Last of the Summer Wine

I’ve never been a fan of the television series, “Last of the Summer Wine”, I’ve never seen a single episode, but I do know that it was filmed (until its demise last year) in the nearby town of Holmfirth.

What I didn’t know however, is that there’s AN ACTUAL VINEYARD in Holmfirth! In Yorkshire! Who’d have thought it was possible?!

Holmfirth Vineyard was founded in 2007 – it had previously been a sheep farm, something much more typical of the area.

I visited for the first time two days ago with my friend Duncan. He took me there for a spot of lunch (and perhaps a glass of wine) in their lovely, light-filled restaurant. The food was lovely – I had a pear & stilton tart with salad and sweet potato chips; Duncan had their Swiss cheese & bacon burger with fat chips – both homemade. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the food when it arrived, but trust me, it was delicious!

West Yorkshire was (and still is!) having an early spring heatwave – just look at that sky! – so we decided to finish with coffee & cake on their terrace overlooking the grapevines. The panoramic view was stunning!

We both plumped for their New York style cheesecake – divine! I had a great afternoon, I’d really love to visit again – next time taking in the tour and wine tasting too – hopefully it was the first, and not the last, of the summer wine!

Lakeland Break

In last week’s Wednesday Wish post, we mentioned a recent trip we took to the Lake District.

We thought we’d just share a few snaps of our short stay – perhaps for any fellow Lake District lovers who haven’t been for a while (and are in need a quick ‘virtual visit’)… or maybe for anyone who’s always fancied going and needs just a little further tempting.

How about this for a view to wake up to?

For all you campers out there – this photo was taken at the Baysbrown Farm campsite in the Great Langdale valley.

The stunning, seasonal colours had started to emerge…

…and we had a couple of those glorious autumn days with morning mists giving way to bright sunshine.

Around every corner you find beauty – whether on a small or large scale.

We have some very nice walking country of our own here in Yorkshire where we live…

…however, Lakeland really takes some beating!

All’s well in Wells!

We’ve just returned from a holiday in North Norfolk…

…Wells-next-the-Sea to be precise.

A lovely coastal town with a busy working harbour, shops and fantastic sandy beach.

We stayed at Sailmakers Barn – a wonderful cottage, full of character, very comfortable and only a few minutes’ walk from the town centre & quayside.

Around the corner from the cottage was The Buttlands, an impressive Georgian square fringed by mature lime trees…

…with gorgeous buildings and dog-friendly pubs at either end!

As you can see from our photos, we had lots of blue skies…

…so spent long days walking, soaking up the sun, picnicking and shopping.

We watched beautiful sunsets, picked strawberries, beach combed and spotted the local wildlife.

We did a lot of al fresco dining – breakfast on our balcony, fish & chips by the quayside, barbecues and relaxed pub lunches.

In addition to Wells, we visited some of the surrounding towns and coastal villages including Blakeney, Cley and Holt. We only scratched the surface – there are lots more places to see, but we’ll just have to save them for our next trip.

It was our first time in the area, but it definitely won’t be the last… we really fell in love with Norfolk!

Campervan Collecting

We picked up this fabulous vintage camping stove last week.

It was produced by Primus of Sweden in the 1960s/70s.

It’s a great colour and design, folding up to form a handy carry case.

We mentioned in our recent Bookmarks review of My Cool Campervan that we’re hoping to get our own campervan sometime in the not too distant future.

We’ve actually started doing some campervan collecting… starting a campervan ‘bottom drawer’ – or ‘hope chest’ – to our American, Canadian and New Zealand readers.

The stove’s now been added to it.