Well that was rather good. A marvellous hostel run by lovely and most welcoming people. If you are ever out that way pop in. Lovely people + lovely people tends to make for an enjoyable week end! All agreed will be worth another visit. I think we must have met most of the village during our time there.
The Settle to Carlisle was amazing and a first for me, to our surprise the clouds parted and we experienced the most stunning sunlit vistas. Peter and John drove up on Sunday to say hello and joined us for lunch which was great (and good fun). The food at the Gamecock in Austwick was excellent as ever and is highly recommended. The less said about climbing up out of Settle on the bike the better (ahem!) although I enjoyed the ride immensely and was treated kindly by les autres. We had snow, hail and brilliant sunshine. Must get my knee sorted.
Ruth made two fabulous curries from scratch in the small kitchen so many thanks (once again!) to her, it made for a special evening. The Socks provided some rather yummy deserts. We had the hostel to ourselves, a roaring log fire and good food. Hilda?, a sixty something caver from Burnley, joined us for dinner and entertained us with daring do tales of the local caves. Apparently the bosun's chair in Gaping Gill costs nothing to go down and a tenner to come up, but they only do it a few times a year. (The down AND up that is.) Note: skeletal remains have been found in local caves.
Very impressed with Settle, its inhabitants and the local cafes.
I hope Wowbagger can remove the finger nail marks from the dashboard, not that I am the nervous type or anything. Yes you can stand ankle deep in water, whilst it is hissing down, pumping 107 amps into your car, honest. IKEA, please get some signage put up to locate your power charging stations!.
Get well soon Peli, we will see you both soon.
Now looking forward to spring. Also good to see everyone home safe and sound.
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