This blog post is a day late, sorry about that! The campsite we stayed on didn't have agreat phone signal!!
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| Byland Abbey |
Today was a bit of a crazy day to be honest. Teapot needed an emergency trip to the dentist in the morning so we couldn't leave when planned at around 10/1030 but thought its ok we'll leave around midday and miss the early traffic, good plan. Except I get all the way to Duxford (about 40 minutes) and think 'did I pack HARVe's batteries?' back home, only to find yes, I did indeed pack them!
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| Byland Abbey |
The drive from my house to Yorkshire was both uneventful and dreadfully boring... M11/A14 all the way... very very boring.
We did, however, decide that yes we could have a little stop in Ampleforth and say hello to our Aunt and our Grandad, and caught them just as they were on the way out. My Aunt has a Corgi mix dog and my Grandad has some odd mix that's Corgi/Chihuahua/Goodness knows what so Prince and Princess had a great time hanging out with them for an hour or so!
On the way to Ampleforth there are two options, there's Sutton Bank which is an enormous hill that lorries aren't allowed up (but with one of the most beautiful views in England; see picture!) or there is the 'Caravan Route' which goes past the ruins of Byland Abbey.
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| View from Sutton Bank taken a while ago on my phone |
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| Love a bit of decay!! |
I chose the Caravan Route because I wasn't sure how my car would car dragging the trailer up Sutton Bank (and didn't really want to be towed home on the first day) but also because my great-Grandmother used to like in Old Byland and my dad remembers playing in the ruins of Byland Abbey as a child (before English Heretics took it over and charge you a fortune to go in...).
Byland Abbey ruins are beautiful and well worth a look if you've got time or arrive there before they lock the gate! The ruins really do show what a magnificent building it must have been!
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| Almost at Ampleforth! |
Back on the journey from North Yorkshire to Northumberland, another two hours to Bellingham where the campsite was. Bit scary as it got dark and we were followed through the back roads of Northumberland National Park by a taxi driver flashing his lights wanting me to pull over. I'm not a violent person but neither am I stupid... I will not be pulling over for a random taxi in the middle of moorland! Nothing was wrong though (think he was just being an arse) and after about an hour of searching we finally found the campsite, ready for a whole night of torrential rain!!
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| Dinnertime for my little prince <3 |
Live photo album:
https://goo.gl/photos/Gos9KaSACAwi4n7b7
Things I have learnt from this trip:
1. Robert Burns was right; “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”
2. Even clean wet dog smells just like wet dog
3. A wool and linen cloak is an incredibly versatile piece of clothing and I've no idea why it went out of fashion from the 15th Century onwards?!
