August Life Update; Visit To Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire.

Hi readers,

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I visited Bolton Abbey in The Yorkshire Dales near Skipton. It was just over an hour's drive from his home in Preston and the Abbey has been on our to do list for about a year now. I did visit a few years back and there might even be an old post on here about it! But my boyfriend hasn't been and I thought it was a day out we both would enjoy.

Set in wonderful countryside with the river wharfe weaving it's way around and boarding on one side Barden moors and further up the ancient Strid woodland is the ruins of an Augustinian Priory dating back to 1100's and the Priory Church. The whole area is so picturesque and fascinating to explore.

There are three car parks to pick from; one at the village and entrance to the abbey, one in the middle at the Cavendish Pavilion, where I chose to park and the third close to Strid woods. Each car park is close to cafes, toilets and shops etc. We when were arrived large groups of people had set up 'camp' for the day and it was really busy. We had lunch and then decided to go to the Valley of Desolation on the moors.

However, we didn't make it! We walked for 40 minutes along a path that was more of a track other people had made through dense woodland and brush. Along the way we meet people who had decided to turn back because the path was too narrow and steep in some places. Despite being determined to get there, we had to give up as it started to look dangerous.

We doubled back and went to visit the Abbey, firstly though we took a break in these giant beach chairs!

We had the option to cross the bridge, which we choice or to take a chance on the stepping stones - see next photo. The river was really low due to all the hot, dry weather England has been experiencing this summer. So, it probably was a good time to cross the stones but they were busy and later on we saw two children slip and fall off them. That made feel like it had been a good idea not to cross via the stepping stones!

The abbey ruins are huge and since a lot of the walls and window frames are still in place its easy to picture what this place would have looked like. There is also a surrounding graveyard but you can't walk around the headstones and have to stay on the pathways. 

Even though it's a little bit sad to see such a once grand place reduced down, lucky the church survived and is still in use today. Inside, gives ideas about how the rest of the priory would have looked. The stain glass windows are really something to behold and they are so tall! At the back of a church are a few tables were you can by religious items, guidebooks and other things to help support the church and remember the day. I brought two wooden crosses, three postcards and two bookmarks.  

The church is so quiet and peaceful. It was also a nice place to get away from the sun from! The weather forecast had said it was going to be cloudy with some patchy sun, but it was actually clear and hotter then that! I could have spent more time in the church but we had a 30 minute walk back to the car, so we had to leave. 

Expect from when we went onto the moor, we were either following the river or going against it.

There were a lot of people, swimming, paddling, catching fish and bugs, playing with their dogs or just chilling on the shore. The river actually seemed more of a draw then the abbey. I can understand all that and not just because of the nice summer weather but because the river is super pretty and the countryside it meanders through adds to the appeal.  

We did sit a few times and watched the river, the people and their dogs having fun. I was half tempted to go for a paddle myself but we hadn't brought a towel and I was driving. Maybe next time! 

Overall, we both had a great day out. I can see us coming back to Bolton Abbey again as it's a great place to walk and we only did some of it! Next time I'd like to see the woods and try to get to the valley.

Thanks for reading!

March Life Update: White Scar Cave.

Hi readers,

I've been meaning to write for the past few weeks and then just not getting around to it! I've like three books I want to review on here too, so I really need to start that. Plus, I'm still job hunting and getting no where, though I'm sure you are all tried of hearing about that! Today, I thought I'd share with you my trip to a cave that I took with my boyfriend. He's really into them but it's been awhile since either of us visited any!

White Scar Cave is in the Yorkshire Dales next to a village called Ingleton. It was just over an hour's drive from my boyfriend's house in the Preston area. I was the driver for the day as he's not had any motorway experience yet but it was mostly countryside roads anyway which I've had nearly any experience off, whilst he - because he actually lives in the countryside, is kinda use to it. I was little scared but I did okay! Even when the SatNav took us along this single track, farmer's road and I almost ran over a dog that was sat on top of a hill on a blind bend!

