Ian Cylkowski Photography

Finally, blue sky! January and February have been wet. Murk, drizzle, mist, frost have been a defining feature of this winter. But with Valentine’s Day opening up clear skies and cold temperatures, it was time to get out.

It’s been about 12 years since I last went to York. That’s way too long. A few days after our snowy hike around Brimham Rocks, Lisabet + extended family and I head east on a crisp clear day to one of England’s oldest cities: York.

A week off after working Christmas and New Year was needed. With Lisabet’s Aussie family in the UK for a few weeks, we all took a joint week long holiday together. Our “base” was near Summerbridge, between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge, within the Nidderdale National Landscape. This gave us good access to a wide variety of places to explore.

Time for proper winter scenery. Happy 2026 everyone! May you have the clarity to focus on what you can control and the composure to let go of what you cannot.

December has been very wet. To quote the UK government website, “In the first 16 days of December, England has already received 80% of the long term average (LTA) rainfall for December.”

It’s beginning to look a lot like winter. Recently we’ve been bombarded with a mix of arctic blasts and torrential downpours. After a Saturday of downpours, Sunday was looking nice and clear.

It’s not often you find the ruins of an abbey near a city centre. Upon our visit in and around the Leeds area we also became aware of a ruined abbey right next to the main A65 road that runs from Leeds to Kendal.

The remaining bits and bobs from our time in Shropshire. One of the first places we checked out upon arriving in Shropshire was Ironbridge, famous for its namesake bridge and for being the “the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution”.

It’s not often we visit cities. After our week in and around Shropshire we then booked a couple of nights away in Horsforth, in the northwestern suburbs of Leeds. Lisabet has family history in Leeds, which fuelled part of our reason for staying, but it’s also genuinely a lovely city. And also, apparently, undergoing massive investments, improvements, and upgrades. Skyscrapers growing, streets are clean, arcades and food halls full… Leeds seems to be thriving.

The pinnacle of historical conservation. To quote Wikipedia, “Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, situated at Stokesay in Shropshire.” Stokesay Castle was built in the 1280s by wealthy wool merchant Laurence of Ludlow. It’s a ridiculously well-preserved medieval complex featuring a great hall with an exceptional timber roof, two stone towers, and sits within a moated enclosure. In the 1640s, the Craven family added an ornate timber-framed gatehouse and created fashionable ornamental gardens, complete with ponds and water features. The castle surrendered peacefully to Parliamentary forces in 1645 and, after periods of decay and restoration, has been in English Heritage’s care since 1986.

Another gem of preserved history. We thought Ludlow was impressive with its 500 Listed Buildings. Then we went to Shrewsbury. According to its Wikipedia, “The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries.”

A lot on offer in such a small space. For a full nature-based day we started out at the Carding Mill Valley, probably the most well-known part of the Shropshire Hills. It is from here that you can choose any one of a myriad of hiking trails and see the sights.

A week around somewhere completely new to us. Regular readers of this humble blog may know that, around October time, Lisabet and I like to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy the gorgeous autumn colours somewhere beautiful.

Some places are just overdue a visit. I’ve lived in Cumbria for twelve or so years now, and in all that time have never once visited the beautiful Holker Hall & Gardens.

Time for a wee break. It’s been a busy, and sometimes eventful, summer and we needed a break. Lisabet donned her sleuth attire and found us a few deals, one of which was here: Chollerford in Northumberland.