, it is our holiday, after all.

In the evening Helen practised her guitar and I went to a small lake about five minutes from where we are staying for a few hours fishing. I won’t bore you with the details but it was a good evening.

Yorkshire – Monday 6th

Today we went to Kilnsey, a few miles from Grassington and famous for its ‘Crag’. As we were leaving Cringles a horse-drawn cart was approaching so I grabbed a quick picture.

The reason for going to Kilnsey was to visit Kilnsey Park, where they boast a red squirrel population, among other attractions. One such attraction is their trout farm, and two trout lakes. I didn’t bring any trout fishing gear with me but it transpired that they hire it out, so I’m afraid our visit was largely devoted to fishing.

I haven’t done much fly fishing at all, but I managed not to completely disgrace myself and some casts were actually pretty good.

Much to my surprise, I had an early success with a fish of about  2-3lbs.

Shortly after this I lost my fly, which wasn’t ‘cracked off’ by bad casting but seems to have just become untied judging by the crinkling at the end of the line where the fly had been. My hired tackle only included two more flies and neither was of quite the same pattern as the one I lost. Whether it was the change of pattern, or just that my beginner’s luck had run out, but I had no more fish.

We did break for a nice lunch. I went for the grilled trout - what else?

Two other anglers showed us their catch, which included a massive 14lb rainbow trout; quite amazing considering that the lake wasn’t that large. And apparently there are bigger ones in there.

Just in case you’re wondering, Helen sat in the sun (yes, the weather held) on a picnic rug and read her book.

We may go back to do the nature trail another day.

Yorkshire – Sunday 5th

After all the walking yesterday, today started off very gently. In bed until nearly 9 a.m. and then a very leisurely breakfast.

Went to Grassington in the afternoon. I have stayed in the town previously, in 1983 and 1990. It didn’t seem to have changed much, although it probably suffers more traffic now, which considering the narrow pedestrian-laden streets is not a good thing. While Helen spent what seemed an eternity in a gift shop (The Rustic Rabbit!) I watched with amusement, and some sadness, as drivers circled the small town centre looking for one of the free short-stay parking places. Obviously the short walk from the car park, and the exorbitant £2.20 fee, is just too much for some.

After wandering around town, and having a bite to eat, we went down to the River Wharfe and sat for a while just watching the river flow by and some ducks (and, to Helen’s delight, ducklings) going about their business. Although at times cloudy, it was really a glorious afternoon; one might say idyllic.

Back at base we had an evening stroll. Cringles, where we are staying, is on high ground between Airedale and Wharfedale, and as such is susceptible to the prevailing winds. However, the evening was absolutely calm. We saw, in flight, a largish bird with a very distinctive call, which through the binoculars was seen to have a long thin beak, similar to that of the Curlew. My ornithological knowledge is not good enough for positive identification, but we felt it was something a bit special. This was after being treated to a family of house martins perched on the window ledge of the bathroom while we were getting ready this morning.

And, of course, there are lots of cows and sheep.

Yorkshire – Saturday 4th

As I’ve mentioned, we’re in Yorkshire for a week, self-catering in a real farmhouse at Cringles, near Silsden, which isn’t far from Ilkley. We arrived yesterday afternoon and after a stroll around Ilkley had a pretty good lasagne in an Italian Restaurant (Piccalinos).

Today I got up early to walk a route that I had mapped out on an OS extract taken from  Multimap; not ideal but all I had pending acquiring the relevant OS sheet map. All did not go exactly to plan as I went off course a number of times, not helped by the fact that the ‘footpaths’ were far from clear and the way markers few and far between. One particular section along a small beck felt more like hacking through a jungle than following a footpath – I think I may have gone somewhat off-piste!

As usual, I took some photos and here’s a selection.

   

Later, after a short trip into Silsden to get a paper, Helen and I walked across country to Addingham, where we stopped off for a light lunch and drink in a pub-cum-bistro, which was enjoyable as we sat in the afternoon sun. A few more shots were added to the portfolio.

The Addingham War Memorial.

I was struck by the difference between the losses in WW1 (top panel) compared with those in WW2 (bottom panel). While not belittling the losses in WW2, this comparison highlights the terrible waste of life brought about by the insane tactics employed in the earlier conflict. Addingham is today only a small place, so the losses in the first war must have decimated what was then probably an even smaller community.

Dog in Pub.

 

 

Checked out a local lake later in the afternoon, so a fishing trip is pending.