Life in Northern Towns

There is something chav-bling-tastic about Wilmslow .  It's the way it is unashamedly rich, loaded, wadded - any adjectives that describe wealthy.  Whilst architecturally the Town is nothing special - any signs of its Cheshire gentry past have been well and truly excised, apart from the odd remnant on the edge of town like the Romany Caravan next to the library (quite bizarre).  It's truly a town of now and what counts is money. We've been to Wilmslow countless times over the years and I do have a soft spot for the place, partly as I like to bring down the tone of the car park with my 11 year old Lil'Princess - Nissan Almera (an old ladies car).  Its not often you can park next to a Porsche, Lamborghini or a Bentley, but you certainly can in Wilmslow. Firstly a parking recommendation is the Sainsbury's car park - it is quite funny watching flash sports cars negotiate the tight spots in the car park.  Also its £1 to park for two hours and if you shop i...

I'd never been to Ramsbottom , which is just north of Bury off the M66.   I'd probably driven through it a long time ago, but never stopped until this November and I can honestly say I was impressed with what caught my eye.   Ramsbottom is affectionately known as Rammy to the locals.   According to my other half, Ramsbottom was also the name of a snake in the Sooty Show .   But I digress… It was a bright November afternoon and I thought I'd squeeze in a quick visit to a northern town. Ramsbottom is not too far from us, just up the M66 off Junction 1. On the drive up the M66 you can see the wind turbines over on yonder hills. I know there is a lot of controversy about wind turbines, but the hills above Bury are not exactly spectacular - to put it bluntly they are dull. Before the wind turbines the only thing of interest on them hills was Peel Tower, which is another man-made object - I rest my case. When we got off the motorway we followed the signs to Ramsb...

Day 3 It was day three of our trip to the Yorkshire Dales and our final destination was Ripon . After a checking out of the B&B we did a quick tour around Grassington to pick up sweets for our folks and we found out: (a) there was a charity shop Age UK tucked down a side alley - blink-and-you-will-miss-it; and (b) the sweet shop near Spencer Davies Solicitors doesn't open on a Monday - shock horror for all the fudge lovers out there.  Thankfully Chocolace came to the rescue and we stocked up on the sweet stuff. With a car full of fudge we headed off to Ripon on the B6265.  Whilst I didn't expect much in the way of driving fun, this road was still a bit of a roller coaster ride - yay!  There were a few steep gradients to negotiate and some nice scenery to gaze at - albeit at high speed. When we were getting close to Ripon we noticed the outskirts of the town was getting quite posh - very nice houses, mani...

Day 2 The decision was to take the short route. Ever since the Drunken Duck incident in the Lakes I've always been nervous about going off the A & B roads. However Neil wasn't very well so I thought we'd risk the Hawes to Kettlewell road. We passed the Wensleydale Museum although there wasn't a cat-in-hell's-chance of getting Neil to step over the threshold of a cheese museum as he is very cheese averse. So we zoomed on by and headed to the hills. The road from Hawes to Kettlewell is the type of road where you end up offering prayers to your relevant God to help you get through it. Prayers hit early on for me as the road was narrow and wondered what on earth to do if someone was driving the other way, especially if they were going fast. If you had a crash on this road you'd be lucky to survive as there are hardly any motorists on this road, it is far from civilization and it would be unlikely there would be a decent mobile phone signal to make a c...

Day 2 On the A6255, just after Chapel Le Dale, you get a fantastic view of the Ribblehead Viaduct which is part of the Settle to Carlisle railway.  Wow - it looks amazing set against the Yorkshire Dales and what a feat in Victorian engineering.  It is worth the drive alone to see this fantastic site.  So slack-jawed in awe we drove on to Hawes.  We parked in the car park on the edge of town and paid our dues.  There is some on street parking available, however Hawes was rather busy with tourists and bikers that day.  The town was half open with shops as it was a Sunday.  The town is predominantly centred on the main road which runs through the town with pubs, cafes and shops, which eventually splits into two roads to accommodate the one way system.  At the edge of town there was some very literal one man and his dog style roundabout art.  It was surrounded by fencing which spoils what could be a rather surreal scene. ...

Day 2 Ingleton was my favourite place on our trip to the Yorkshire Dales.  Its stone viaduct and pocket sized loveliness were delightful. First thing to note is that you can park on the street on the edge of town, thus avoiding parking charges in the local car park. The second thing we found out was that particular weekend there was a Folk festival on and we did spot some musicians go into one of the local pubs to set up.  I like to see these country towns celebrating things, be it food, literature or the arts.  It's a great way to import a little bit of culture for the locals who often have to travel to the cities to get their culture fix.  I spotted on the notice board in Grassington there was a theatre club which did group trips to northern theatres.  Putting on these local events is a cunning way to attract tourists into the town and spend their cash.  Given how pretty Ingleton is, I didn't mind. Thirdly, I discovered why the c...

