Our Family Holiday 2017

I hope you've had a lovely week so far, I feel as if I have finally got back into the swing of things with personal life and my blog work. I can't believe it's taken me nearly a month to get back to normal! So, with this in mind I thought that it would be the perfect time to tell you all about our family holiday. Our family hasn't had the best of time and our holiday was something that we were looking forward to other than the little lady turning three of course. Last year, we didn't manage to get away so this year it was something that both my husband and I were going to make sure we did. Being an English Rose, also known as a person who can't be in the sun for too long before coming out in a rash or burn to a full on lobster red - going abroad wasn't an option. We decided to invite my parents and explore up north. Ever since I can remember my family have always taken holidays in the North Yorkshire Dales, honestly there is so much to do and so much to see. It was hard trying to cram all our adventures into one week, but we somehow managed to create some amazing memories and so today I wanted to share them with you.


But before we could explore the adventure we had to make the long five hour drive up North, with a three year old. But surprisingly, she did fantastic with only one stop for lunch. We did make sure that we were prepared for our journey and we made it to the cottage before dark so we had plenty of time to explore. We then made some dinner, had a lovely hot bath before trying to get an early night before setting off to explore in the morning. The little lady did get up during the night saying she was 'scared'. Not that seeing Nanny and Grandad going past her room had anything to do with those get ups!!! The next morning we were all feeling more refreshed and couldn't wait to go and seek some adventures and our first stop was Richmond to throw stones for a few hours, throwing stones was something that she became obsessed with on the holiday!


After a trip into Richmond town to get ourselves a kettle for a much needed cup of tea too go along with our sweet treats, we then went out for a drive and ended up at Buttertubs Pass. Traditionally a place where farmers from surrounding dales kept their unsold butter in the shaded and water cooled clefts. Let's just say it's a long way down! The weather was less than appealing as we went over so we had to be careful. But lots of fun nonetheless. It was getting late so, we made our way back to the cottage for a cosy night.

Up bright and early the next morning, thanks to a certain little lady! We made plans to go and visit Bolton Abbey where we enjoyed a fun filled day that was perfect for the whole family. At Bolton Abbey we got the chance to see Priory Church and Ruins, The Stepping Stones and The Strid. It's a real shame we couldn't stay for long because there was so much more to see. A quick stop off at a little tea shop called Tea on The Green before making our way back to the car and our trip back to the cottage. 




The next day's adventure was more of a 'see what we could do' kind of day. We love to just venture out into the car, with no destination in mind just getting the little one to say left or right! Our venture landed us at Ribblehead Viaduct, which is a large 19th Century British rail bridge crossing Ribble Valley. It was a great view for photos of the little lady!!! We somehow managed to make our way to The World of Beatrix Potter, but that's for another blog post. 



After a couple of hours discovering the wonderful world of Beatrix Potter we then walk over the road to Lake Windermere, wow, now this is a beautiful place. It's a shame we couldn't hire a boat, there was a three hour wait and we wanted to get on and explore. We ended up driving a little way to Conniston Waters, I cannot tell you how peaceful this place was. I honestly could have stayed there all day but we all thoroughly enjoyed throwing stones into the water to try and soak Daddy. We then started to make our way home but then we saw a couple of places on the map called Hardknott Pass, and then Wrynose Pass which are single track roads right through the middle of the Lake District, and they are very steep and twisting, but it was great fun. The roads were very steep and winding, with a gradient of 1 in 3 which is around 33%, it was so much fun...Until we broke down on the top!!!!




Whilst broken down on the top of Hardknotts Pass we did meet a couple of people who were only more than happy to call AA once they were at the bottom, we even met a chap who only gone and lost his keys to his motorbike whilst out on a walk! Thankfully, my dad saved the day and managed to see them right on the edge of a sheer drop. We waited for a couple of hours and thought that it was getting dark and wondered if AA were even going to make it up the long and bendy roads. So again, my dad and husband somehow managed to fix the problem, long enough so we could get ourselves to a garage. We were so grateful to have finally made it home around 11pm! A cup of tea and some toast before crashing out on the sofa. The next morning we made a couple of calls to some local garages and one kindly offered to help us. While they were trying to fix our poorly car we walked around The Ropermakers in Hawes and spend a good hour or so on the most amazing park. Even I had a go on a swing, mainly because I could get my bum in this one! Haha! The garage phoned, they had somehow managed to fix our car so we could keep exploring, which took us to The Druid's Temple in Ripon. Styled after stone circles and well known prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge. The Druids Temple was built to alleviate local unemployment, allowing William Danby, a wealthy landowner of the time to pay workers a shilling a day for their labour. At less than 200 years old, it is nonetheless an atmospheric and intriguing location. Despite its origin being common knowledge, myths and rumours of mystic practices have sprung up over its lifetime with tales of Devil worship and harrowing frights experienced by those who have spent the night. For most now though The Druids Temple is a tranquil spot to take a picnic and enjoy a gentle stroll.



We were now closing into the end of our holiday and only had a few adventures to cram into a couple of day. We were all a little sad, but nonetheless we wanted to try and explore some more. A beautiful place called West Burton. A short walk from the West Burton's pretty village green brings you to this shady spot with its small waterfall and the remains of the town mill. It is known as Cauldron Falls because of the beautiful plunge pool, and was one of the spots painted by Turner on his travels in the Dales.


Our next stop was Wain Wath Force, where our daughter touched the waterfall and then quickly chased some sheep, as you do. Even though it was raining and miserable it was beautiful. A couple more photo opportunities later we then made our way to Kiston and Keld Waterfalls. Throughout the years we've been coming the the Yorkshire Dales and this is one place that we would always stay, it was my brother's favourite place. At Keld, there are so many opportunities to walk, to explore and even have the cutest little tea room. It's a must visit place, if you're ever in the area. 






The Tan Hill Inn is the highest inn in the British Isles at 1,732 feet (528 m) above sea level. The building dates to the 17th century and during the 18th century was used as a hostelry by workers digging coal pits. But we were more excited about the sheep, obviously the little one wanted a cuddle.   


This is a day that we were all dreading, not because we were going home, but because we had one place to visit that was very special to my family. Both my grandparents adored Carperby a beautiful place where you are surrounded my waters, walks and lots of farm animals. Without fail at least two weeks over the summer holidays my brother, sister and I would spend a lot of time camping with my Grandparents. It a very special place to us and the final resting place for both my Grandparents. So I knew it would be a little hard. As we walked around our daughter spotted some sheep where she tried to chase them, she became obsessed with trying to hug one. She was unsuccessful if you were wondering. 



Our last stop at Carperby was 'The Bridge'. It has a special meaning to all of my family and goes back 45 years worth of memories, so you can only imagine the emotions we were all feeling as we walked across. For me, it was being with my brother and sister throwing sticks and dock leaves into the water to have races. It does make me feel a little sad about those times with loved ones and now I have to look at creating special memories with my own family and perhaps visit this place more, so my daughter can explore the outdoors, just like I did. 



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