We made it fine to the caves and back again though! And I got some more driving experience though, I really could do with some more countryside driving now! Sounds like some more trips to Yorkshire might be in the planning for the months ahead then. 

White Scar Cave has guided tours every hour, so you can't access the caves by yourself. I don't think you'd want to anyway, not because it's easy to get lost - it's a one track trail, but because the ceiling is really low and the sections of the cave do flood. You follow a natural fast flowing small river though the caves which was how it was first discovered. Walking above the river, you first go down then up into a really large area. You have to wear a helmet at all times due to the low and pointy ceiling. Here's my boyfriend and I modeling these nice red ones!

The tour is an hour and 20 minutes with the walk a mile and bit. There are a few different chambers to enter and lots of things to see. They had labeled some of the most interesting stalagmites and stalactites as well as other features. Here's a photo of the information map.    

The first thing we saw in the cave was this really loud waterfall! I've always liked waterfalls and this one was really cool. 

The Witch's Fingers and the Judge's Head below were pretty interesting to look at. It's weird to think there's are naturally created over time. 

This was the second free flowing waterfall further inside the caves. There was only a small spot at the side to walk passed if you didn't want to get wet! All the other waterfalls were going down the sides of the cave and not over like this one and the first one. 

This feature is called the Devil's Tongue. Water was dripping off it and there was little choice but to try and walk under without getting wet! The guide said if you did get dripped on it was seven years bad luck! We just about avoided it, I think.

After almost crawling though a really low section and going up almost 100 steps we made it the Battlefield cavern. Here there were a lot of stalactites, an ice age rockfall and a prehistoric mud floor. 

Just past that was this huge and really tall area. There were changing lights along the walls which made it so pretty. The guide said that cave explores had been in this area looking for another way into the cave as there's only one so far and it would be good to have another. It's also one of the deepest points underground too. At Christmas time, they have a Santa sitting here who gives out presents to the kids. - Sounds a really strange way to see Santa to me!

This is one of the upper tunnels which has been explored. People say they can see the outline of a woman's face on the left side of the image. The guide said she was know as The Witch. Below her at the bottom is the shape of her cat. 

We had a great time exploring White Scar caves and there was a lot to wow over. Afterwards we visited the cafe and had lunch. Then we went to the shop which was packed full of cool things. I brought some postcards, crystal animals, a piece of amethyst and an eraser for my collection. My boyfriend surprised me with a cute wooden bat keyring he'd brought whilst I wasn't looking! I'd not even seen those key rings, so it made it even more of a surprise!

If you are in the are then these caves are with the visit!


Since I've not blogged in awhile, I wanted to share two more things today. Firstly, there's been a lot of snowy weather in England recently. It does snow here, but it's been awhile since it's been this bad! I've not been enjoying it that much due to ill health. But I do love that magic feel snow can create. This is a photo of my back gardening, showing how much snow we had over one night. 

Then these are awesome icicles hanging off the kitchen window. Been an age since I last saw anything like this! They were really big too. 

And this is my dog, Patch. It's taken her sometime to get use to the snow but now she loves running and playing in it. 

Best though, she loves coming home and getting all warm and snuggled in her jumper and bed! I totally agree with her there.

I'm glad it spring has finally arrived now and I was hoping we'd seen an end to the snow. But it looks like we might get some more over Easter now! so maybe winter isn't just finished yet.

On another note, I'm currently reading the Harry Potter books again! It's been ages since I last read them. Probably, when the last book came out 2007 but then I might have read the third on again a few years later - that's always been my favorite! From my memory though, I've only read the last three books once. The other 4 I've read at least 3 or 4 times. It'll also be interesting to read them one after the other too.

Last night, I finished the first and started the second! I'm not sure if I'll do a review of them yet. Perhaps, I'll do one of the all together when I'm done.   

