A DRIVE THROUGH THE DALES

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The weather was drizzling once again so we went out for a drive. We were not quite sure where we were driving to but headed in the direction of the Dales. The winding country roads cut through the dales with beautiful countryside either side. The roads are so steep in places, but as you reach the highest points there is nothing but stunning countryside as far as the eye can see. In some areas there is nothing for miles, giving you the feeling that you are the only people around. This feeling occasionally gave way as we drove through quaint little villages that looked just like Emmerdale.
We made our first stop Pateley Bridge. At first we thought it looked like a relatively small place but turned out to be somewhat of a tourist destination. The main street was full of high end butchers, delicatessens and old fashioned sweet shops with hundreds of sweet jars lining the walls. I’m sure we could have spent a fortune. But with so little time before we leave the UK we decided we would never have enough time to eat it all. We left before making purchases we would regret.

We drove on to Skipton. This had a lot of very similar shops along with the usual chain stores you would expect to find in a town. We visited Skipton Castle which is over 900 years old and one of the best preserved medieval castles in England. For a few pounds you can wander around most of the castle and its chapel. With map in hand we made our way through the old kitchens, bedrooms and even bathrooms complete with the long drop toilet! As we climbed the spiral stone steps to the top of the watch tower you could see how hundreds of years of use and millions of footsteps had worn some steps away to almost nothing. We also were able to visit the dungeon which was very bleak!

We had something exciting planned for the following day so once we had finished our tour we hopped back in the car and made our way home. We travelled home (via Blubberhouses) and got an early night.

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