Terry and Pat’s travels and more

  Harrogate is the perfect place to stay for a short holiday. The town is clean and free of graffiti and the locals are very friendly and pleasant. There is plenty of shops, cafes and other lunch places along with a good selection of evening eating restaurants catering for many tastes along with an array of pubs. There is a ‘Betty’s’ if you don’t mind queuing. The Valley Gardens are a particularly delight for a leisurely stroll and are maintained to perfection. There are also a number of Art Galleries if you are interested. As far as we could see there are no touristy tat shops to lower the tone of the town. Trains run from London either directly or via Leeds which sometimes is cheaper. Our fares were £38 each way. The buses run to a variety of places outside Harrogate including Ripon, Knaresborough, Leeds and York. There are plenty of places to stay including B and B’s and hotels large and small but it is advisable to book in advance as the town is very popular. I should mention t...

 Our final morning in Harrogate before we make the journey home. We made sure we had plenty to eat at breakfast and then spent a couple of hours in the B and B lounge before we said our goodbyes. On the way to the station we stopped for a top-up sandwich but in hindsight it was too early and we couldn’t eat it all. Having got to the station we had to get over, via a bridge, to the right platform. A ticket attendant told us where to get the lifts which was fine going up but he omitted to tell us that the lift on the opposite side was out of order so I had to lug two suitcases, one at a time, down the stairs. To be honest I had two offers of help from other would be passengers.  The journey to Kings Cross was uneventful and both of us had a nap which seemed to make the time go quicker. The last part of our journey was the tube and that was also uneventful. We finally arrived home at 5p.m.                        ...

  Another day and more walking. We just had to go back to the Valley Gardens which was only 10 minutes walk from the B and B and is a beautiful large municipal garden, tended to perfection and a haven for dogs and their handlers. It was a ‘must do’ so we did it and spent most of the visit fussing dog after dog and chatting to their handlers, young and old. It is a long walk but we took it steady and rested at the cafe in the park while having a coffee. The weather was fine, perfect for a long walk, but all good things have to come to an end and Pat had her hair appointment to keep. We did have time for lunch which consisted of hot sausage rolls while sitting on a bench (almost debauchery) and then into T.K.Maxx to buy some tumblers to replace the ones I keep breaking. On all our walks, both in Harrogate and Ripon, we did not see one China and Glass shop.  Oh how fashions have changed. While Pat was having her hair done I went back to the B and B to catch up on some paperwork. ...

  This morning we  were still feeling the effects of the previous day’s exertions but were determined not to compromise with the things we wanted to do so, after another hearty breakfast, we made our way to the bus station. Next stop, Ripon on the number 36 bus. A 30 minute scenic journey actually took close to 45 minutes because of roadworks, but time was not of an essence. Ripon was not as big as we remembered it from a day trip many years ago which means it has either shrunk or our memory is not as good as it once was. The latter is almost certainly the case. The bus station is very close to the main square so we decided to browse the shops in the square first. An alleyway directly off the square also housed a few shops and I was reading out the list to Pat and one was called ‘Hello Gorgeous’ which I said aloud just as a lady was passing. She turned and said ‘thank you’ to me and then we all had a good laugh when I explained to her what had happened.  In truth we were ...

  After a good nights rest we were raring to go and started with a really nice breakfast. To the hosts despair Pat had everything on the menu whilst I made do with two sausages and a slice of toast. While we were  eating we sketched out our plans for the day ahead which included Pat making an appointment to have her hair done, locate the Chinese restaurant we found on the internet, and just do some general window shopping. Having the advantage of our previous visit, Pat knew the hairdresser’s she wanted to use so that was our first stop and the first disappointment of the day. They were fully booked but recommended another establishment a short walk away where Pat was able to get a booking. As luck would have it, and it was time we had some, the Chinese restaurant we wanted to find was just around the corner and looked quite nice. Two objectives achieved  quite early. The next couple of hours were spent leisurely strolling around until lunchtime when we found a place call...

What a roller-coaster the first day of our trip turned out to be. It started well enough and we were ready to start our journey from home shortly after 8a.m. There were no problems on the tube but when we reached Kings Cross station things started to go awry. Our train to Leeds, where we would change trains to reach our destination, was cancelled along with many other trains due to a points failure at Stevenage. Pandemónium is the best way I can describe the situation at Kings Cross as more and more trains were cancelled or delayed. We were advised to take the next train to Leeds but nobody could say when that would arrive or on what platform but we were very fortunate that we look very old, more Pat than me, and vulnerable because a very nice member of the assistance staff took us under his wing. He found a place for us to sit and when our replacement train arrived he personally took us to the train and found us seats for the journey, albeit we had to sit separately. In addition he ar...