Thanks for much reading. Here's hoping I can get those book reviews up soon!

Please check out my other blog; https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/ I'm taking part in the A-Z Challenge next week!

(Please note; all photos belong to me. Please don't use them.)

August Life Update: Flash back to July Part 1, Trentham Monkey Forest

Hi readers,

So, because I've been so busy and not writing this blog, I wanted to share with you my visit to Monkey Forest for my birthday. It was one of my boyfriend's colleagues who suggested we go and since it was close enough, I decided it would be a great thing to do as a day trip out for my birthday. Also, it seemed a great way to check out my new camera!

I love animals and could spend lots of time watching them. The best part about Monkey Forest is that the monkeys roam free and you are allowed to get close to them. Of course, you can't touch them and the keepers do scare them away if they get too close, but it's nice to be without bars and cages.

We went at a good time as there were baby monkeys which are so cute!

There are two groups of monkeys that live in the forest. They are the same species but come from different countries which is on the reasons the keepers think they don't mix. Every hour is feeding time which is great because you get to see the monkeys real close and learn more of their behavior. The two groups are fed at different hours, so if you missed the first one you can join in the second one. The talks the keepers give are the same, but they also allow time for questions.  

There's also a lot of birds and squirrels due to all the food about but the monkeys don't seem to made them. Feeding time is also really good for snapping photos because all the monkeys are interacting with each other or else they are sitting still eating.  

We walked around twice as it takes less then hour to do the walk and see a feeding. Though I guess it also depends how much time you spend looking at the monkeys. The walk itself is really nice as it's a quiet woodland area. Though there is a steep slope to go down. We had good weather too, so it was nice to go through again. This time we sat longer watching the monkeys eat and I had one that got real close behind me and made me a bit nervous. A keeper shooed it away though.

Monkey Forest is great for an afternoon or day out. They have a play area for kids, a cafe and shop, plus you can walk through the monkey area as many times as you want. Kids would really enjoy this and any adults who love monkeys would do too. They also have like special encounter sessions with the monkeys, which are more expensive but its just you and the keepers. You get to help feed the monkeys breakfast and have photos taken with them.    

Overall, I had a great afternoon out and loved spending it with my boyfriend and family. It was something a bit different and more special to do on my birthday. I'd love to go again sometime! 

http://monkey-forest.com/

All photos are copyright to me. Please don't use without permission. Thanks.

July Life Update 2: Leeds Trip!

Hi readers,

I decided to write about my trip to Leeds after all, only because I want to share these three places I found whilst I was there for two days. I'd planned everything out like I did for London and then I found out when I got to Kirkstall Abbey that everywhere was closed on Monday for cleaning ect. It's traditional for museums to be closed, but I don't think I knew that and also I never noticed that about places in Manchester.

Leeds is less then an hour away from me and I'm surprised that we've not been to these places before. They tick all the boxes for a family day out and fit in with what my parents liked taking us to during the summer holidays. Anyway, now I know where these places are I'll plan to visit them again and there's a steampunk fair at the Mill in October too!

I do actually like Leeds and there are lot are interesting places to go and visit. Last time I was there we visited The Thackeray Medical History Museum, where there was a steampunk fair and we also walked around a Christmas market, here's the post on that;
http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/leeds-steampunk-market-and.html
I've also been to the Leeds Armouries Museum, which is a great place to check out. I also like the city center because there's a good choice of shops and there's the massive indoor market which dates back to the 1800's.

I actually went into the center and the market on Monday afternoon and I had a good walk around. I brought some stuff from the market too. Mostly sweets and some craft stuff, but also these knitting patterns. I saw this fluffy purple hedgehog and I really wanted it, but then I saw this rainbow one and the dragons and I brought both. Mum was fine with me adding them to the knitting list and we even brought all the wool! I'll post up some photos when they've been made.  