Day 2 After Skipton and a slight detour we got to Settle . We managed to get parked on a side street and walked into the town. The place was busy with walkers, cyclists and motor bikers. Whilst there were less shops open here than in Skipton, if you are looking for something to eat there were plenty of places from the Ye Olde Naked Man cafe and bakery, The Fisherman Chippy (which was doing brisk trade too) and the local pubs were doing Sunday lunches. Neil sampled a sweet chili chicken slice from the Ye Olde Naked Man. Whilst he said the chicken was nice, the sweet chili sauce was not as spicy as he would have liked. They did seem to have nice cakes there too, but I was still too stuffed from breakfast to indulge.  If I came back again I'd definitely pop in for lunch, as they had a little cafe too. The quite a few of the shops were closed, but there were a few open enticing the passing tourist including an Age UK charity shop, a gift shop and a secondhand bookshop. Outside...

Day 2 It's not the first time we've been to Skipton and it's not the first time I've blogged about this place, yet it was the first time we had visited it on a Sunday. Sundays can be a bit hit and miss for random trips to northern towns, however we weren't disappointed with Skipton . Stupidly I'd forgotten to pack my waterproof jacket for our trip and although Saturday was a lovely day Sunday was not - the Yorkshire Dales was drizzle central. So the priority was to purchase a cheap waterproof jacket. Thankfully Skipton had some outdoor outfitter shops to sort me out. The first one, near the canal, was very expensive and some of the coats cost as much as an iPad - so I passed on that shop. There was another shop in the town centre where I managed to pick up a cheap waterproof for £9.95 - bargain! Anyway we had parked in the steep car park near the canal. Luckily we chanced upon a farmers market that day, which had lovely local produce on offer. Af...

Days 1, 2 & 3 Being in Grassington is like being on holiday abroad.  It has quite a foreign quality for a city dweller like myself.  I guess this is how foreign tourists perceive England to be - a land of country villages, stone built cottages in cobbled streets and traditional black and white pubs.  As you can see from my blog I like to visit that version of England, however it is a different England from the one I normally live in. Grassington is first and foremost a lovely place to visit.  The cobbled square is the heart of the village with its four pubs - The Devonshire Arms, The Black Horse Hotel, The Grassington Hotel (hotel, restaurant and bar) and the Foresters Arms.  There are a couple of sweet shops selling vast amounts of fudge, a wool shop, older ladies clothes shop, a geology shop, gift shop, a Spar (but it doesn't sell newspapers by the way), a Barclays bank, a chippy, deli, paper shop, Indian restaurant / takeaway an...

Day 1 Over the years I have developed a fondness for driving on challenging country roads - the type you need to really concentrate on or get killed.  Roads like the Llanberis Pass near Snowdon, the A537 Cat and Fiddle between Buxton and Macclesfield and the A814 from Tarbet to Helensburgh.  By God you need a stiff G&T at the end of these journeys. Anyhow, I thought why not write up some of those road experiences.  So here goes - my new feature 'Life on Northern Roads'. So we headed out of Richmond on the A6108 towards Grassington .  It's not often you see road signs warning you of learner tank drivers, but we were close to Catterick Garrison so it makes sense.  I always find it a bit spooky going past Ministry of Defense sites - maybe its all that high security fencing, military grey paint and the fact there is lots of live ammo behind those fences.  When we got to Leyburn, we picked up the A684 towards Hawes.  I have to adm...

Day 1 Before planning our trip to the Yorkshire Dales I'd never heard of the town of Richmond .  Obviously I knew of the Richmond down south, but not the Yorkshire one.  So I thought I'd better have a quick look on wikipedia.  Market town - check!  Georgian history - interesting!  Fab reviews - Bingo! So after a two hour journey from Manchester we made it to Richmond.  The journey was a bitch as we hit two sets of road works on the M62 and the A1.  Both sets of road works were doing that awful 50 mph average speed limit camera thingy.  My poor right foot developed cramp trying to keep a steady 50 mph.  It got so painful that later in the day I had to rub Nurofen gel into my foot to ease the pain. Anyway, Richmond appeared to be built into a side of a cliff, with lots of cobbles and a mad one way system.  Getting parked was a nightmare and after 15 minutes of trying to find a parking space we nearly left.  Than...

