Chapter 3 - DAY 3 - Skipton (Bolton Abbey)

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Today was our first really constructive ‘do things’ day in Skipton as we be took a trip to Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. But first there was breakfast.....

A BIG YORKSHIRE COOKED BREAKFAST – EE BY GUM
Because we had been living on full English breakfasts (with not too flattering results) I decided to just have muesli and fruit juice yesterday for breakfast...big mistake! Lindsay who does the cooking came out, looked at my empty muesli bowl with distain and said EE-UP what you want for breakfast then. Clearly the correct answer wasn’t ‘just finished my muesli and will have a couple bits of fruit to finish’ Being the first day I thought better have something, it went a bit like this:

Um sausage, bacon and an egg
Just one egg then
Yup
That’s all you want then,
Yup
‘Ave you looked at the menu
No (scrambling for a menu to look at) baked beans, black pudding, potato bake, mushrooms...I could feel my arteries hardening as I read through the list). That’s fine I’ll stick with original order.
Steely disapproving look, twirl and quick march into the kitchen.

TODAY
Take your order
Same as yesterday thanks, sausage, bacon and egg.
So that’s two eggs then
(What the hell) OK.
When breakfast came out there was an additional small fried potato on the plate; it was almost a direct challenge ‘Leave that one your plate then’ – I didn’t.
No doubt to Lindsay’s eternal pleasure.
Anyway it’s all good fun; both Lindsay and Anne have been great hosts which has added a lot to our visit.

BOLTON ABBEY
After breakfast we headed to Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales – just 7 miles from Skipton. It was a lovely sunny day ideal for getting out and about. First stop was a visit to the ruins of the 12th century Priory; we were able to have a good look around in our own time. Within reason we were free to wander in and out of the ruins as there weren’t nearly the same restrictions as there were on most of the Abbey ruins we had visited.
Being in the Yorkshire Dales there are any number of walks available in the area, fortunately there was one for overweight tourists with bung knees (perfect) so off we went. The track started with stepping stones across the river (interesting ) Jeanette took up the challenge but I could see myself creating a huge splash as I slipped and crashed mid stream – couldn’t risk getting the camera wet- so I took the option of the bridge.
The walk was through some of the most beautiful country; initially we had a small climb and walked through natural bush before dropping down onto a loop track that followed both sides of the river. The views around the tracks were breathtaking. Because the terrain wasn’t too arduous it was a lovely relaxing time in beautiful surroundings. We stopped for an ice cream and a sit in the sun mid way and even saw a heron on the river walk. In the end the walk took around four hours – plenty to see and after our hectic schedule to date it was fantastic just to have some quit time and space.

OFF TO PUB
On our return we headed back to town so Jeanette could try and find a hat for the races on Monday. Fortunately it was Saturday afternoon so my plan was to head to the pub and watch some footy while Jeanette shopped. Unfortunately there wasn’t one pub in Skipton showing football (unbelievable)! I had the choice of watching England playing Ireland (Rugby) or going shopping – really tough call. In the end I went with England v Ireland in the hope it would be followed by some Premier League action. I managed to stomach 60 minutes before giving up and heading across the road to the Black Horse where on the wall it proudly displays the following:
The building was erected in 1676, previously known as ‘The Kings Head’ changed its name to Black Horse in 1729 (as if it was important to inform you about the name change)– BRILLIANT. We had tea at the Black Horse and headed home – HUGE day tomorrow Man U v Arsenal at Old Trafford!

Heron pic could be below the advert at bottom of page - have also added a couple of general pics from our walk.

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Photos

Bolton Abbey
The ruins of Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales

Stepping Stones
A unique way to cross a river and start our walk in the Dales

Yorkshire Dales
Just on of an endless number of beautiful views

Heron
We were lucky enough to spot a Heron on our walk