oss in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, we parked in the car park and followed the footpath down the course of a small river called May Beck where the woodland was beautifully lit by the afternoon sun, and Prince was enjoying dipping in and out of the water. Eventually we came to Falling Foss which is a lovely waterfall cascading over a 30 foot drop. On the top of the waterfall is a remote house called Midge Hall, until 2008 it was derelict and in a bad state of repair, the new owners, a family from Wales have made a wonderful job of the restoration and have opened up the garden as a tea garden, they have some lovely outdoor seating and even a large yurt for functions which has a huge table and chairs inside, as well as a wood burner and a cd player.. We had a lovely pot of tea and slice of cake before following the footpath through the woods back to the car.That evening Linda went to the local WI meet in Lealholm where they were having a talk from Graeme Aldous about Nell the sheepdog who made 2 films for the York Moors national park, she met a very nice group of ladies who were very welcoming and chatted about our adventures the whole night. By the time she got home phil was tucked up in bed!
The day before we left Lealholm we headed out on a walk from the site, we walked up to the trig poi
nt up on Glaisdale Rigg where we had fantastic panoramic views of the moors and 
dales and could even see as far as the coast by Whitby to the east. To the south we could see the radar base at RAF Flyingdales, part of the US controlled Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, it is a huge square tower that sits on top of Snod Hill. We’ve seen it from many angles while on this trip as it is such a prominent feature in this part of the moors, so much so that we keep thinking it is following us! After having our picnic sat on a grass verge we continued our walk down into Great Fryup Dale where we passed lots of lovely houses as well as a couple of friendly horses, and then as we were passing Fryup End Farm we saw one of Linda’s WI ladies having a chat with a friend, she recognised Linda straight away so we said hi and she introduced her 'man friend' to us!On move day we awoke to rain and hail showers and so we were up around 9, we made a start at tidying and getting the awning down. This had to be done quick, between all the showers, and proved to be a success packing into its bag no problem, we packed the van and hitched up before going off in search of Martin to say our goodbyes. We found him in his barn, he had been busy that mornin
g inoculating all his calves ready for turning them out into the fields opposite, we got talking about internet and he told us a story about how he accidentally damaged his phone line with his tractor, only for BT to install a new cable which improved his speed by 4 times! We gave him our blog address, and before we left he showed us into the farmhouse to show us the impressive fireplace.. We walked through the lovely kitchen which and through into the lovely comfy sitting room where there was a huge fireplace taking up the whole of one wall, it had a wood burner in its centre and above that engraved in the stone were the names John & Elizabeth Robinson and the date 1777. Martin said the farmhouse had been around longer than that, and prior to the farm there was a manor house on the site, it was really lovely to see, and very kind of Martin to allow us in, we were sad to leave Wild Slack Farm.We then headed off to Cow Close Barn CS in the Yorkshire Dales. When we arrived we knocked on the farm door and the owner popped out to show us to our pitch which was between 2 other vans, but in a lovely mown flat field with beautiful views from the west round to the east. The farm itself was very tidy and the site well kept, and the welcome was great. We got on with setting up, Linda in the inside and Phil putting the awning up, this was the 3rd time with the new awning and it went up much easier and faster than the first time (which took the two of us 3 hours with the instructions, and 2 attempts at assembling the frame, thank goodness no one was watching then).
Phil got up at 7am the next morning to do a local ride he’d plotted on the gps. It was a lo
vely clear morning, and looked like being a nice dry day. The 18 mile ride took me over Preston Moor, next to the military firing range, and then down towards a small village called Grinton. The views down to the village were fantastic, and typical of the Yorkshire Dales, t
he ride then climbed sharply up to Greets at 1,600 feet and had great views over Wensleydale, then it was down a fantastic, fast, descent that had me whooping down to Castle Bolton. This quaint little village is dwarfed by the huge castle at one end which is half ruin and half inhabited, it is now used for functions and weddings as well as being open to the public. After a few photos it was a big climb and some road riding that took me back to the van. We t
hen decided to head out to Hawes armed with a Country Walking map and description. Hawes is a nice little Yorkshire town with
lots of small shops and a few pubs, we parked on street just outside the town centre and walked back through the town before heading out over the bridge and into the dales, we were soon to be heading through fields with plenty of squeeze styles and ladder styles. After a lot of climbing we were well above Hawes and looking down the length of Wensleydale, this is where we decided to stop for our lunch admiring the view while watching a few jets fly by. We then continued along the track where we stumbled upon an open disused mine entrance, ever curious we both went in for a look, using brief blips of 2 second mobile phone camera flash to have a look, about 30 meters in the mine was blocked, so we about turned and carried on our walk. We wal
ked past High Shaw carav
an park and through some nice woodland until we came to the Green Dragon Inn, Our guide sheet said that through the inn was the highest single drop waterfall in England, Hardraw Force, so we had to go through to have a look, to our surprise there was a £2 charge each (which we later realised we could have avoided by sneaking down the alley!) but we paid and went for a walk up to the falls. While very impressive, and the overhanging rocks and trees were amazing, the falls weren’t as big as we were expecting. Prince enjoyed it though and had a swim in the clear water. On the way out we stopped and had a pint while sat out the front of the pub, and then headed back across the fields to Tonks.
