Blogs from North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 4

Driving home for Christmas. I was beginning to think we were starting to put this whole pandemic business behind us and I could stop mentioning the C word. Alas, here we go again or more to the point - here we don't go again! When we can book any trip with confidence, all of a sudden looks further away from us than ever. We are back to waiting on the word of TFB, as to whether further restrictions will be foisted upon us. The other Home Nations went early, but TFB holds the purse strings and has one eye on the knives in the back. He eventually chose to maintain the status quo. Plan B onwards and upwards. The situation seems to be getting closer to home as well. The Man in the Middle has tested ... read more

A short and only slightly delayed train ride found us in York by lunchtime. The purpose of this visit was to have afternoon tea at Bettys, which is a Yorkshire institution and somewhere I have wanted to visit for years, but haven't got round to it on previous trips to York, and I haven't been to any of the places that have Bettys either. The original Bettys was opened in 1919 in Harrogate and no one knows why it was named Bettys. The story behind this successful small chain is quite interesting. A Swiss orphan, Fritz Bützer, travelled Europe learning his craft and in 1907 arrived in England. He took the wrong train and ended up in Bradford instead of the south coast, his original destination. He found work for a Swiss confectioner and by 1915 ... read more

47 miles. 10.,6 mph 1250m. Ascent. Good meal in the Hostel last night until I suffered cramp at the table and nearly cleared the table of occupants in my reaction. Ten minutes standing on one leg and a bit of violent massage did the trick, although I had minor recurrences all evening. A walk around Hawes was pleasant before an early bed at 9,30pm. Cramp appeared briefly at mid afternoon at Tan Hill after a half of Guinness when I had to hop on one leg to my bike to the consternation of the gathered throng of drinkers in the outside garden. The ride along the valley through Askrig was very pleasant with the sun breaking through. The climb out of Askrig was not quite as nice giving a shock to my legs. Castle Bolton was ... read more

The lockdown has now eased to allow overnight stays. Hotels have opened up. Pubs are allowed to have indoor drinkers. Attractions and cinemas can re-open with limited numbers. However, the Spring weather has been shocking. Hospitality has had a slow re-emergence from the long hibernation. The most hardy and desperate of drinkers must have winced about sitting outside in the cold and damp just to savour a pint. There have been plenty with sun on their minds, who have been hankering after a trip to one of the "Green" list countries. Portugal has won hands down. Iceland and others in permissible territory apparently haven't captured the public imagination. We are at the Outlaws. The NEPSR is looking more December than May. The wind is blowing, the clouds threaten and the temperature has hit the highs of ... read more