Hawes

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. 

Cutting through the town is a fast flowing river - it must be bloody noisy for the neighbours especially if it has been raining.  God forbid if this breaks its banks as the town would be flooded.

Outside the Little Cheese Shop we saw a surprising sight of a copper-coloured hen strutting under a picnic bench.  It was extremely calm as we took a couple of photos.  It probably felt safe being near the Little Cheese Shop - I'm sure it would have been somewhat nervous if it had been outside the butchers. 

There is a lovely home furnishing place that does bespoke wooden furniture called Bear Cottage Interiors.  The furniture was built out of solid wood and you could still see the tool marks.  It's the type of solid furniture that could last for hundreds of years.

The bikers had took residence in the Penny Garth Cafe which did two tone whippy ice cream.  Finally I didn't feel too stuffed so I indulged in the ice creams, which was fine as you can't go too wrong with whippy ice cream.

There were some stern looking old ladies stood inside the Village Hall foyer gossiping.  There was a sign saying there was a book sale inside.  I do like a book sale and inside the Village Hall we found a little bookshop wedged into a side room.  It was packed to the rafters with books.  There was barely room for people to pass the shelves.  Unfortunately, as the weather was not good, it appeared half of Hawes was browsing in the shop.  So I made a swift exit before I succumbed to claustrophobia. 

We had done Hawes and as Neil wasn't feeling too brilliant we decided to head back to Grassington.  However we had a choice to make - should we take the longer route on the A roads or the short route on a side road over yonder hills... decisions, decisions, decisions....