crochet · Knitting · My other ramblings

Yarndale, Camping and More

Karen

This weekend has been completely amazing (even with a couple of minor glitches!) It all began with a long journey to North Yorkshire on Friday night after dropping the children off with relatives. We arrived at 8:30pm, and I made the most of the journey by crocheting until it was dark (my role as navigator was pretty much done once the nice sat nav lady told us to continue on the A1 for 50 miles!) 

Pitching the tent in the dark was ‘interesting’ but with the help of the torch I bought from Morrisons on the way we got there. Fortunately we had only taken the small 2 man tent so it needed minimal assembly. It was a cold, clear night with stars shining brightly above us and the silhouettes of the hills surrounding us, which along with the sound of the stream running around the campsite made for a beautiful start to the weekend. That night was freezing in the tent and I was awoken twice by a horrific noise. I thought it must have been some kind of weird nocturnal bird but Dave informed me it was the warning cry of a rabbit that was probably being attacked by a fox. That’s nature I guess.

We woke early in the morning and set to making a morning cup of tea on the camping stove. We had also planned on having beans on toast but the bread had gone all dry and horrible so we had crumpets instead, cooked on the toasting gadget we bought for 50p in the end of summer sale. It was surprisingly pleasant, enjoying that simple breakfast in the peace and quiet. 

We then headed off to Yarndale and took the scenic route to Skipton  (I couldn’t get sat nav reception so we picked a route and it was wrong!) Eventually we made it to the park and ride venue and caught the free bus to the show. I was pretty excited about the whole thing, having read about it but never actually thought I’d go! It was crowded, a bit too much for my liking. There was so much to see and I’m sure I must have missed half of it in the rush.  Luckily we weren’t in a hurry to leave so I got to go around it all again when it was less busy later on. My first purchase was some sock yarn and needles from the Suffolk Socks stall. I’ve wanted to try knitting socks for a while but never bought the right sort of yarn. I can’t wait to get started! After that we wandered around a lot and bought a Yarndale bag for all of my future purchases. We went for lunch  (it was so busy, I wish we’d taken a pack up) and had a little sit down outside before going back into the madness. It was lovely to be in a place filled with so many people who also love all things yarn related!

Dave was really interested in the spinning process and we watched a few people spinning using both wheels and drop spindles. I bought myself some roving so I can try out spinning using a drop spindle. Dave has promised to make me one, so when I’ve got it I will be cracking on with making my own yarn. The colour I chose was called Dolly Mixture by Spin City. I also bought some plain merino yarn to dye myself, I’m not sure what colours I will go for yet but it’s another exciting thing to try.

My Yarndale haul

I popped into the Wool Warehouse stall to buy a Clover Amour hook and saw the fabulous Lucy of Attic24. I was a little bit starstruck but managed to put together a coherent sentence and got her to sign my bag. I only had a green teacher pen in my handbag so I’m going to embroider over her autograph to make sure it doesn’t wash off when my bag inevitably gets dirty. She was such a lovely, friendly lady and I was glad I plucked up the courage to say hi to her.

Once I’d run out of spending money we decided to leave and go to Fountains Abbey for a stroll. It was magnificent, I didn’t know what I was expecting when I got there but it took our breath away. We stayed there for a good while, enjoying the views and the architecture. 

Just some of the views at Fountains Abbey

In the evening we treated ourselves to a meal at The Wheatsheaf in a little village called Carperby. I can honestly say it was one of the best meals I’ve had, I chose lamb shank and it was so tender with a really sweet gravy. I was so full I couldn’t eat a dessert even though the menu was very tempting. It was a beautiful ‘proper’ country pub and well worth a visit if you’re ever in that part of the Yorkshire Dales. It’s only a few minutes from Hawes, where we were staying. We headed back to the camp site just as it began to rain; the weather must have put off the foxes and rabbits so we had a peaceful night. 

