Friday 6 April 2018

Up North

We spent Easter in the Dales, travelling north on a promisingly spring-like day.
The back garth  looked lovely with clumps of snowdrops and moss. (Later in the year the nettles will take over and give me grief.)
I spent a day in the garden clearing away last year's debris and had a satisfying bonfire with everything that I'd collected.



Just a nice trickle of water in the beck.
On Good Friday we woke to cold and wet. Oh, dear! In the morning we drove to Northallerton to collect our daughter from the London train. Just time to pop into Betty's beforehand to buy something nice. Their window displays are always very attractive - only the prices stop me from buying a great deal!
Traditional simnel cake
and a variety of Easter biscuits.


What did I buy?
Their delicious Yorkshire curd tart!
Daughter and I had some blustery walks on the moor, well wrapped up against the elements,  wind, rain and sleet. But there was more to come - I looked out of the window and saw this!
Good job I'd got my gardening done.
Our car in the garth.
No sign of snowdrops now.

The little waterfall could hardly be seen against the whiteness of the snow.

It's lambing time in the dale, meaning hard work for the farmers, even in good weather, but this cold and wet makes it miserable as well as dangerous for the livestock.
It was quickly melting away by the following day and we put on our waterproofs and walked out of the village up to the shooting lodge.

Prints in the snow showed us what had walked by.
Pheasants and rabbits.
It was rather wet in places!
Warm air meeting cold created a rather misty outlook. Springtime in the Yorkshire Dales to share with Skywatch Friday!






The waterfall looked impressive with all the snow melt.

And we could hear the noise of the beck without opening our windows!




20 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures and some of them could have been taken in my yard. We had snow on Easter Monday and there might be more tomorrow. I am sure spring must be somewhere.

    The curd tart looks wonderful.

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    1. Spring had better put in an appearance soon or we shall be jumping straight to summer. Cold, wet and miserable still and only a few potatoes and sprouts planted.
      Betty's curd tart is the best, with a deep filling and lots of nutmeg!

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  2. Beautiful waterfall and winter scenes. Your garden is looking good!

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    1. Much as I love my own landscape you can see why I enjoy looking at your blog with its clear blue skies, bright colours and feeling of warmth. Pretty much all we share in common is the need for a good pair of stout walking boots to enjoy our respective terrains!

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  3. What a wonder your part of the world is. I do not like cold and rain though, but you somehow made the best of it. I am raring to go if spring will finally arrive. I have a new rose bed to install and so much more.

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    1. There's a saying that there's no such thing as bad weather only inappropriate clothing. Our daughter went out for a walk by herself and came back looking like a snowman! needless to say, we keep plenty of wet weather gear in the Dales.
      A new rose bed, now that sounds exciting. Are you being seduced by names, colour or scent? I'm a sucker for some of the old rose names.

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  4. Replies
    1. It's a lovely place, Tom, but certainly very different from elegant and equally lovely Bath.

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  5. What a nice area. I really loved it to look to your photos. So special!

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    1. This is the county of my childhood so I'm more than a bit biased about it! I always rejoice in walking on the moor tops with the whole space to myself, whatever the weather. It's full of good memories; the walks that I shared with my father and dogs and then returning on holidays with my children as they were growing up.

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  6. I love how the Yorkshire comes out in your writing... just a tiny bit of it, enough to catch the attention of a western Canadian. Wonderful photos, but I love the cleaned-up snowdrop field the best (just for today, another day I might love something else the best).
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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    1. Hello Kay, and thank you for visiting my blog. Your title makes me laugh. I think that my subtitle could well be an unfit guide to unadventurous travel. I require little more than a warm sea and sunshine when we take our annual holiday!

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  7. Wonderful photos and familiar ones too. Like us here in Illinois we have the green under the white, and the wet underneath all of that. Spent one good day in the gardens too weeks ago and perhaps this next week will warm enough to do more. Summer this year will be so welcome won't it?

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    1. Oh, yes, Donna, I'm champing at the bit to be out planting in the veg garden. Let's hope we will be compensated for such a long spell of miserable cold and wet by having a truly glorious summer.

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  8. Such beautiful photographs. We had a dusting of snow yesterday. The Easter biscuits looks so pretty!

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    1. Betty's food is always very attractively presented. I did once get the present of a hamper filled with goodies - it was such a treat!

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  9. Your photos are so pretty...I love the scenery...even the snowy scenery! I just love the sound of running natural water ways...they are so soothing, what a treat that you can hear the beck! The Easter biscuits and that pie...oooh yum!!! :)

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    1. In the summer months we open the sitting room windows to enjoy the sound of the beck. This Easter we could hear the water roaring with the windows firmly closed!
      Yorkshire curd tart is delicious. I can't buy curds down here in the south west of England and make it instead with cottage cheese. In Yorkshire it can be bought in the shops but I usually got mine, known as, 'beastings' from my friend when her cows had calved.

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    2. The tart sounds delicious. I tried making cheese curds a few times and they worked pretty well, I think cottage cheese is a good alternative!

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  10. Thank you, Lady Fi, but now I'm more than ready for some warmth and sunshine.

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