Wetherby


The other day we visited Wetherby, a market town in West Yorkshire. We found a lovely little autumn walk after looking round the town that went along by the river into some woodland and passed by a golf course where you were warned to watch out for stray golf balls. Wetherby Bridge, pictured below, is a grade II listed structure crossing over the River Wharfe.

In 1824, the entire town of Wetherby (except for one house) was sold to finance Chatsworth House.

Share:

Hardwick Park


Hardwick Park is a country park in County Durham, near Stockton-on Tees. The park gates are open from half 7 until 7 at night through to the end of October. The car park is £3 all day, or you can pay £2 for two hours which is probably long enough to explore the whole park.


We visited in autumn, and all the trees had started to turn. I love the colours of autumn, so it was nice to walk through the woodland at this time of year. The lake is home to waterhens and geese, and we also saw a couple of swans swimming about.

There are several grade II listed old buildings dotted about the 18th-century park. Four of the gothic ruins were restored in the early 2000s – the Temple of Minerva, Gothic Ruin, Gothic Seat and the Bono Retiro.


Share:

Afternoon Tea at The Grand, York


The other week we went to the Grand Hotel in York for afternoon tea. The Grand is a five-star hotel just a short walk from York train station. I wasn’t really dressed for walking about the cobbled streets but we were early, so decided to walk along the castle wall. The wall gives you a brilliant view of the city and led us to Clifford’s tower. The tower is the keep of York Castle and was built way back in the year 1068.


Share:

Afternoon Tea at Edinburgh Castle


At the beginning of September, I was lucky enough to be treated to afternoon tea in Edinburgh, at the castle, to be exact. After a three-hour train journey (which takes you along a scenic coastal route), we arrived in Edinburgh and headed up a really steep hill and made our way to the Camera Obscura. I’ve been once before when I was younger, but I couldn’t remember a lot of what was there. I mainly remember being scared sat in a dark room when you go to watch the camera!

There are so many different exhibits, and I won’t spoil it for you, but my favourite one was the mirror maze, even though it did get a bit scary trying to find our way out. The Camera Obscura was founded in 1835, and the main feature allows you to see a real-time image of the city below.


Our next stop was Edinburgh Castle. The castle sits on Castle Rock and is a historic fortress dating back to the 12th century. The portcullis gate is at the entrance to the castle, and just inside the gate is where the One O’clock Gun is located. The gun goes off at one o’clock almost every day.


The afternoon tea was lovely – the usual selection of sandwiches, two scones each and various cakes, my favourite being the strawberry tart. Oh, and a pot of tea, of course.



There is so much to explore inside the castle grounds, including Mons Meg, a 15th-century siege gun, the Great Hall, and the National War Museum of Scotland if history is your thing.


Share:
© SkyBlueSophie | All rights reserved.
Blog Layout Created by pipdig