Caroline & Garry

Oct 10, 20217 min read

Autumn and Northwards

Hello

Well Autumn is here, although today, as usual in Britain, the weather has decided to do its own thing regardless of the time of year and it is currently 21 degrees. I have had to dig out some of my summer clothes, having carefully put them away for winter last week, because I was too hot in my winter woollies.

Having said that I know Autumn has arrived because the evenings are drawing in and chilly and when I wake in the morning anything not under the covers is definitely feeling cold! From now on it will be a battle of wills and the big question; When does the heating go on? Is it a very British thing that we feel very noble when we proudly announce to friends that we ‘haven’t put the heating on yet’? And it becomes a bit of a competition, who will give in first?

With the news headlines screaming about the huge hike in energy prices and anyone not on a fixed rate finding themselves paying possibly hundreds of pounds a year more, the question of when you put on your heating this year, holds even more poignancy. I worked and volunteered with Citizens Advice before I retired and it became very apparent that those who could least afford to heat and light their homes were the ones being charged more and that would still appear to be the case. It’s a shocking state of affairs.

I digress, so back to my blog:-

Getting out of bed this morning was a bit of a battle. The cold affects my joints these days and as I lay under the warm covers this is how it panned out:-

Oooh this is lovely and warm. Cup of tea would be nice. I look over at a sleeping Garry. If I move around bit Garry might wake up and make a cuppa, then I don’t have to get up in the cold. (Bit of leg shuffling). Gordon Bennett my ankles are stiff and now I’ve a cold draft round my feet. I’ll try coughing. Crikey, my neck hurts I need to move my head around. More cold draft, this time round my shoulders. So I pull the covers up to my chin and before long I’m toasty but I am still actually quite thirsty. Bit more coughing should do it. (Garry - unmoved). Then my elbows began to ache! But at least my feet are warm. Meanwhile Garry is still in the land of nod, lucky for some! Still, I am thinking, at least its lovely and warm and while I’m warm my joints don’t ache. So I inevitably start to doze. Then just as I am reaching the point of dropping off I am wide awake again. Why? because I am a woman, of a certain age and my bladder has sprung into life. Shame Garry hasn’t!

Guess it’s my turn to make the tea then!

Welcome to my retirement!

………..

Now for my travel blog.

We have recently returned from a touring holiday in the North of England. We had planned to go to our beloved Cornwall for September but with Covid cases still very high down there and it being so busy we decided to go North. Finding sites with any vacancies at a late stage however proved to be more difficult than we thought and we had to book places we perhaps wouldn’t have normally booked. As it turned out this didn’t matter at all because we had a really good time.

So we started, after a very direct route up North via the A1, at Bolton Abbey, where we managed to get two nights only. This did give us a day to cycle into Wharfedale and explore some of its quaint villages, like the wonderful sounding Appletreewick, riverside locations, and awe inspiring views. As well as some pretty amazing chocolate brownies at the Brownie Barn, before we moved on continuing through ‘Gods own Country’, (Yorkshire to any of us non-Yorkshireman), North.

I had planned our route via the Ribblehead Viaduct, having seen so many photographs and thinking how spectacular it looked I thought we should go. What an atmospheric feat of engineering. Towering above us as we walked beneath it, it crosses the barren landscape of the wonderful sounding Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley. It took over 2000 men to build this edifice, living in makeshift shanty towns, in this desolate place. Well worth a detour and some time spent.

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We continued our trip Northwards alongside Widdale Beck to Hawes, through Mallerstang Common (sounds like the title of a Bronte Novel to me) past the very romantic Pendragon Castle situated outside Kirby Stephen. Then at Brough we turned right and drove the last few miles into Barnard Castle. For our next few nights stopover.

Here’s a funny story.