That evening we met up with Julian and Carol who we first met when we stayed in Wareham (in the New Forest) and had since been reading each others blogs when we realised our paths crossed nearby again, so I emailed and we arranged to meet at their motorhome. We had a lovely evening and ended up chatting until 11:30, comparing notes on caravan sites and talking about how great life on the road is! It was really good to catch up with them and share notes with someone doing a similar thing to us.
Next day we decided that we should head into Leyburn first this morning to do some shopping and get the car tyres seen to as one of them was suffering uneven wear. First stop was a small industrial unit up the road where there was a tyre shop and a brewery, the tyre shop was useless, and he didn’t even know what tracking was (he seemed more clued up for motorbike tyres), so we gave up on him and went over to the Wensleydale Brewery. There a young lad was on duty and in a very uninterested but friendly fashion gave us a whistle-stop tour of the brewery before showing us the shop where we bought a couple of bottles. We went on into Leyburn where we parked the car in a very steep car park (field) and did our shopping in the market which had sprung up in the centre of town. On returning to Tonks we discovered we were completely blocked in by a cattle trailer and a tractor, so we decided while we were waiting we’d pop ac
ross the road to the cattle market for a nosey. After walking round we spotted all the farmers heading into a nondescript door and decided to follow, inside we discovered 2 auction areas in full swing so we watched for a while. The cattle were hearded in one by one, and prodded with a stick round the ring, meanwhile the auctioneer shouted a load of unrecognisable nonsense before the cow in question was chucked out again and the next one arrived. It was hugely entertaining and most of the farmers there seemed more interested in chatting to each other than bidding, we were very careful not to scratch our heads because at one point I think we nearly bought a Limousin! When we returned to Tonks we were free to leave, so we stopped at another garage in Leyburn which was much more successful and Tonks was booked in for a tracking check on Monday. Then we went on t
o Masham, another lovely little town and the home of the Black Sheep and Theakstons Brewerys. We had picked up a leaflet from the site which gave us a great town walk to do with lots of history attached to the area, we had ice creams on the way round and even went into the church to admire the stained glass. Afterwards we went into the very impressive Black Sheep Brewery where they have tours, a shop, restaurant and a pub on site. We had a pint in the pub before heading home to await the arrival of Phil’s friend Gav who was visiting for a couple of days. Once he had arrived and we had eaten the two boys headed into Leyburn for a few scoops. We went to the first pub we came to which was a busy place with lots of the local kids, we managed to get on the pool table, so had a few games of pool before heading on to the next pub. We went in round the back where we saw people coming out, and the back bar turned out to have a disco! No-one was dancing, and the bar area was much more crowded, so we had one in there before heading to the Sandpiper. This was a lovely place, much quieter and more of a food pub, so we had a pint at the bar before deciding to sample some of the vast selection of whisky they had on offer.. This meant we were suitably oiled for the walk back up the hill!
We were all up early the next day and headed out to Hawes to do another walk from C
ountry Walking magazine.
