Settle

I don't know Yorkshire well, and wasn't quite sure what I was expecting of Settle - a depressed mill town or the sort of place that only comes alive on livestock market day, maybe? - but I was pleasantly surprised. 

It had quirky shops and tearooms in the centre of town, and quaint, narrow streets leading away from it.

We'd walked there from Langcliffe along a route called the Highway, which proved to be a great traffic-free, relatively level, tarmac-ed path with great views over the countryside with Settle nestled in the valley.

This route approaches via the higher part of Settle, so the streets this way are downhill.

Our first stop was the curiously named Car and Kitchen which has interesting gifts and an upstairs cafe with excellent cake.

I'd expected to see hikers in town but was surprised to discover that it seems to be quite a hub for cyclists. We saw several in and around town, and this sign outside a cycling shop proves its popularity

Knowing I'd got to walk home again restricted my wanderings round town itself but I spotted many interesting places which I'd love to visit.

Another interestingly named cafe - Ye Olde Naked Man - provided fuel for the journey home.

Then it was time to head back up the hill and along the Highway to Langcliffe.

The Highway near Settle

 

Langcliffe

For our few days in Yorkshire we stayed in the small village of Langcliffe, just a mile or so from Settle, in an AirBnB in the former primary school with views over the village green.

In early autumn with leaves starting to change colour it was so pretty.

It's not a large place so it didn't take long to walk around the narrow lanes, past an institute set up to educate men and boys, a chapel, and to the church which had some lovely stained glass windows. Although quiet now, it seems to have been a busier thriving place in the past.

 

A few days in Yorkshire and Manchester

October started with another short break - a few days in Yorkshire with my daughter then back to her Manchester home for a night of Indian music at the Royal Northern College of Music and a visit to RHS Bridgewater the next day before heading home.

 As seems to be becoming the norm, the weather on the journey north was atrocious - heavy rain and standing water with the addition of diversions and roadworks. I was glad to eventually arrive!

Fortunately things improved. Despite being an AirBnB the holiday vibe shared much with my favourite glamping stays - local walks during the day, board games and chatting in the evening. We walked round Langcliffe village where we were staying, calling into a charity book sale at the church, walked the mile or so to Settle and checked out interesting shops, a couple of  cafes and the narrow lanes away from the main road, and visited the waterfalls at Stainforth.

I walked further than I would have done without my daughter's encouragement (and was extraordinarily tired afterwards) but it was worth the effort.

Back south again to Manchester, we were off to the Royal Northern College of Music with my daughter, her boyfriend, and his parents for a recital of sitar music from Jasdeep Singh Degun, a Leeds-based musician and composer. I've heard sitar music before and thought I knew what to expect but this was a hundred times better!

The next day was time to head home but with the weather being gorgeously sunny we decided to visit RHS Bridgewater on the way.  An excellent way to end the holiday.
 

Glamping again - Lichen Cabin, Tintern

Last year I took the plunge, tried glamping for the first time in a cabin next to the river Nene - and loved it. So much so that when Canopy and Stars had a special Christmas promotion, buy a £200 gift voucher and get £50 one free, we treated ourselves, so this year we'll have TWO glamping trips.

This was the first - Lichen Cabin near Tintern in the Wye Valley. A lovely spot to take things easy for a few days. I'd hoped to catch the orchard in full blossom and the woods full of bluebells but I was a few weeks too late for their full glory. This didn't detract from our wonderful stay though. We hadn't intended doing much, and did even less.

The location was secluded without feeling cut-off from people, the cabin equipped with everything we needed - a squashy sofa, a comfy bed, a small but well-equipped kitchen, a properly plumbed bathroom. All in all, a lovely place to relax, and listen to birdsong and trees swaying in the breeze. The lichen on the apple trees attests to how clean the air is here. 

Up the Wye Valley Path

We spotted a green woodpecker in the orchard (first time for me) and animal tracks in the woods (probably roe deer but possible wild boar)

We called in at the cabin owner's sculpture gardensculpture garden where preparations were underway for a summer exhibition, stopped at the  Brewery a little further on, walked down the hillside to Tintern Old Station, now an information centre and tea room, along the banks of the Wye upstream to Brockweir one day and down to Tintern Parva and the vineyard there another, and up the hill following the Wye Valley Way for a short distance. 

Tintern Abbey

The only time we moved the car was to go into Tintern itself, a mile or so away, one evening after a walk along an old sunken road ended in slipperiness and flooding.

Flower-filled lanes

Brockweir

This, I think, is the future of my holidays. Off grid but with all the important facilities. Peace and quiet. Just me and the wildlife. I'm looking forward to my next Canopy and Stars holiday.