Pictures

So this week we have been on holiday, and due to a rather silly accident at home last week (requiring stitches), decided to have days out locally rather than travel further afield. And how we did enjoy being tourists again! As we got some photos I thought I would put a few here.

This is the Walled Garden in Helmsley. At this time of year it was a little tired and pale, as are we all, but it gave us great views of Helmsley Castle nearby. Definitely worth a visit in the summer too, going on what was planted out, and a very peaceful retreat from the town centre when it gets busy.

This church is St Mary's in Thirsk. Thirsk is a typical small town in the area, best known for its connection to James Herriott.

Otherwise Thirsk is reasonably similar to our own Malton. What I enjoy about it though is the fact it has several bookshops; the Malton bookshop had to close down a few years ago, but still has a branch operating in Thirsk. Add to that the second hand books in the charity shops and I was a very happy bunny for a couple of hours.

We also had a trip over to Bedale and Masham. The church at Bedale is at the top of the main street, and again is typical of the area. Rather than being arranged around the town square, like Helmsley and Thirsk, Bedale is on a wide high street with a good range of shops and facilities (including good cafes and bistros).

But I do have to admit that, lovely as Bedale is, and delicious as the lunch was, I was really pleased to go to Masham to visit the Black Sheep brewery. It's a thing I have been planning to do for a long time and never managed to get a round to doing - you know what it's like. Certainly when I lived near London I never bothered to visit anything until I was getting ready to move away to Yorkshire.

Anyway, the Black Sheep Brewery does good beer. And a good tour, with many "am-ewe-sing" puns (you have been warned!). The story of how they came into being, and how they got their name, is pretty apocryphal. To my mind, the beer is what matters, and we loaded the car with a variety of bottles to enjoy over the coming weeks. I don't need to advertise for them - you can go to their website for more information if required.

The added bonus, as far as we were concerned, was the series of postcards available in the shop detailing short and easy local walks - all help build up an appetite to justify a trip to the cafe afterwards! We took a quick walk, and naturally had to take some pictures en route.

The walk took us down by the River Ure, which runs through Masham. Unfortunately it was getting late in the afternoon, and rather overcast, so the picture are a little dull. We went through a nature reserve (below) and across fields, but the going was very easy and the whole walk took a little under an hour at a gentle pace.

Naturally the scenery was gorgeous; I love the Dales generally, and am always intrigued at how it differs from our own Wolds and Moors.

Anyway, we were going to go to Pickering today - but I'm not sure if we will get there as it's the War Weekend this weekend and it may not be an ideal time to pop in for a quick visit unless you are keen on the 1940s. If you are, then it's a great time to visit of course!