In the morning we decided to visit the Wensleydale cheese factory. Before that we took a drive over Buttertubs Pass, one of the best views in the dales (in our opinion!) Dave wanted to pull over so he could take a photo of the scenery.  That was where things went a little pear shaped as we drove into an open drain at the side of the road which was covered in grass. We were stuck.  Not only were we stuck, we were at the top of a flipping big hill with no phone reception. There was nothing we could do except try and find someone to rescue us. Coats on, we set off down the hill into the valley, where we could see a village and a few farms. We flagged down a  couple of land rovers but they were too busy. Dave then saw a farmer and explained the situation. The farmer kindly said he’d fetch a tractor and help us, so we set off walking back to the car whilst he got sorted. It was a 14% Hill, which was pretty steep to us Lincolnshire folk who are used to flat land. According to my Garmin we walked up 33 flights of stairs! Anyway, the tractor caught up with us and he pulled the car out of the drain with ease. We also got a ride in the tractor for a short distance so that’s another first for me! We paid the farmer and thanked him then set off on our way. (Dave and I joked that maybe he wasn’t really a farmer and just made his living using the tractor to rescue idiot tourists who got stuck!) 

The view down the valley at Buttertubs Pass

The Wensleydale cheese factory was amazing once we finally got there, I really enjoy trips to museums and this one was really sweet and informative. I loved seeing the cheese presses and the victorian farmhouse kitchen, there’s such a lot to learn about the past. Of course, the best part of the whole thing was the cheese tasting!

After that it was time to go back to reality and collect the children. I had the best weekend with MrCraft, and it was a wonderful surprise. Even camping at the end of September was quite good fun!

 

57 thoughts on “Yarndale, Camping and More”

  1. Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! I remember Fountain’s Abbey very well, and my father still lives in Lincoln 🙂 Beautiful photographs and pleased the weather stayed reasonable for you!

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  3. So glad you enjoyed it! We probably passed each other and never knew. What a nightmare being stuck, so pleased you managed to get rescued! Just look back on it as a great story to tell! Xx

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  4. Wow sounds like an adventure! Camped in Muker before when it was the Tour de france in Yorkshire and walked up to the Buttertubbs pass.It was very steep.And it was sooo cold at night and that was in July! You certainly made the most of your trip though and it was fun reading about it.:)

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  8. What an eventful trip you had !. I love the dales and the wolds and the coast,but then I would ,I’m a Yorkshire lass born and bred. I’m glad you loved the scenery and had a great time. Maybe next time you could try my neck of the woods ?.East Yorkshire has some of the highest cliffs in England and North Yorkshire some of the prettiest seaside villages . ………Mags xx

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    1. Thank you. We have been to East Yorkshire once, we stopped near Withernsea. The coastal villages further up are so pretty too, last year we went to Staithes. You are very lucky to live in such a pretty part of the world. 😊

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  9. That sounds like a fabulous week end. Perfect combination, camping, craft and cheese. What more could you ask for! Coming from Australia, I’m quite envious of the yarndale visit and meeting my crochet hero Lucy too!

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      1. Hi, I live in the sub-tropics of Australia so a yarny show like that wouldn’t really suit our climate unfortunately. I seemed to have fallen totally in love with crochet and can only really do it during winter as it’s way too hot in summer. I also think I’ve reached the household limit on woolly blankets too. We have plenty of other crafty fairs to attend, so I can always get my crafty fix!

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  13. Oooh sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! I have some roving from spin city, I got the Mermaid one I think. Still havent got around to using it but I also bought a glittery unicorn covered spindle from them! I admire your restraint – I definately would end up spending a years wage if I went! I m dangerous at craft shows! I think mr craft definately earnt himself some brownie points!

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  19. Hello,
    I enjoy your blog so much that I have nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award! There are a couple of things you have to do if you would like to accept the award, and you can find out about those here: https://thecobweboriumemporium.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/how-versatile-am-i-i-wonder/

    You are under no obligation to accept the award if you don’t have time to do so, or even if perhaps you’ve got a bundle of awards and don’t have room on the shelf for another!
    But I just wanted let you know.
    Have a blessed rest of your day ~ Cobs.

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