Coronation Gardens in Beverley, East Yorkshire

Coronation Gardens, North Bar Within

This pleasant and tranquil place is opposite St Mary's Church and just round the corner from the main shopping area.  Walking from where we parked the car, we saw the former mews where the horses were kept, now charming cottages with newer housing added in the same style.

The Coronation Garden was built to commemorate the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and was completed in 1955.

Made from the old graveyard of St Mary's Church, the headstones were moved the the walls of the garden leaving space for paths and planting of shrubs and flowers.  At the rear of the gardens, some of the graves have been left and flowers have been planted between them.

 This had been a water  feature but was not working when we visited

Sculptures add interest

Reading the inscriptions give a social history

There is also a sensory garden and, on the warm day of our visit, there was a wonderful scent from the aromatic flowers and shrubs.  

The main shopping streets in Beverley are always busy but if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle, this peaceful garden is a real haven.

   

 

Short break in the Lake District

First stop, the North Yorkshire market town of Settle

After stopping for a spot of lunch at The Cow Shed in the village of Windermere, we drove along Lake Windermere to Bowness. This well known tourist spot was relatively quiet compared to other visits, except for the low flying jets which went back and forth. We were to see and hear them throughout our stay. Some thought they were being used for training Ukrainian pilots.

We then drove over the Kirkstone Pass with its stunning scenery to to reach our dog-friendly hotel, The Ullswater Inn, right on Lake Ullswater in Glenridding.

The back of the hotel opened on to the lakeside with plenty of green space to wear out the dog as well as the pier for the Ullswater Steamer.

A plaque to show the launching location of Donald Campbell's record-breaking speedboat Bluebird

The next day we took the boat to Howtown, where our walk began. It was quite cold and breezy for the 40 minute steamer ride with its sides open to the elements but it was worth it for the scenery. 

The walk was described as: fairly easy, 3 miles or 5 km in length, easy going but with some uphill stretches and slightly rocky sections of path. We began our walk using the downloaded route which was very easy to follow, towards Sandwick.

 As we walked up the path, the views of the lake below and Hallin Fell above were spectacular. We had the route to ourselves and didn’t come across other walkers until we reached Hallinhag Wood which skirted the lake. Here we came across the first walkers and the woman told us the route was “quite hairy in places”. We continued and wondered how hard it could be. We soon came across “the slightly rocky sections of path” referred to on our route directions. We faced a long stretch of uneven terrain with huge tree roots, jumbled stone and a steep drop to the lake. Others passed us, some of whom enjoy the walk and do it quite regularly, and told us it was just another 100 yards before it got easier. It was definitely more than that before we reached an easier path to navigate and we could, once more, appreciate the view without worrying about where we were putting our feet.

On reaching the Howtown Hotel, we had a well-deserved afternoon tea at the newly opened Tea Shop before catching the steamer back to Glenridding. This time, we realised that there was a saloon and bar below deck. The views were not as good, but it was warmer than the outward journey.

That evening, we exited from the front of the hotel which opens on to the main street and walked up to the Travellers Rest, a popular traditional pub. We met a couple we had seen earlier in the Howtown Tea Shop and there were a few guests from our hotel. Our dog is very distinctive with his large, sticking up ears and is always a talking point. From the outside seating area you can see Glenridding and beyond below and Helvelyn above. The walk hopefully counted against the calories consumed!

The next day we visited Lowther Castle and Gardens near Penrith which was built in early 19^th century. The castle was not built as a mode of defence but allows beautiful views of the surrounding countryside from its strategic position. It is surrounded by woodland and gardens, which are in the process of being renovated. The courtyard café is open to the public.

We then visited the town of Penrith with its main street full of cafes and shops, many of them independent. There was a vibrant, holiday atmosphere here with walkers, shoppers and tourists enjoying the sunshine.

There is still a lot more of the area to be explored and hope that we will be as lucky with the weather on our next visit.

Goth weekend at Whitby 2025

 

Whitby 

If we thought the scenery on the drive over the Yorkshire Moors to reach Whitby was stunning, it was nothing compared to the vibrant atmosphere that awaited us in Whitby for the Goth weekend.  

Morris Dancers twirled to traditional music and shops were busy selling all kinds of Goth related items.

From young children to  pensioners and even dogs strutted their stuff wearing all combinations of black:  lace, leather, suede, silk, fur or feathers, from their top hats to their boots.  Some added purple or red.  The outfits were spectacular and the revellers were happy for us to take pictures of them.  In comparison, wearing everyday attire, we felt like fully dressed visitors to a nudist beach!

