Aysgarth Falls

When we decided to go on our holidays to Bainbridge, I was really excited to visit Aysgarth Falls. As a child, I loved the film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, and when my brother discovered that one of my favourite scenes was filmed there, I knew we had to go.

On arriving at the falls, you can hear the distant noise of the river and I found it increased the excitement hearing the water gushing as you walk along the path towards the falls. We visited after a spell of rain, so the water was travelling at a great velocity. There are three areas of the falls to visit from the car park - the upper, middle and lower falls. The falls are 5 minutes from the car park and then perhaps an additional 5 minutes between each of them.

There is plenty of space to enjoy a picnic at the Upper Falls, and what a scenic spot to do so. I imagine that children would love clambering about the area. You would need to be careful with them getting too close to the river when there has been heavy rain. I have seen pictures of people playing in the river, when it is shallower, however. It would be nice to revisit when there is less water, as it looked a lot different from photos I had seen.

My little boy was not overly impressed!

Visiting the falls is free, but there is a charge for parking of £2.50 for 2 hours. The falls are sort of wheelchair and pushchair accessible. We took our son in the pushchair, but to be honest we do have a sturdy pushchair. There is a path linking the falls, but to actually get right by the river in most areas you have to descend stairs or clamber over rocks, so we wished we had carried our son in his sling instead.

There is a visitor centre with refreshments and toilets adjacent to the car park. However, we visited the quaint little tea rooms by the bridge, in between the Upper and Middle Falls. The ice-cream was delicious.

One thing I have learned from my trip, is that although it is nice to wear billowy floaty dresses, when you are bending over trying to get that perfect shot, you wish you had worn jeans. I had a constant battle against the gusts of wind, and frequently I was defeated, much to the dismay of my embarrassed husband.

There was a rich man from Nottingham who tried to cross a river. What a dope he tripped on a rope! Now look at him shiver!

Rebecca - My Pretty Yorkshire Life

Brimham Rocks

On our Yorkshire holidays, we enjoyed a little jaunt to Brimham Rocks. I was incredibly excited to go, having visited as a child. There is always a danger in revisiting places from your youth. Would it live up to expectations? My imagination has been known to exaggerate the beauty of what is infront of me. My memories of Brimham Rocks are synonymous with a land where you could envision a Velociraptor creeping through the ferns. I hoped that they would still envoke such childlike wonder, and that my husband would share my enthusiasm for a bunch of rocks.

 We didn't get off to a great start. We had headed out to Ingleton bright and early, and as we left, with our son fast asleep, we decided to continue driving, so we wouldn't disturb his nap. My husband passed me the map (he would sorely regret this decision) to find somewhere to explore that afternoon. After two hours of what I am going to refer to as a breakdown in communication and navigational difficulties, we arrived. My husband was understandably grumpy, so I tried to use my son's smiles to break the tension. But alas to no avail, as my son was a little groggy having just woke up to a balmy 28 C and there were no smiles to be had. We strapped a wriggly little boy into his baby carrier and headed off into the wilderness.

The first set of rocks, we arrived at were interesting to look at with their natural caves and hidden nooks and crannies, but as my husband had our precious little bundle of joy attached to his chest, it was difficult to explore.  I feared that he would not enjoy our trip.

We walked a little further and was met by the most majestic sweeping panorama. I must admit as I stood up on the rocks surveying the beauty before us there was an deep intake of breath and a little giggle of glee. There was no doubt that this was worth the two hours sat in a stuffy car.

We meandered amongst the undergrowth, and clambered up on the rocks for over an hour before heading for refreshments. There did appear to normally be a large selection on offer, but arriving on a busy summer's day after the lunch rush, we had to settle for a cheese toastie, bag of crisps and a sausage roll. They proved to be quite delicious!

We loved our trip to Brimham Rocks. It really is a fantastic idea for a family trip. We spotted children of all ages having a wonderful time climbing like monkeys. There are plenty of picnic tables, but most were enjoying their picnics on the rocks.  It is wheelchair and pushchair accessible around the rocks. Entry to Brimham Rocks is free, and parking costs £4 for 3 hours (remember coins for pay and display). Opening hours to the rocks are 08:00 until dusk each day. The shop and visitor centre opening hours vary, so please check here before you visit, if you require these.

Our journey home may have involved some smug remarks of how Yorkshire truly is God's Own County to my Scouse husband's dismay.

Rebecca - My Pretty Yorkshire Life.

Wood Street Market, Wakefield

On a recent Sunday, a small corner of my home town came alive with independent pop-up stalls and entertainment.

It was the first Wood Street Market in Wakefield. Walking there, I noticed yet more shops closing down or boarded up and to let. The recession and new shopping malls taking their toll.

As a kid, Wood Street had an impressive independent music shop; it’s where I went regularly for clarinet reeds and sheet music. It’s home to the town hall but now, frankly, there’s not much reason to go, except for probably the city’s best jewellery shop.

So it was heart-warming to turn a corner and see the street filled with colour and life. Organisers intended to help revitalise the street and in the run up to the event managed to create quite a buzz on social media. I was hopeful it would really work, and the vibrant mix of sellers, shoppers and entertainers brought a fat helping of fun and saw to it that it did.

The road was closed off and the street and pavements filled with art, vintage, craft and food stalls, cookery demonstrations, beer tasting, a craft swap and entertainment from The Magicians, Ossett Ukulele Group – who were great, by the way – and buskers.

> Emmeline’s Attic, with her gorgeous mix of handmade homewares and love of vintage Liberty, was probably my favourite stall.
> The Two Tarts bakery brought a huge dollop of fun and I stared longingly at their beautifully decked-out vintage VW camper.
> The jewellery and lampshades below and much more can be found at the ever-growing craft co-operative Created in Yorkshire.
> These lampshades and bags from vintage fabrics are made by the wonderfully-monikered Splanky Designs.
Apparently most of the stalls sold out, so here’s hoping it becomes a regular fixture and draws more people to the town centre.

Need to know: there are two more markets planned, on August 18 (when the theme will be seaside in the city) and September 15, both 10am-2pm. If you want know more, Wood Street Market is on Facebook and Twitter.

Anna - Angel In The North

Muston Scarecrow Festival 2013

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In a normally quiet Village called Muston, close to Filey and Hunmanby, North Yorkshire, Muston and its residents welcome visitors to the village to see the entries of their annual Scarecrow festival.

This is a popular attraction for both young and old, with some amazing entries and sights to see,
Me and the Minis as every year headed to Muston to see what creative things they had in store for 2013.
We walked round the village looking for the Scarecrows and here are some pics of our favorites. There are so many and everywhere we looked we spotted some more.

Sheep Shearing 

Circus clowns

The wrong trousers

Poacher

The Snowman

Moonshine for sale

Surfer

The Crow Father

Postman Pat

Synchronized Swimming

In the night garden

Circus

Circus

Gulliver's travels

Mr Bloom & Veggies 

Cybermen

Dalek

Mad Hatter and Lisa Simpson

Pepper Pig

Braveheart

A fantastic afternoon was spent Scarecrow spotting and we will be back next year for sure.

Mel  - Mumma Melio