Diesels in the Dales

May 28, 2018 in Days out with James

So today say another stunning bank holiday Monday. Two beautiful bank holidays in one month, what is going on with the weather? I have recently moved jobs and for the first time in about six years I get bank holidays off and what a couple of bank holidays they have been. The weekend started off as a normal Saturday, Gymbobs and swimming. Sunday was different as the little man went to see Nana and Grandad whilst I went and did the Yorkshire Three Peaks. Eight and a half hours later it was done, not a bad time. Lyns has been on nights so she slept Saturday and Sunday. This left us with Monday to go out and do something.

I asked James what he would like to do and he said go on a train. If you are familiar with York, you will know that the North York Moors Railway is the place to go for steam trains. I looked on their website and unfortunately their morning train to Whitby was sold out. Not wanting to risk it and arrive without being guaranteed a seat I had to find another railway for the little man.

A quick google later and I had found the Wendsleydale Railway. Now, this is a different kettle of fish to the NYMR and I imagine they are tired of being compared. They only run diesel engines, apart from the odd occasion, running from Leeming Bar to Redmire. That being said, the reviews on trip advisor looked good so 10 o'clock saw us standing on the platform, tickets in hand.

It was very quiet on the first train of the day, maybe twenty people or so. It was a very pleasant train ride and once you got into the dales the views were spectacular. If you were to compare it to the NYMR then you would say it was no where near as polished, the stations were not as nice and the carriages needed a little more tlc. That being said, all the staff were very pleasant and the trip was very enjoyable.

Lynsey wishing I would not take photos when she is post nightshift, when I say wishing, I mean threatening violence

Lyns finally having a go with the camera and me really needing a shave, I wish I could grow that much hair elsewhere on my head

The trip through to Redmire takes about an hour. When you get there, you have the option to stay and get a later train home, or to take the train back. The return ticket allows you to ride the train for as long as you like on any given day. There are a lot of nice walks to do from Redmire, including to Castle Bolton. Neither Lyns or I felt like a walk today and we had not brought the buggy so it was back on the train, for the fifteen minute ride into Leyburn.

The excitement was all too much for them

Any excuse for a cuddle, when I drool on Lyns, all I get is grief

After the short trip / nap back to Leyburn, we jumped off the train, or staggered as was my case, as my legs are like jelly today. Nana and Grandad lived in Leyburn for a few years after following me up to Yorkshire once they realised I was not going to return after uni, so we know the town reasonably well.

As it was almost lunchtime and James was getting hungry we had to find somewhere for lunch. We had a look in a few places in the town square and settled on the Posthorn. The food was very nice and the service very quick, especially as we had been told in several other places the wait would be around an hour. If I had to say something negative about the food it would be that they had used cold beef with warm gravy in my hot beef sandwich, however nothing worth complaining about. Lyns had a tuna sandwich and James had sausage and chips. All in all very nice, with three meals and three drinks coming to £25 which I did not think was too bad.

After we had had lunch we took a stroll to the Inspired Chocolate Factory as well as the Teapottery. The chocolate factory is a chocolate lovers dream with every possible flavour and combination of flavours that you could ask for. There is a cafe there and they run chocolate workshops. The chocolate is more expensive that your usually chocolate, £3.50 for a 100g bar, but that is what you would expect for its artisan nature and it is very nice. James had a lolly and Lyns and I had a bar of the milk chocolate with fudge inclusions to share. After this, it was round the corner to the ceramics place. I have never seen tea pots like it, there was every possible shape, size and design. I am not going to try and describe them as I will not do them justice, but have a look on their website, truly amazing.

After this it was back to the train for the 45 minute trip back to Leeming Bar.

Our trusty steed arriving into Leyburn station

The journey home was done in brilliant sunshine, the trip out having been done in mist, and James spent most of the time looking out of the window. Lyns on the other hand slept most of the way back, catching up from night shifts.

All in all it was a lovely day out, a very different experience to other heritage railways as this felt more like a normal train service but nonetheless it was enjoyable and we would definitely do it again.

They Soar Through the Air

May 08, 2018 in Days out with James

Another beautiful day that started off with a run. Still being sore from yesterday's long one, it was slow four miles this morn, but that did not matter as we were still at Nana and Grandads so it was lovely running through the countryside, rather than through the town.

Once home, there was time to grab a green smoothie, help Lyns get the little man up and off we went. Today we were heading to T he Falconry Centre near Thirsk. They have three flying displays a day and because it was a bank holiday there was lots to do in between displays. £7 for adults and threes and under were free so £14 for a full day of fun, bargain. Whilst the displays were not on, you were free to wander around and look at the birds.

One thing that I learnt during the day is that I am not a wildlife photographer, or if I was to be, I would need a lot of practise. I managed to get the sum total of no photos from the first display. Not that it mattered. There were birds jumping all over the show and mixing with the visitors. James really enjoyed it. After the display there was a chance for the 'children' to hold the birds.

All the 'children' crowded round to hold the owls.