As we followed the directions to the campsite we turned off the busy main road along a lovely twisty lane out into the countryside. This was looking really good for a last minute site booking we both agreed. At the entrance to the site we were greeted by a cheerful and bright array of colourful planters, a modern reception building, and what looked like a spacious and well kept site. With the smiling faces of the wardens, as we approached in the van, we thought we had hit the jackpot. It was when we opened the van door the problems started. The stench was and I exaggerate not, enough to knock over an elephant. If we had had one to hand. My automatic response was to stop breathing which obviously I couldn’t keep up for four days so I tried breathing normally but with every breath I could feel my lungs protesting violently. Thinking I was perhaps going a little mad I looked over at Garry and realised he was also struggling and with him being asthmatic I was a little concerned.

What they hadn’t mentioned on their website we realised, was that the site was located next to a pig farm.

Still we agreed maybe our pitch would be away from the smell and all would be well. Unfortunately that was not to be and typically for us our pitch was right next door to the offending farm. Don’t get me wrong I love pigs but I wouldn’t chose to live with them. We parked up, opened the doors and the stink roared in. Within minutes Garry was reaching for his inhaler and my eyes were watering. Still not unpacked and with the obligatory arrival cuppa nowhere in sight we sat rather shocked by this turn of events. (I’ve noticed as we have got just that little bit older we don’t cope quite so well with sudden changes of plan). We had sprung into inaction almost immediately, interspersed with Garry taking his inhaler. After what seemed too long a time I regained my senses and between the shallowest breaths I could get away with I reached for the iPad to search for somewhere else to stay. Whilst keeping a watchful eye on Garry who was looking quite pale at this point.

Bearing in mind the problems we’d had booking this break in the first place I wasn’t feeling confident we would find anywhere. Luck was on our side however and a campsite not too far away had one night free. Great!

So we turned the van around explained to the warden our problem and that we would have to leave. Understatement of the year when she replied “ Yes, it is rather overpowering today isn’t it”. However they were very kind and understanding and gave us a full refund. Thank you

So down the road we went and as it turned out, to a good campsite and another wonderful warden who, when Garry explained we had hoped to be in Barnard Castle for three nights said she would keep an eye on the bookings. Then later that evening she rang us and said there had been a cancellation and would we like the pitch for the three nights? Thank you to another kind lady.

This event does bring to mind ‘The Great Stink’ of London during July and August of 1858 when the heat exacerbated the already awful smell of the Thames as it wound it way to the sea. Human excrement, industrial waste and anything else discarded by the populace was and had been dumped in the water for years and as the heat began to ferment the mix, parliament was even to consider moving out of it's brand new and very expensive home at Westminster, such was the stench. In the end it did result in government swiftly acting and engaging Bazalgettes’ sewerage system, which is still in use today. Result!

Back to Barnard Castle and our Northern Odyssey. I am pleased to say Garry recovered after 24 hours and we spent 2 days exploring Bernard Castle. Visiting the Bowes Museum, the Castle and exploring the town.

The Bowes Museum is a wonderful example of a purpose built museum. The creation of John Bowes an English aristocrat, born out of wedlock - not a good thing at the time and his French born wife, actress and artist - Josephine Benoite Coffin-Chevallier ( I love that name). It became a Labour of love for them both. Sadly neither of them lived to see it completed.

It is filled with their own collections of works of art, furniture, fashion and textiles, ceramics, glass and this year a wonderful display of North Country Quilts. We spent an interesting few hours exploring and enjoyed a tasty breakfast and locally roasted coffee in the cafe.

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We chose the only wet day of the holiday to visit Barnard Castle, Castle (if you get my drift). Anyone who has read any previous blogs knows how much I enjoy a good castle. Built in the 11th Century, (the site had been important since Roman Times - its those Romans again), on a plateau above the River Tees it has full command of the river crossing of this vital roadway and as you approach the town from the west you really cannot miss its impressive presence.

We explored the town a little to and discovered some lovely local shops and eateries. It is a very busy market town with a main route running through it, but the hustle and bustle was all part of its charm.