England, Road Trips, Travel

Road trip to North Yorkshire

Suzanne

A small gap of two days and one night, to travel from one housesit to another.

On our departure morning, the day started off not too sunny and not so cold, which makes it more pleasant to enjoy a longish drive.  As last time we headed up to North Yorkshire, it was cold and wet, which made sightseeing somewhat more challenging if not impossible.  With long road trips stopping to stretch our legs is compulsory.

The desire for caffeine and a walk coincided with arriving in the Vale of Berkeley, Gloucestershire and it is a place we haven’t explored before, and we thought “Why not!”.  As with most areas, there are always a few points of interest to look at and chat about.

20170509_130505_edited

Firstly it was a passing visit to the most visible and biggest building, which just happens to be a Castle by the name of Berkely Castle which has been owned by the same family for nearly 900 years.  Quite an amazing feat in itself.  It is open to the public for weddings, filming of period dramas and general public admittance, which has no doubt contributed to it being a financially viable business and enabled the family to keep living there.  It wasn’t here that our desire for caffeine was going to be fulfilled as two busloads of thirsty pensioners arrived just before we found the cafe.  We really didn’t have that much time to wait for the desire to do so!

Next was the township of Berkeley.

20170509_125906_edited_edited

To be honest, I never tire of wandering around small towns and villages marvelling at the quaint houses with their individual quirky bits and bobs.

20170509_125738_edited_edited

The squire exiting the site of The Jenner House Museum, where Dr Jenner resided many years ago,  he was a lover of fossil-hunting, ballooning and making himself famous for being a pioneer of the vaccination against smallpox.

St Mary’s Church, 1000 years old and not the most attractive of churches.  A very harsh and stark, a building that looked unfinished and very unwelcoming.  What is more unusual about this church is the separate tower, commonly cited in Europe very rarely in the UK.

Sometimes a walk in the countryside is the most pleasant of walks and today was just one of those days when a big gulp of country air was required to clear the head before getting back into the car.  When we sighted the canal, it looked the perfect place to walk, and within minutes we were alongside it.

20170509_143304_edited_edited

The walk was made more pleasant with a few short conversations with canal folk before they set off to their next destination.  After this impromptu chat, it left us thinking it wouldn’t be such a bad sort of life, cruising rather slowly down the canal in the countryside.

Yes, romanticism was truly alive that day alongside the canal.

20170509_132439_edited_edited

Just as we were driving out of town, relaxed and rested we had to stop so I could take only one more photograph to say how much we enjoyed hanging out for a short while in Berkeley.

Time to head to our Airbnb, and some vertical rest time.

The Nook, West Langton Lodge, Apartment

 

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

35 thoughts on “Road trip to North Yorkshire”

  1. Looks fab. We have friends who on retirement rented out their house and bought a narrow boat. They plan to do all the navigable canals and rivers in mainland Britain over the next 5 years. Their pictures make it fascinating

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Geoff. Yes, we can see the attraction to living in a mobile home whether it be a canal boat or motorhome. We lived in a converted 10m motorhome off and on for 10 years, loved it!! Good on your friends for doing it, their pictures would be fascinating.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  3. What perfect weather for a wander!

    I love your blog. It is always nice to see small towns through non-English eyes. You choose such gorgeous things to photograph.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Cruising by canal boat seems to be getting more popular. We know a few people who have either done it or plan to do it. Flat waters and a great way to see somemEuropena countries. You guys are staying busy and taking advantage of all the sights! Nice!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Debbie. Yes there are bikes in the trees, a bit unusual I thought 🙂 Good to have a break from blogging and Tasmania is definitely on our list of places to see!! We will be glad to get to Turkey and no major moving around for 2.5 months!! Relaxing time 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thanks Ruth. Yes we have been lucky to housesit for many lovely people including the ones in North Yorkshire. Though this is not always the case and it can be stressful dealing with people who are not so lovely!!

      Like

      Reply

    2. Sorry for the delay, I thought I had answered your welcome comment!! Yes the foals are adorable even for me who isn’t a horsey person!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Pingback: The Best of 2017 – 11 photographs – Global Housesitter x2

Leave a reply to josypheen Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.