From "eh?" to 'aye!': A Holiday Down South

I feel somewhat like a turncoat for saying this, but I absolutely, positively fell in love with England. While my parents were visiting the four of us piled into a car, braved the narrow, twisting roads, managed to stay on the correct side, and wound our way down South.

We were going to see my mum's family in Keighley, West Yorkshire who my mum has visited in England and I have seen on their visits to Canada, but this was to be a first for me.

I think that I fell in love with England for the simple reason that I got to spend so much concentrated time in a car staring at the countryside. We took different routes there and back and while in Yorkshire drove all over to different villages.

On the way there we took the big carriageway, as it would be easier to get used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road there. Twice we stopped at a Road Chef and I will forever remember it as the first place I saw wild heather in bloom. This was both exciting and slightly sad as I did not first see it in Scotland. But Yorkshire was full of heather, most of it still black and dead not ready to bloom again until August. Road Chefs are kind of like any big eating complex off of a 400-series highway back home, except that they come with patios and stunning views, and in both our cases, ponds. We walked out the back to rolling hills and water birds and I just couldn't get over the juxtaposition of the beauty of the scenery and the fast food inside.

Scenery behind the Road Chef.

Heather in Bloom!

We made it to Keighley on the 28th of April, later than planned, but that was only because we were having such a good time stopping off along the road. :) Upon arrival, Barbara took us on a walk along a nature trail where we got great views of the town and got to make some furry friends.

I eventually got near the cow, but wasn't brave enough to let it lick me!

For once I am the tallest!

On the 29th our day was dedicated to watching the Royal wedding, visiting family and eating a lot of delicious food. I contentedly watched all the guests arriving at the abbey, admiring dresses and exclaiming over hats (I wish people still wore hats to church on Sundays so that I would have an excuse to buy one... maybe I'll just have to get myself invited to a Scottish wedding). Near the end of the entrance of all the guests one of the announcers got a little too excited and exclaimed, "This has been a fan-bloomin'- tastic day for British fashion!" So we adopted that as our catch phrase for the day. :) Everything from Kate's dress to the exquisite evening meal Barbara prepared for us got called "fan-bloomin-tastic".

Mom and I having fun watching the Royal Wedding.

Look at the great view we had! It was like we were there. :)

Day 2 in England consisted of visiting the picturesque village of Grassington where we wandered all around the cobbled streets and poked our noses into any interesting shops. We lunched at the Devonshire Hotel and then were off to Skipton to see the castle. The castle is impressive because, although empty, it is intact! :) That was Matthew's favourite part of the trip.

The Devonshire Hotel where we ate lunch.

Grassington. Note the bunting that was up everywhere because of the Royal Wedding.

This is Rose Cottage, for all you fellow Road to Avonlea fans.

Giant doors!

Matthew and Skipton Castle.

Skipton Castle: this portion is closed off to the public because it is still a private residence!

Matthew and I with the giant yew tree in the courtyard of Skipton Castle.

Yew tree in the courtyard of Skipton Castle.

My favourite part of the trip came the next day when we went to Haworth on the steam train. The main attraction there was the parsonage where the Bronte sisters lived and wrote while their father was the parson. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the inside of the parsonage because photography is not permitted. I did, however get one shot of Matthew dressed up in the modern exhibit.

Waiting for the steam train.

The steam train!

The graveyard outside Haworth parsonage was singularly peculiar because it was full of these full-size gravestones laid directly on the ground.

Matthew gears up.

The Bronte Parsonage.

The Haworth parish church where Mr. Bronte ministered.

The next day we headed home, but this time took the scenic route and stopped off several times. The feather in our cap was hunting down Hadrian's Wall. It was like a dream come true to pull off the tiny road and clamber into a farmer's field where the wall just...is. Lying there with sheep one field over with no fuss made about it whatsoever other than a sign. We climbed up on it and ran along it and just generally had a blast walking all over history. Other highlights of the drive back north were all the frolicking lambs and the yellow fields of rapeseed (canola) in full bloom. In some ways, going to England was like having all the childhood nursery rhymes you'd ever heard all come true all at once. This made the whole trip somewhat magical and I hope to return someday for a bit more magic.