hen decided to head out to Hawes armed with a Country Walking map and description. Hawes is a nice little Yorkshire town with
lots of small shops and a few pubs, we parked on street just outside the town centre and walked back through the town before heading out over the bridge and into the dales, we were soon to be heading through fields with plenty of squeeze styles and ladder styles. After a lot of climbing we were well above Hawes and looking down the length of Wensleydale, this is where we decided to stop for our lunch admiring the view while watching a few jets fly by. We then continued along the track where we stumbled upon an open disused mine entrance, ever curious we both went in for a look, using brief blips of 2 second mobile phone camera flash to have a look, about 30 meters in the mine was blocked, so we about turned and carried on our walk. We wal
ked past High Shaw carav
an park and through some nice woodland until we came to the Green Dragon Inn, Our guide sheet said that through the inn was the highest single drop waterfall in England, Hardraw Force, so we had to go through to have a look, to our surprise there was a £2 charge each (which we later realised we could have avoided by sneaking down the alley!) but we paid and went for a walk up to the falls. While very impressive, and the overhanging rocks and trees were amazing, the falls weren’t as big as we were expecting. Prince enjoyed it though and had a swim in the clear water. On the way out we stopped and had a pint while sat out the front of the pub, and then headed back across the fields to Tonks.That evening we met up with Julian and Carol who we first met when we stayed in Wareham (in the New Forest) and had since been reading each others blogs when we realised our paths crossed nearby again, so I emailed and we arranged to meet at their motorhome. We had a lovely evening and ended up chatting until 11:30, comparing notes on caravan sites and talking about how great life on the road is! It was really good to catch up with them and share notes with someone doing a similar thing to us.
Next day we decided that we should head into Leyburn first this morning to do some shopping and get the car tyres seen to as one of them was suffering uneven wear. First stop was a small industrial unit up the road where there was a tyre shop and a brewery, the tyre shop was useless, and he didn’t even know what tracking was (he seemed more clued up for motorbike tyres), so we gave up on him and went over to the Wensleydale Brewery. There a young lad was on duty and in a very uninterested but friendly fashion gave us a whistle-stop tour of the brewery before showing us the shop where we bought a couple of bottles. We went on into Leyburn where we parked the car in a very steep car park (field) and did our shopping in the market which had sprung up in the centre of town. On returning to Tonks we discovered we were completely blocked in by a cattle trailer and a tractor, so we decided while we were waiting we’d pop ac
ross the road to the cattle market for a nosey. After walking round we spotted all the farmers heading into a nondescript door and decided to follow, inside we discovered 2 auction areas in full swing so we watched for a while. The cattle were hearded in one by one, and prodded with a stick round the ring, meanwhile the auctioneer shouted a load of unrecognisable nonsense before the cow in question was chucked out again and the next one arrived. It was hugely entertaining and most of the farmers there seemed more interested in chatting to each other than bidding, we were very careful not to scratch our heads because at one point I think we nearly bought a Limousin! When we returned to Tonks we were free to leave, so we stopped at another garage in Leyburn which was much more successful and Tonks was booked in for a tracking check on Monday. Then we went on t
o Masham, another lovely little town and the home of the Black Sheep and Theakstons Brewerys. We had picked up a leaflet from the site which gave us a great town walk to do with lots of history attached to the area, we had ice creams on the way round and even went into the church to admire the stained glass. Afterwards we went into the very impressive Black Sheep Brewery where they have tours, a shop, restaurant and a pub on site. We had a pint in the pub before heading home to await the arrival of Phil’s friend Gav who was visiting for a couple of days. Once he had arrived and we had eaten the two boys headed into Leyburn for a few scoops. We went to the first pub we came to which was a busy place with lots of the local kids, we managed to get on the pool table, so had a few games of pool before heading on to the next pub. We went in round the back where we saw people coming out, and the back bar turned out to have a disco! No-one was dancing, and the bar area was much more crowded, so we had one in there before heading to the Sandpiper. This was a lovely place, much quieter and more of a food pub, so we had a pint at the bar before deciding to sample some of the vast selection of whisky they had on offer.. This meant we were suitably oiled for the walk back up the hill!We were all up early the next day and headed out to Hawes to do another walk from C
ountry Walking magazine.
This w
as another 6 mile walk that took us up the other side of the valley to the top of Ten End, a climb of over 1,000 feet where we had fantastic panoramic views of the Dales. On the way up a particularly rocky track, just after we had stopped for our lunch we saw a group of motocross riders making their way down a very rocky track. The last rider was making sure everyone got down ok, so he stopped for a chat and told us they had done over 100 miles so far and still had a way to go before returning to base! Not surprising some of them looked knackered! On the way round we took lots of photos and had
a really nice time before emerging in Hawes by the Wensleydale Creamery, so Linda and Gav went in and bought some cheese before we headed into Hawes and got some ice cream. We ate it by a nutty horse that tried to nibble Linda’s clothes before heading to the Crown for a pint!