 Did the lady think it was a Great Expectations convention?

Visit to Salts Mill in Saltaire

Saltaire was built as a model village and now is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was created by the Victorian textile mill owner and philanthropist Sir Titus Salt. The housing which was much superior to the living accommodation for mill workers in nearby towns, architecture and parks are really interesting but the biting cold wind prevented us from wandering around on this occasion.

We made for Salts Mill, now a huge art gallery which was set up by someone I knew, a young entrepreneur called Jonathan Silver who bought the mill in his early twenties and set up the gallery. Being a personal friend of the famous artist David Hockney meant that a lot of his work could be displayed there. Sadly, Jonathan passed away at a very young age and now the mill is run by his wife Maggie and brother Robin.

On the approach to the mill there is a railway line, the River Aire and the canal, a more modern textile factory, a large bike company and a music school and shop. On the website it said that dogs were allowed as long as they were carried and my husband said he was up for that so the dog came too. It was not our first visit to the mill but it had been a long time since our last visit. The Hockney works took up the walls of the ground floor long gallery. Some of the work was painted and some was produced on his ipad and all were annotated. The flooring, windows and radiators are all remains of another era.

Down the middle of the long room were tables of art books, prints, notebooks and other mementos. There were also huge vases and other ornaments made by Burmantofts pottery and wooden seating which looked like old pews from a church which came in handy when the dog became too heavy to carry. There are a further two floors of cafes and galleries and we could smell something appetising emanating from there as it was lunchtime.

At the entrance to the mill is a stunning 8 ft ceramic mural of Bradford by German artist Grete Marks. For many years the piece which was was hidden behind a false wall in a city centre office, was restored and now has pride of place in the foyer of Salts Mill.

I loved this chair

We tried to find the little light railway which takes you up to the top of the glen where there are peacocks milling about, or at least they used to be when we used to go with the children. We found the start of the railway which only runs on weekends and ate our picnic lunch in the car as we hadn't dressed for such cold weather. The flask of hot coffee was very welcome.

On the way home we saw woods absolutely carpeted in bluebells giving the floor a wash of colour.

Richmond and Kiplin Hall in North Yorkshire

Being a pleasant and warm day, we decided to make a trip to Richmond in North Yorkshire. This market town on the River Swale, the fastest flowing river in England, has a lot of history. Its castle is one of the finest examples of Norman military architecture and the gas works installed in 1821 made Richmond the first town of its size to enjoy public street lighting. More recently it has become know for being the constituency of Rishi Sunak, the last Prime Minister, who resides close by.

We parked by the river where the water cascades over the rocks and there is a beach of cobbles.

It was fairly busy and, for the first time this year, people were exposing their pale limbs to the sun as if they had been living underground for the winter.  

We then went on the Kiplin Hall, a four hundred year old stately home on a 90 acre site which was formerly a hunting lodge. Since our last visit, the entrance had changed and there was now had a new café and courtyard which cleverly blended in to the rest of the property.

We had enjoyed the walled garden on our last visit which was in high summer but, apart from the spring bulbs, there was very little to see at this time of year. 

The Hall overlooks a large lake with a path and woodland so we began to walk around it. We passed a bird hide where binoculars had been thoughtfully provided and saw people fishing before reaching the folly.

The Folly had previously been empty but the interior had now been make into an ecological education centre with illustrations of wildflowers, animals and insects to be found here including some containers which you had to sniff to see if you could recognise the scent of various animals! There was also a whiteboard and pens to draw or write on. Mainly children had drawn the birds, ducks and swans they had observed with creatively spelt labels. A couple approached us and advised us not to go much further as the lake had overflown and wasn't passable without waterproof boots. We returned to the Hall which, although containing many interesting artefacts and illustrations of how the gentry and servants lived in bygone days, we couldn't leave the dog. We returned to the café, had tea and a cheese and apple chutney sandwich  before setting off for home.

A trip to the Yorkshire Dales

We took advantage of an unseasonably warm and dry day for a trip to the Yorkshire Dales.

Although we know the area well, we never tire of the beauty of the spectacular landscape. We saw waterfalls, new lambs, snowdrops and hawthorn leaves emerging.

Taking a footpath which forms part of the Pennine Way, we made our way to Gayle Falls which is a favourite view as we have a print by Sam Chadwick on the wall of our living room.

From there we visited  the Wensleydale Creamery where we sampled and purchased some cheese.

 The boys didn’t look happy about waiting outside

Definitely one for the memory bank!