We have just returned from a wonderful week in the Yorkshire Dales. we stayed in a little village called Conistone. The photo above, taken by Phil, is a panoramic view of the area around Conistone. According to Wikipedia,

Conistone is a small village (population 117 in the 2001 census) in North Yorkshire, England. It lies 3 miles north of Grassington, beside the River Wharfe, in Upper Wharfedale.

The village is set in characteristic limestone scenery, including Mossdale Caverns, the dry gorge of Conistone Dib and the limestone outcrop of Conistone Pie. Above the Dib a Dalesway path connects Kettlewell, to its north, and Grassington, to its south, providing distant views over the Wharfedale. From the B6160 road, the Wharfe is crossed at Conistone by a stone-arch bridge, which is within easy walking distance of Kilnsey, with its Crag.

Our cottage was lovely, old and cosy with the most luxurious bathroom and extremely well-equipped kitchen. We especially enjoyed the novelty of lighting a log fire each evening. I adore Yorkshire. It is a very spacious county and you really feel you have room to breathe. I was awestruck by the magnificent scenery at every turn in the road.

We love the Lake District but I am starting to find it too crowded and too commercial. Every town and village is becoming a tourist trap, I like to visit places where there are still village stores and local amenities, instead of wall to wall gift/outdoor shops and cafes.

This was the holiday we were meant to share with my mum in law, June, so it had a certain poignancy to it. But we had Phil's dad with us, although not Kate for the first few days, who was staying behind for a party.

As we entered Skipton I was electrified by the sight of some orange sheep in a field. No one else saw them and I was skitted at the entire holiday...but I found THIS on Google and THIS on Youtube.

On the Saturday we went to Ripon and admired the beautiful cathedral and then stopped off at Fountains Abbey for a walk around the gardens. We were told that the Abbey was to be floodlit that evening so we decided to do a supermarket shop back in Ripon and then return to see the Abbey lit up. It was wonderfully atmospheric and we all had loads of fun taking photos. The night was clear and there was a full moon - very impressive! (see Phil's pic below!)

The following day we visited the falls at Aysgarth followed by Bolton Castle which was a lot of fun, even if the lady selling tickets did not at first believe that Sian was under 18! We picked Kate up from Lancaster Station that evening.

Monday was a bright and sunny day so we headed off to the amazing Malham Cove. We think Phil's dad thought we were trying to finish him off with the climb to the top but it was well worth it. After lunch we walked to another waterfall called Janet's Foss. Janet was apparently queen of the fairies...hmm, not sure about THAT fact!

Sian and I managed to go on a great ride each over the fells, although not together as I'm not up to her standard. The riding centre was in the village which meant we often heard the sound of hooves clopping past.

We also managed trips to North Allerton, Bolton Abbey (fab scones in the tea shop there!!) and Brimham Rocks and a place called Stump Caverns which was a bit boring, to be honest and not worth the entrance fee!

The weather was pretty good for October with some gorgeous sunny days and I'm already longing to go back there. We had such a lovely time being together and escaping from worries and cares for a time. Although as always it was nice to come home and see the cats again.