On the way back home we were commenting how inviting the river alongside the road was looking, so Phil pulled over the car and announced that we were all going in for a paddle. We found a great spot where the rocks on the river bed were worn flat and were comfy under foot. We took our shoes off and all end
ed up in the freezing cold water up to our knees, very invigorating! When we got back to the van Gav realised he had lost his sunglasses, so Phil and Gav headed back 
to the spot and were up to their knees in the icy water again! Luckily, the return trip was a success, and we found the shades sitting on a rock at the bottom of the water, phew! That evening we headed out to the Sandpiper for a meal, and finished it off with whisky and Grand Marnier at the bar.
as another 6 mile walk that took us up the other side of the valley to the top of Ten End, a climb of over 1,000 feet where we had fantastic panoramic views of the Dales. On the way up a particularly rocky track, just after we had stopped for our lunch we saw a group of motocross riders making their way down a very rocky track. The last rider was making sure everyone got down ok, so he stopped for a chat and told us they had done over 100 miles so far and still had a way to go before returning to base! Not surprising some of them looked knackered! On the way round we took lots of photos and had
a really nice time before emerging in Hawes by the Wensleydale Creamery, so Linda and Gav went in and bought some cheese before we headed into Hawes and got some ice cream. We ate it by a nutty horse that tried to nibble Linda’s clothes before heading to the Crown for a pint!On the way back home we were commenting how inviting the river alongside the road was looking, so Phil pulled over the car and announced that we were all going in for a paddle. We found a great spot where the rocks on the river bed were worn flat and were comfy under foot. We took our shoes off and all end
ed up in the freezing cold water up to our knees, very invigorating! When we got back to the van Gav realised he had lost his sunglasses, so Phil and Gav headed back 
to the spot and were up to their knees in the icy water again! Luckily, the return trip was a success, and we found the shades sitting on a rock at the bottom of the water, phew! That evening we headed out to the Sandpiper for a meal, and finished it off with whisky and Grand Marnier at the bar. 
Gav was heading off the next day. We walked into Leyburn and Gav brought his car down so we could have a coffee before saying our goodbyes and waving him off.
In the afternoon Phil went off to Hawes with his bike and rode the route that we had walked the day before, but backwards. Up the steep grass climb, then back down to Hawes via the very rocky track that was great fun, but was only ridden at the same speed as the motorbikes, after claiming the day before that he’d go faster!
Meanwhile Linda took the dogs across the local fields where she was harassed by a flock of aggressive sheep and a herd of young cattle, only to reach a high stile that Prince refused to go over, so she had to turn round and be followed back again by the assortment of farm animals!
Tonks had to go to the garage in the morning so that they could look at why there was uneven wear on the tyres, so we dropped him off at half 10 and went for a walk. We went up to Leyburn Shawl, a long limestone escarpment with a footpath running all the way along the top which had lovely views down Wensleydale, and looked down on the town of Wensley itself. When we got back they still hadn’t looked at Tonks, and asked us to give them another hour, so we popped back into town and had a pint sat outside in the sun! Back at the garage again they had looked at Tonks and made adjustments to the tracking, apparently he needed his wheel bearings adjusting, but they hadn’t done that. He charged us £25 “for cash” and we felt we might have been ripped off, luckily when driving Tonks he was no longer pulling to the left when we released the wheel, so they definitely did something!
In the afternoon Phil went off to Hawes with his bike and rode the route that we had walked the day before, but backwards. Up the steep grass climb, then back down to Hawes via the very rocky track that was great fun, but was only ridden at the same speed as the motorbikes, after claiming the day before that he’d go faster!
Meanwhile Linda took the dogs across the local fields where she was harassed by a flock of aggressive sheep and a herd of young cattle, only to reach a high stile that Prince refused to go over, so she had to turn round and be followed back again by the assortment of farm animals!
Tonks had to go to the garage in the morning so that they could look at why there was uneven wear on the tyres, so we dropped him off at half 10 and went for a walk. We went up to Leyburn Shawl, a long limestone escarpment with a footpath running all the way along the top which had lovely views down Wensleydale, and looked down on the town of Wensley itself. When we got back they still hadn’t looked at Tonks, and asked us to give them another hour, so we popped back into town and had a pint sat outside in the sun! Back at the garage again they had looked at Tonks and made adjustments to the tracking, apparently he needed his wheel bearings adjusting, but they hadn’t done that. He charged us £25 “for cash” and we felt we might have been ripped off, luckily when driving Tonks he was no longer pulling to the left when we released the wheel, so they definitely did something!
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