Castle Howard

Our day out at Castle Howard last week was brilliant - I am told I went there in the early 80s but don't remember it at all - which made the revisiting even better!

so here are my images of the day in blisteringly hot sun, in preparation for the heatwave we're still experiencing (11pm as I write this and it's Oh sooooo hot!).

beautiful flowers everywhere

secret gates and tunnels galore

and finally the great house itself - and the BBC were filming Death Comes to Pemberley

the amazing and beautiful Atlas Fountain

the wild boar - which it seems is a listed statue!

great old gnarled trees

and to our surprise - a fabulously relaxing boat trip on the Great Lake

 followed by a walk to the rather wonderful 'Temple of the Four Winds'

 and then back to Pam and Graham's in time for a fabulous afternoon tea

Coming home we travelled down wonderful 'Hockney-esque' lanes - blossom just finished and the trees in their full greenery - just like those fabulous paintings at the Royal Academy last year

Gill - Bright Fields

Weekend What's On

Here's a quick rundown of some of the events happening in Yorkshire this weekend...

Bradford's City Park is going to be hosting the World Curry Festival starting tomorrow. With many restaurants, stalls and stages, there should be plenty to see and do. Chefs will be performing demonstrations. There will be a street food market including a spice souk, many restaurants, musicians, dancers, cookery demonstrations, crafts, fresh produce, Indian teas, children’s activities, growers market, and fashion and beauty from the east. Chefs from Bradford College will be headed Learn to Cook Curry classes. It opens 12 noon till 10 p.m Friday & Saturday and 12 noon till 7 p.m. on Sunday. For further details please visit their website.

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On Sunday 23rd June, at Workstation, Sheffield, there will be a contemporary art, design and craft fair. The fair has been organised by Hallam Roses W.I to raise money for Roundabout and their W.I. I hear their baking is legendary and urge anyone in the area to join them. The fair is on from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. For further details please visit their website.

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On Saturday 22nd June, there is an indoor free music festival spread across many venues throughout Barnsley. It features a lot of local talent. All venues are within walking distance. For further details please visit their website.

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Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is a held on 22nd June and is created by local people but also welcomes participation of visitors. There are workshops held in the weeks preceding the festival to make costumes and carryable art. THE theme this year myths, mysteries and mayhem.  The parade culminates in a pageant with musuc, movement and giant puppets followed by local bands, dance groups and local food. For further details please visit their website.

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The Haworth Festival runs from the 21st until 30th June. It features music, art, comedy, singing workshop, ZOMBIE RUN?! and much more. They do a ticket for all the events at £18. For further details please visit their website.

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What do you have planned for the weekend?

I'm hoping for a sneaky picnic if the weather isn't too bad. Maybe a rainy day picnic? I'll also be attending FORGE festival on Sunday and if I haven't pushed my luck with the hubby a little trip to the Curry Festival. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Roche Abbey

Trying to utilise my corporate membership to English Heritage, I decided to have a look on their site for a new place to visit in our area. I came across Roche Abbey, which I had never heard of or been to. My father had some reservations, as he is a creature of habit, and I think would have much preferred a visit to the old faithful Brodsworth Hall. We arrived with trepidation of the impending 'I told you so' s, when it did not live up to much.

The road down to Roche Abbey is narrow and bumpy, with only room for one car. There is not a great deal of parking, but we went, on a busy bank holiday Monday, and there was still some spaces left. Without English Heritage membership, you must pay £3.50 for entry, which I initially felt was very reasonable. I had been concerned about accessibility, but we meandered through the ruins with ease with our pushchair. There is a small sign warning visitors not to climb on the ruins, which we had not seen until we left. I admit I had no desire to clamber atop a pile of stones with questionable stability, but witnessed others being chastised for doing this. It would have been nice for this warning to have been made more clear, as one gentleman looked mortified when he was told by security not to stand on a stone to get an unobstructed picture of his daughter. This is not to say that the staff were rude or unpleasant just that this should have been made clear before entry.

Roche Abbey is nice for a small walk, a picnic or a nice place to go and read a book sat on a bench. It had a peaceful tranquility even with several visitors walking round. The view of the Abbey is beautiful and I'm sure a more talented photographer could have captured some stunning images. To walk around the Abbey only takes around 10 minutes, but as we wanted to take advantage of the sunny weather we were planning a barbecue for the afternoon, this was ideal. I would propose tagging on a visit to the nearby Conisbrough Castle, if you are wanting a more substantial day trip out. My main issue with Roche Abbey is that I do not think that I would actually go inside in hindsight. There is a public footpath down the side of the site leading to a field that has a comprehensive panorama of the Abbey and plenty of space for picnics. Although, £3.50 is not a lot of money, if a whole family was visiting, I would suggest exploiting the fortuitous public footpath. The English Heritage site includes a shop stocking gifts, books and refreshments.

The effect on my final image was accomplished by using the program GIMP. (my favourite free to download image editing tool) I did this by going into Colors and then Threshold. I really urge you to try GIMP, as every time I use it I stumble across some great effects. My ambition is to really try to get to grips with all of the endless capabilities it possesses. 

Visit Roche Abbey website for more details.

Rebecca - My Pretty Yorkshire Life