Other than Emmerdale and All Creatures Great and Small, the Yorkshire Dales have always been a bit of a mystery to me.  So when Neil suggested we go away for his birthday weekend and I thought the Yorkshire Dales would be a good place to go.  Neil's Mum had been to Grassington a few times, so we thought it might be a good place to base ourselves for the weekend.  After a couple of hours on the internet and Trip Advisor we were booked into Grassington Lodge - apparently Hayley Westenra, Phil & mad Tory Kirsty (Location, Location, Location) and the Snow's (Peter & Dan) stayed there too.  It seemed really nice, reasonably priced and came highly recommended.  I now swear by Trip Advisor these days after a few B&B and hotel disasters we've had over the years - Howden, Whitby and London are etched into my mind for all the wrong reasons.  So for the past few weeks I've been pouring over maps planning our road trip around ...

Day 2 Our final Lake District destination of the day - Ambleside.  In 2004 we spent a few days here at the Compston House American Style B&B .  It was a nice B&B that served massive portions of pancakes for breakfast.  It was here we discovered the delights of Pingu  too.  So it was good to see it was still going as we drove into Ambleside. So had things changed in seven years?  Yes and No.  The library hadn't changed, quite a lot of the shops and restaurants were still there including the weird Thai restaurant.  There was the scary looking sports bar still going, which had the music quiz machine we got addicted to.  There were some new shops including a Costa (they get everywhere these days, though the cinnamon latte is fab). Lucy's Restaurant and Provisions Shop had changed - it was just a restaurant now and the lovely shop selling all sorts of wonderful stuff (flavoured vodka and fab bread as I recollect) ...

Day 2 On the road to Ambleside via Coniston I realised why we didn't go to the Lake District often - Neil gets travel sick on hilly, Top Gear style roads.  Maybe it was the Lonesome Pine beer he had the night before, but to be truthful it was the rollercoaster style roads that were making him green.  I had to slow down and the 14 mile drive to Ambleside was much longer than anticipated.  Thankfully there was no other drivers getting frustrated behind me and I managed to get Neil to Coniston, without him vomiting in the car. The last time we went to Coniston in 2004, the place was definitely entrenched in the 1950s.  In the space of 7 years it had edged closer to the 21st Century - early 90s I reckon.  Coniston is obviously famous for Donald Campbell's ill-fated attempt to break the water speed record in the Bluebird.  However when we wandered round the graveyard we found John Ruskin's grave, the famous Victorian Art Critic.  The headstone is a...

Day 2 Ulverston - don't go here on a Sunday, the town is closed.  There is seriously nothing happening here.  It's not the most exciting places in the world when the shops are open, but on Sunday it's dead except for a couple of shops hoping to trap misguided tourists like ourselves. We thought we'd get something to eat so went to the Mill at Ulverston.  To be truthful I can't recommend it.  The chips were half done - half the chips were cooked and the half the chips were not.  How can places get chips wrong?  It's beyond belief, but I've seen this happen before - the Blundell outside Horwich a prime example of how to do underdone chips.  I had a chicken and bacon sandwich and it was minging (to non northerners - horrible).  It was something you rustle up for a kiddies picnic - a soft bread bap (roll) you would get in a six pack from Asda, filled with one of those horrible pre-mixed chicken and bacon sandwich...

Day 2 I loved Cartmel - it's such a dreamy, picture perfect village.  I honestly wasn't expecting much from Cartmel.  On the map it didn't seem like much - just a blink and you will miss village.  However in reality getting there is a bit tricky, as the roads to get there were predominantly narrow and difficult for two cars to pass.  On getting to the village, as it was so busy, we couldn't find any available street parking. So we had to negotiate our way through the streets to the car park at Cartmel Racecourse .  The Cartmel Racecourse car park is a very plush affair with its gravel driveway and pavilion style toilets with waiting area.  I bet this place is packed on race day. It was a Sunday so we didn't expect much to be happening in Cartmel.  However we were surprised - there was an oriental rug sale on at the local village hall.  A couple of old ladies were also having a garage sale with lots of odds and sods....

Day 1 & 2 As we were driving towards our final destination for the day Grange-Over-Sands , the clouds started to roll in and a fine drizzle was forming.  Oh well this is the Lakes, as night follows day, so does rain follow sunshine.  We got to Grange-Over-Sands about 4pm and found the hotel - the Lymehurst - quite easily on the edge of town.  The town was more residential than shop based with lots of sturdy stone buildings. The hotel was a hotel / B&B hybrid as there was no proper reception area and you had to buzz for attention.  However the room we had was definitely hotel standard with super-king size bed, spacious room and really nice bathroom with modern fittings, which appeared to be recently refurbished.  The hotel was very clean and you could not fault the standard. We then headed off into the town to find some charity shops before they closed.  We found one near the hotel, Age UK , which did a great line in knitt...