After the excitement of holding the owl, it was time to grab lunch. James went for a play in the sand pit whilst I headed back to the car to grab the lunch. There were plenty of tables and chairs to use for lunch, no one minded at all if you brought your own which was nice, but only a few with umbrellas. Not that it mattered as by the time James had finished playing, a table was free.

"Don't like French Fries" he said before demolishing the pack.

After our picnic, it was back to see the next display. Here they had three of my favourite birds, a bald headed eagle, a golden eagle and a white tailed sea eagle. These magnificent birds were soon soaring over us. Luckily, I had a bit of a better hit rate in the flight session with my photos, probably helped that the birds were a little bigger.

One thing that shone through was the passion and knowledge that Kerry had for the birds, this was reflected in all the staff at the site. You could clearly see that they cared deeply for the birds and anything you asked them, they knew. Very impressive and fantastic to see.

By the end of this display, James was getting a bit restless, not because he was not enjoying it, rather because he wanted to play in the sand pit again. There was plenty of time between displays so off we went to build sand castles. When I say build sand castles, what I mean is that Lyns and I would build them and then see how long we could keep them standing as James did everything he could to destroy them. This caused much merriment as it then became a competition between Lyns and myself to see who could persuade James to destroy the other's castle.

By this point we were all getting a little hot. As if by magic there came a shout that there had been a fresh delivery of ice creams, what good timing! Off we headed for an ice cream and a cup of tea. Strange combination but it worked. A very relaxing half an hour spent slurping and licking and that was just Lyns and I. James managed to end up wearing a fair amount of his mini milk but thats part of being a toddler, nothing a baby wipe or two could not solve.

Before we knew it, it was time for the final display of the day. By this point, the heat had taken its toll and there were not many people left, not that it mattered as Kerry and the team gave as energetic a show as the first one, even though they had been working hard in the sun all day.

It flew in about a foot over our heads, such power

At the end of the final display they flew a huge vulture. After all the other birds behaving themselves throughout the day, Ringo decided that he preferred the cool of the shade on the other side of the valley. Actually it was because he did not like turning to fly with the wind as he gets too much speed up, but I like to think he stopped to chill out in the shade. At this point the show was over. The children play area was closed at this point as it was right in Ringo's flight path when he decided to return. Would it have been so bad for James to have played in the sand and run the risk of becoming Ringo's dinner... what's the worst that could happen. When I suggest this to Lyns, I was promptly told that this was not good parenting so we packed James up and headed off to where the children were holding another bird.

Another chance for the 'children' to hold a bird

To be fair to Lyns, where she had wanted to hold the barn owl, we almost persuaded James to hold this little chap. However, he decided at the last minute he did not want to. I am sure next time he would hold one.

We all had had a lovely day but again, too soon, it was time to head home. We headed back to Nana and Grandad's for dinner, they had spoilt us rotten this weekend, and for James to have one final play in the paddling pool. What a lovely way to finish off a very enjoyable bank holiday weekend.

A Day in the Sun

May 06, 2018 in Days out with James

Wow, what a day today was! The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with a nice gentle breeze. My day started at 5:30, up and out for a 14 mile run up and along Sutton Bank from Boltby. I am wanting to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks later this year so up and down the bank I went three times. Beautiful weather and stunning views.

When I got back to Nana and Grandads, they had been looking after James as Lyns was working nights, it was into the garden to sit down for a few minutes before heading to wash the grime of my run off. However, in those few minutes, we all decided that a BBQ was the order of the day. One trip to Easingwold later with Nana, we return with all the ingredients for home made burgers, mmm mmm mmm.

I cam back to find James and Grandad hard at play in the garden. The paddling pool was out and James was loving playing in it in the sun.

And of course, no day playing in the sun with the paddling pool out could go by without at least one water fight.

Now James being James loves to shoot everyone else however he tired very quickly of getting shot himself. This resulted in lots of choruses of 'stop it,' that was until he worked out that if he waited until the person he was shooting ran out of water he could run in, launch a lightening strike and be gone again, that was until he ran out of water himself!

I retired at this point to make the burgers, but sounds of shrieking from everyone floated into the kitchen. Sounded like they were all having a wonderful time.

Meanwhile, Grandad had fired up the BBQ and in no time at all we had a platter of sausages, burgers and steak! A lovely treat.

By the time we ate, 5:30 so not too late, James was looking like the walking dead. At one point Lyns and I were prodding him to keep him awake. It was not until Nana told him he had Jelly for dessert that he perked up and got his second wind.

After dinner, James was let loose with the hose to water the garden and apart from one unfortunate incident, Nana got drenched, he was very well behaved and did a wonderful job of watering the garden.

Having failed to keep Nana dry, Lyns took a more hands on controlling role.

A long but lovely day. Not sure how it could have been any better. Oh wait, James was a good boy at bed time, a shower, story and minimal fuss over teeth cleaning. Just as well really, as the way my legs are feeling, he could have run rings round me and I would have been powerless to do anything to stop him! Luckily he did not work it out so shush.... lets not tell him!

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