Day Out in Settle and Austwick

It being the school holidays, and Garry & Rachel being in Dubai, we have the grandchildren for  a few days, then they visit their other grandparents for the remainder of the week.

Yesteday they were taken to the Jorvik Viking Centre.

Today it was the trip up to Settle and a visit to the Naked Man Cafe, where both Mollie and Tom enjoyed a "Full Monty"

Above is a photo of Tom before he devoured his Gingerbread Man!

 Here is Mollie about to attack her "Meringue" before attacking her "Full Monty"

 We came across this replica "State Coach" outside a shop called "The House That Jack Built" 

WE then moved on to Austwick, and the lane which Mollie and Tom call "The Rabbit Walk." There was plenty of evidence that Spring had Sprung. These Bluebells were in full bloom.

There were lots of sheep and lambs in the surrounding fields, and this cheeky little fellow was using his mother as a prop to get a better look a me taking his photograph!

A little further up the lane we came across this amazing fungus, which was growing from the base of a tree root.

This is the lower end of the lane.

There was plenty of blossom out on the trees too!

After walking up the lane we stopped for a delicious meal at the Gamecock.

We then took a walk down to the little stream which flows under the old clapper bridge (which is called Flascoe Bridge.) It took Ruby about 2 seconds to decide that the water looked very inviting, and she was soon retrieving a large stick which Tom was throwing into the stream for her. It was actually deep enough for her to swim in.

This is Tom about to launch himself on to the swing,

and here is Mollie having a swing.

Having jumped in and swum about in the stream lots of times, Ruby decided that it would be nice to have a rest on the bank and dry out in the sun. Here she is having a gnaw at her stick.



Tom found this ladybird, which finished up on Dot's arm!

A Day Out in Settle & Austwick

This morning started quite dramatically. I woke at about 7.30 am and when I got out of bed I found I was in agony! The lower part of my back was giving me hell when I moved between a sitting position and a standing position. After struggling downstairs and having breakfast I was no better, and was persuaded to take a dichlophenic, which the nurse of the house reassured me would take the pain away. Two hours later it was not really any better.

We had planned to take the two grand-daughters out to Settle and Austwick for the day, and as we usually call in Ye Old Naked Man Café I had visions of me lurching between sitting and standing (a bit like the Hunchback of Notre Dame), however after having my back rubbed with some Ibuprofin things did seem to ease a little. (I hasten to add that this did not occur in Ye Old Naked Man Cafe, and I am not Ye Old Naked Man!)

We collected the grand-daughters and headed towards Settle, passsing what I can only describe as lots of steaming fields on the way. First there was low cloud, and then later the fields looked as though they were steaming. Another quite dramatic event!

We arrived at Settle, and whist Dot and the girls headed to Ye Old Naked Man to get a table I called in Nat West to do a bank raid. When I got inside the café who should be there but one of Rachel’s friends from some years back (Jane Brearley and her daughter Felicity.) We were welcomed like long lost buddies, and caught up on the latest news.

Ye Old Naked Man Cafe

After Coffee, Milk Shakes and Chocolate Drinks and a pastry, the girls went one direction and I went the other, heading for the charity shops, where I purchased a double Video Cassette of the G K Chesterton Father Brown Stories, a double cassette of the Linde Consort playing the Bach Brandenberg Concertos, a triple cassette called Golden Overtures and another triple cassette of Handel’s Messiah and a CD Classical Piano Chillout all for the princely sum of £3.80!

We then headed on to Austwick, and had a very late lunch (2.30 pm) in the Gamecock Inn. The owner and resident chef is a Frenchman, and he produces some excellent and very tasty meals, all reasonably priced too.

The Game Cock Inn - Austwick

The Bar - our table (with menus on it)

We all started with a main course. I chose the Guinness and Steak pie, Dot had a vegetarian dish and Mollie had Pizza and Olivia had fajitas. The girls decided they would like a sweet too. These were beautifully presented, and ample – so two sweets were ordered and two extra spoons!

Superbly presented & deliciously tasty sweets

Mollie & Olivia waiting to start their sweets