So, the first place I want to was Kirkstall Abbey. It was twenty minutes on the bus from the hotel we were staying in and there were bus stops close by, so it was super easy to get too. The bus goes to the city center too, so I got a day saver ticket to travel back and forth. The Abbey set in a large park area, so even though it wasn't open, you can still walk around the outside and you can see just about everything from that. It was smaller then some of the other Abbeys I've been too, but I still felt inspired by the place. I got to walk around inside the ruins the next day and that was cool too. It's free as well and the visiting center and shop are okay. The park area is really nice to walk in too and it seemed popular with local young families. Here are some more photos;

Stuck for lunch, I got back on the bus and went to the retail park I had past on the way. I got some stuff then went back to the Abbey and had a small picnic. It was really nice and I sat under some trees and also read my book. Then I decided to go into Leeds city center and try to come back the next day to see if I could have a walk around inside.

It me it was worth coming back for, but I didn't really see much more then I'd seen the day before. I did find out this Abbey was built in like 1152 and then it was abandoned around 1539 due to the dissolution of monasteries. Most of the stone was then re-used to make other stuff over the years then in 1895, Leeds council did some restoration and opened it to the public. The Wikipedia page also makes for an interesting read about it; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkstall_Abbey

I did get a few story ideas from this place and I do wish I'd had spent more time sitting and writing because that would have been fun. Actually the Abbey seems to have always attracted creative people as some artists are famous for drawing and painting the Abbey. Maybe I'll go back one afternoon and spend some time writing. Here are a few photos from inside the Abbey;

The next place I went to is Armley Mills. I found out about this place via Most Haunted. I'm not that big a fan of it now a days, but my chance it came on after another ghost thing I'd been watching and when they said they were in Leeds I got interested and then once I had the name of the place, I found it was it like a 20 minute walk from the hotel! I just had to go. I do love old mills because they normally have lots of interesting stuff in them. Also, they smell really good too!

So this Mill has a few working weaving machines but they weren't working when I was there due to being under repair. I learnt some stuff about the spreed of diseases though and about the working conditions. There were some other displays about making things and fashion. But I liked learning the history of the Mill more. Turned out the first Mill on the site actually brought down and they had to rebuild it. There was also stories of children and adults getting trapped in the machines. Always makes me freak out though!

They had farm machines and other stuff too, but I really wanted to see the steam trains as they are my favorite things at museums. But the Mill got flooded last year and since the engines were in the buildings near the canal, they were closed. There's a nice picnic area though and I spent sometime outside, having a snack. I really wish I'd spent some more time here because I ended up rushing through some stuff due to knowing I didn't have that much time- though really I did! Anyway, I'll go back for the steampunk fair.

 
The last place I went to was the Abbey House Museum. This was across the road from the Abbey and I'm so glad I went as the children's' toys and games section was amazing. They always have a Victorian style high street where you can walk into the different shops and the pub and look at the layout of things and the items for sale. Behind is also a side street of houses and it was just lots of fun to be transported back!

The floor above had crime and punishment and I found some of that interesting too. Then it was all the childhood stuff and the history of the house. There were lots of super old toys and games, some of which I did know! They also had lots of doll house furniture and two huge doll houses, don't think I've seen doll houses that big before! They had some creepy china/pot dolls too and I sort of avoided those, I blame all the horror movies/ghost documentary things for my feelings about dolls and clowns!

Surprisingly and like the Mill the museum was pretty much empty, so I got around fast. And once again I wish I'd spent more time, but I was hungry and tired and had been rushing around all day. Maybe I'll go back one day. They had a really nice garden area and a cafe, so I chilled out there for a bit then had to head back because my mum wanted to leave before rush hour traffic started.

Here are the photos and I'm sorry they didn't turn out that well but I wasn't allow to use my flash. I might have gotten away with it at some points, but I always try to respect the photography rules.

So that's it though I'm sure I'll be back to Leeds soon. Thanks for reading and remember to check out my other to blogs and come back here on Monday for a book review.