Yorkshire road trip - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jjrodger · #1 06-21-2003, 06:41 AM

i had a surprise early finish at work last Tuesday when a trial in Bradford settled. I took the long way home, coming cross country through Yorkshire. For me these are some of the best places and views in England. None of these places is on the tourist trail (yet).

The Blue Bell at Kettlewell (a good stop for a light ale):

Castle Bolton. It was closed when we got there, but there were no locks on the gate so we sneaked in. I left a fiver in the honesty box.

One of the finest views in the world: up Wensleydale and Coverdale:

(That is my French pupil who is accompanying me around the country, learning how to settle trials before lunch and then do no work for the rest of the day)

Richmond market place. This is a great town; it has an excellent castle (which was well locked up) some good shops and an abundance of pubs.

They're everywhere these Merc Sports! Red is a rare colour and looks great to my eye.

I use Fototime.com to host my pics, but the resolution is crap. Can anyone suggest an alternative?

Pete Geither · #2 06-21-2003, 06:48 AM

Sharp or not, thanks for the great pics. I enjoyed everything but the HUGE license plates. They really mess up the cars looks IMHO.

drbrandini · #3 06-21-2003, 11:02 AM

JJ,

Those are some awesome pics....Feel free to post more

What were you doing at the kings head hotel with a young pupil ?

Sure hope your wife doesn't see this thread.

jjrodger · #4 06-21-2003, 01:09 PM

Here are a few more from the same occasion. The first is the Old Parsonage at Howarth, which is where the Brontës wrote their novels (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, all that stuff). It is now a museum containg many of their belongings.

This is looking south from the top of Coverdale, having just left Kettlewell below.

And this is another view from Castle Bolton, looking south down Coverdale (from the other end) and with Wensleydale stretching to the East and West. Visit Britain! Bring your dollars to our needy tourist economy!

PS: I have figured out how to post higher-res pics. My fault.

Zoonhollis · #5 06-21-2003, 02:46 PM

Holy schlamoli, but that is some gorgeous countryside!

CJ · #6 06-21-2003, 10:38 PM

The real question is...did you have any Yorkshire pudding??

Bear · #7 06-22-2003, 08:55 AM

Great photo's working and living in London one forgets that we have some truly stunning scenery.

#8 06-22-2003, 09:46 PM

Great pictures! Thank you.

I visited NE England for a week a few years back. I was pretty much out in the countryside staying with some friends in the village of Stradbroke. They live in a 600 year old castle, though it really looks like a large house.

I loved England. The people were nice, the food was great, the beer was better (so was the tea and crumpets) and I can't wait for a return visit! You're fortunate to be living in such a beautiful country!

MineMapper · #9 06-23-2003, 11:09 AM

Great photos! Thanks.

Now I'm homesick. My folks live just north of the North Yorkshire Moors, and I spent my teenage years roaming around those hills. I've sank many a pint in the Blue Bull. There is a great youth hostel in Kettlewell that I used to use a lot when hiking. I also spent a summer rebuilding a farmhouse at the northern end of Wensleydale.

Looks like a hard way to earn a living. Rolling around the English countryside in a soft top Benz with a French bint on a sunny day.

Zoonhollis · #10 06-23-2003, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sflori
I loved England. The people were nice, the food was great, [/B]

...err, English food is the pits, at least in London. When I first visited in '88, I went into a pub and asked for a sandwich. I pointed to the "display" sandwich in a glass case below the bar and said "I'll take one just like that one." To my disappointment, the bartender pulled that one from the case and sold it to me. It was stale and tasteless. Thereafter, I ate as many meals as possible in the ubiquitous Indian food establishments.

jjrodger · #11 06-23-2003, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zoonhollis
...err, English food is the pits, at least in London.

I don't know if you've been back since '88, but London is now regarded as the foodie capital of the universe; something like 7 or 8 of Restaurant magazine's top fifty restaurants in the world are in London (the winner is the French Laundry in California); and at every level from sandwiches (Pret a Manger?) to once-in-a-lifetime dinners (Gordon Ramsay?) the very best of quality, innovation and value is readily available.

On my Yorkshire road trip I had a pretty horrid lunch at my US-owned 4* chain hotel near Bradford (club sandwich washed down with a bottle of Stella, yuk) and a pretty fantastic dinner at the traditionally English Black Bull at Moulton (pan-fried scallops and langoustine with lobster on a butter and chive sauce washed down with a young Puilly Fuisse). In between was a delicious pint of Theakston's Best Bitter at the Blue Bell (pictured above) and another at the Black Bull at Redmire (it is a common name for a pub).

I have dined well in New York and California, but never as well as in London (although the so-called poverty-cuisine of rural Italy has everywhere licked if you ask me).

pentoman · #12 06-23-2003, 12:39 PM

Cheers JJR for posting.. I love seeing other peoples' drives around our lovely too look it country. I have been doing some myself (from Bristol to Staffordshire Wednesday and Thursday, back to Bristol, to Norfolk Friday).

Went in convoy with a 1988 Toyota MR2 - no prizes for guessing the most popular choice of ride for the motorways, nor for guessing which had less weight to deal with on the bumpy Staffordshire single track lanes

. Didn't take the camera, but did also take female company, and remember you can fit more people in a 190E (

).

Seriously though, cheers for posting

later!

Russ

Me on the left:

jjrodger · #13 06-23-2003, 05:35 PM

Russ:

Nice upholstery. Especially in the back.