Dalis Does the Dales (with Houston)

 I think the Dales are my favorite part of England, although the Cotswolds are a close second. Wow! Does it get any prettier than this?!

The cows are used to hikers passing through their fields.

I was surprised at how nice and sturdy this foot bridge was making our river crossing so easy. It connected one field to another field.

Hmmmm….wonder where the trail is?!

Through another stile...

and stopped for a visit at one of my favorite felt artists, Andrea Hunter. Her art always amazes me. She paints with wool, laying it down very thin. Her pieces look like photographs until you get up close and realize that is it is all wool. 

And surprise! Another pub in the village. It was cool enough to sit and knit near the fire. 

We got to stay in this youth hostel outside a small village in the country. We had a huge room with amazing views. The Tour de France passed right by this front entrance last Saturday.

This was once a hunting lodge, built by a wealthy landowner for his guests.

We walked down the hill to the village for dinner, passing lambs along the way.

The entire North Yorkshire area was festooned for the Tour de France.

It was estimated that the tour would bring in over 100 million pounds (that's about $170 million!) in just the north Yorkshire area alone. Farmers had mown their fields and put up signs for parking and camping.

We saw heaps of bicyclists out on these very narrow, twisty, turny roads, riding the route.

I hated to leave the Dales but I did score some nice Wenslydale yarn. I've contacted the spinning mill and 20 kilos are on it's way to Dancing Leaf Farm!

Scootin' About in Northern England

After traveling over hill and dale, we arrived at our farm stay for two nights. A converted stone barn houses 6 units with a central courtyard and patios and decks on the back sides. A rooftop full of solar panels helps with the electricity.

I was happy to see chickens and ducks roaming around

and their cat who greeted everyone.

After settling into our delightful room, we took a little hike to the dale nearby.

In the early evening, I took my knitting and wine up this little hill behind the farm and 

sat on the picnic table, enjoying the beautiful scenery laid out before me.

Next day was a longer hike, past ancient churches...

…and a culinary stop at an awesome pub. That's what's great about England, you can hike or bike from pub to pub.

And then you can have toad in the hole or haggis with keeps & tatties, oh and pints of beer.

Since we're walking through sheep fields, there are various stiles to get over fences.

I particularly like the old stone ones.

Except some are a wee bit tight! My camera accidentally took this photo of me 

scootching through the stones.

It's hay season, so the smell of freshly cut hay was in the air. 

This is where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed.

After the hike, we stopped at another pub right across from this pond. Nice view to look at while drinking my pinot grigio.

Leaving our farm stay, we stopped in Malton, taking a walk around the village. There's a weekly sheep and cattle auction but unfortunately not the day we were there. I would have loved to have seen all the sheep in these pens with the farmers buying and selling and the hubbub all around.

These were the cattle pens.

Then on to Whitby, a coastal town that brings tourists and locals together in its tight little streets.

Of course I spotted the local wool shop.

Walking down one of the cobbled streets, I noticed this strange smokey smell, 

not unpleasant, just unique.

Followed our noses right to the kipper shop. Kippers are smoked herring. These fish measure about a foot high each and are hung from poles to smoke overnight.

I was curious about the smoking house attached to the shop. The shop keeper (kipper keeper) was pleased to show us the inside. He opened all the doors so we could peek into the dark interior. I couldn't believe how much black soot stuff was caked onto the inside of the doors and the walls.

At the end of the block and up the hill is a beautiful view of the sea.

With folk frolicking on the sand below. It was a beautiful, sunny day and this being Saturday, there were many folks out enjoying the weather and the famous fish and chips of Whitby.

Up to the Moors

We headed up to Northern England to take in the Moors and the Dales. This part of England is rugged and soft and hilly and rocky and overall, just beautiful. 

We stayed at a youth hostel right on the water, Boggle Hole. A boggle is a hobglobin, who they say haunts this place. I saw no sign of it. 

We had to park our car at the top and walk about 1/4 mile down a steep road. The road leads right into the water and there's no turn around.

Boggle Hole is known as a smuggler's haven because the 'hole' between two cliffs was the perfect place for pirates to offload their booty.

When walking on the rocky coastline, you turn a corner and you get a peek at Robin Hood's Bay, one of my favorite places on the coast. This was my 4th time here as I enjoy it so much every time.

We could walk from Boggle Hole to Robin Hood's Bay by taking a well worth path at the top of the cliffs...

…through a thicket 

 Pastures with sheep and cows grazing were on one side ...

…and a steep cliff on the other, overlooking RHB.

The village is built right on the steep hillside with houses all higgity piggity on very narrow cobbled walkways.

The doors are so beautiful, each one giving a distinct look to the cottage.

The day was marvelous and the views not so bad either.

Was a bit too early for a pint though.