Skipton Holiday Cottage

Today after a leisurely Sunday breakfast we wrapped up warmly and took a stroll along the familiar canal towpath from the the bridge by "Bizzie Lizzies" Fish and Chip restaurant, in the direction of Gargrave. It was a crisp, cold, and sunny morning which would have been ideal for walking except that after leaving the immediate wharf area, beyond the swingbridge, the towpath became quite muddy and slippery. It was hard work to walk along and when I attempted a normal walking speed I fell over! There was a small white van of Italian design on the towpath. It had an open rear door and inside there was sophisticated-looking stainless steel equipment, from which a man and a woman were making coffees and hot chocolates for sale to passers-by. We bought some drinks on the return trip which we drank whilst we watched a party of young people who'd hired a narrowboat negotiating their first swingbridge.

Labels: canal coffee

Yesterday we visited Richmond, a market-town on the north-eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The car journey via Kettlewell and Leyburn takes about 1hr 20 mins and provides breath-taking views on the ascents and descents in both outward and return directions.

Richmond is an historic centre relatively untouched by the industrial revolution.There are many survivals from the Georgian period including the recently restored theatre. The castle dominates the riverward side of the town. Steep slopes from market-square to the river mean that this is not a trip for those challenged by gradients unless content to remain around the market area, with its charming cobbled streets and unmodernised shop frontages.

Strangely for a market-town there is a dearth of coffee shops or cafes. We managed to squeeze on to a table for two by a window in the crowded Finkle Gate Tearooms, and enjoyed a huge pot of tea (with extra water), and well-presented jacket potatoes. We'd rejected an equally crowded cafe at the back of the Edinburgh Woollen Shop because it seemed pointless to us to visit an attractive town only to eat in a place with no windows to look out on it.

Labels: Richmond