The house used as Siegfried Farnham's home and surgery.

Grassington

Ian Morris

MONDAY 9-9-24

The drizzle and low cloud turned to proper heavy rain by late afternoon and didn't finish with us until around bedtime which meant we didn't have to lay in bed and listen to it hitting the motorhomes' steel roof.

This morning we awoke to what we have become familiar with - low cloud and mist with a bit of drizzle in the air. Having moved up to the Station Inn's car park yesterday it made it easier for us to use their facilities enabling us to dump everything and fill the fresh water tank.

Once we were ready we made our way towards the Settle area to meet a very dear man, Ian Morris. I'd allowed forty-five minutes because Google maps had said the journey would take thirty, however the satnav told me I had a journey of fifty-four minutes ahead of me, so I was fearful we'd be late.

I'd checked the road to his home way up in the sticks overlooking Malham Tarn and was aware there were a few miles of single track road to endure, but we'd be ok as long as we didn't meet anything coming the other way. What I hadn't taken in to consideration was the steepness of that road. With a full load and a wet road we just couldn't get up due to the front end being light, and we were getting wheel spin. This left me having to back up about half a mile, the distance we had managed to do, until we reached the bottom where there was a car park we could pull in to.

Backing up down such a narrow road, going steeply downhill as well as having to move right over to the side on a couple of occasions to let cars behind me pass was all rather challenging and I was glad when we reached the car park. From there I phoned Ian and apologised profusely explaining that we couldn't get the vehicle up to him, and that we'd have to try and visit him again in the future - in a car.

He soon rang back and told me there was a colleague who would come down in a 4x4 and pick us up, so that was very helpful.

Eventually we were being greeted by Ian, who was once the very much loved Chaplain of Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. He was a good friend to we in the Ambulance Service, and whenever word reached him that we were going through a bad patch of jobs he'd appear on station with his lunch box and sit among the troops just chatting and offering support.

Between us we offered a service to those in-hospital patients who had lost loved ones, usually in a car accident and wished to attend the funeral of their loved ones who had perished in that accident. He'd contact me with the details and I'd pop and have a word with the patient and staff to ascertain their needs before asking for volunteers to crew an ambulance which was always willing made available by our Chief Ambulance Officer. When I was an operation member of staff I'd only need one colleague to assist me, but when I became the operational manager I needed two, and because they were such a great bunch of staff, I never had a problem getting a crew together.

On the appointed day, the patient would be collected from the ward with occasionally a nurse escort depending if they needed medication during the outing. We'd load them up and take them to the church or crematorium and stayed with them until they were ready to return to the ward. It was a service greatly appreciated by family and friends of the deceased.

Ian left Addenbrookes Hospital at about the same time as me, and I understand that service was no longer offered to patients which is a great shame.

As well as tending his flock Ian also kindly agreed to marry my youngest daughter Nicola, she of the Royal Navy's female button boy fame back in about 1994, in our local village church.

We only stayed with Ian for a couple of hours because I was aware his health has suffered of late, but they were a lovely two hours and Rosina was very pleased she's also met him, and will now read my copy of his book 'The Motorcycle Hearse and Other Undertakings'.

After a much appreciated lift back to the motorhome we set off for Grassington which is the village where they film the new series of 'All Creatures Great and Small'. It was a pretty place with locals all geared up to take money off the tourists.

Then it was off to Tamworth having scrubbed another couple of potential destinations as we thought we'd head further south to see if we could find some sunshine. Something we hadn't seen since Tuesday afternoon last week. It was intended that we'd park up somewhere about halfway for the night and then hit town tomorrow morning, but with most of the journey being on motorway we've ended up in a layby beside a very noisy and busy road a few miles outside Tamworth. At least we did get to see some sunshine this afternoon and I even got to wear my polarised driving glasses.

Tomorrow we park up in Tamworth for a look round. Problem is I can't remember why I selected it as worthy of a visit.

SUNDAY 8-9-24

Last night's entertainment ended up being Michael Flatley's 'Feet of Flames', all very entertaining, but it did go on a bit.

We awoke to yet another misty, drizzly day. The forecast was for rain all day  and in the end we decided not to bother going out. Instead we'd start the day with a nice hot shower and sit and read. The only problem was that we were very 'nose down' which would prevent the water from draining to the waste tank at the back of the vehicle, so my first job was to get dressed and move the vehicle on to the levelling mats and inflate them until matters improved.

The Settle to Carlisle railway line runs over the Ribblehead Viaduct, and as well as the regular train service we had the pleasure of seeing a steam locomotive cross it this morning, heading presumably for a day out in Carlisle.

The original plan was for us to go for a walk this morning and then leave for a pub further down the road, about five miles north of Settle, where we'd have a roast dinner. In the end we decided to stay in the car park of the Railway Inn where we'd pulled in to for facilities, as by this afternoon there were a few free parking spaces. The added bonus was that we could use their Wi-Fi which was a great help.

I thought we'd eat about five or six o'clock, the thinking being the rush would be over by then, but not a bit of it, and it kept getting busier and noisier as we sat there. A lot of the new customers were hikers looking like drowned rats after enjoying a nice long walk in the pouring rain. Never mind, The Chef got an evening off, and we enjoyed our roast beef dinners at seventeen pounds each.

I'm pleased that our LED strip light located on the steps up to our bed is working normally again. Last year when we parked at Goathland Hut the light would keep coming on during the night for no good reason the whole time we were there. Once we left it was fine again. This time it was the same story, only it was worse. The light played up day and night and would often just stay on rather than go off after a set period if there was no further movement. It got so bad I took the batteries out of it. Once again after we left it worked properly again. I think that's a bit spooky.

So I'm afraid it's been a nothing day, another day of damp miserable weather and no television reception. The only good thing is we'll now start making our way south a bit, though looking at the weather forecast this afternoon it looks as if the south of England is going to be hit as badly if not worse than us up here.

Tomorrow morning I visit an old friend before taking a quick look at Grassington as we pass. It's the film location for the new series of All Creatures Great and Small.

SATURDAY 7-9-24

It was another damp foggy start to the day. I think we had both been giving our options some thought as we lay in bed. After scrubbing up and over breakfast  I suggested we scrub going any further north. There just didn't seem any point. It was going to be a three hour drive to Kielder Forest and the weather forecast was for yet more rain, which wasn't good as hiking would have been all there was to do there.

We needed a few groceries and rather than take the vehicle up the VERY steep switchbacked road nearby we elected to do it the hard way and walk to Sainsbury's for a top-up. By the time we got back I felt we'd had our exercise for the day.

I was so pleased to spot that the local council had also been good enough to provide motorhomers with a chemical toilet (black water) dump point and a fresh water tap. This gave us the opportunity to top up and dump everything giving us at least three days 'stand alone' capability.

On leaving Saltburn we elected to leave town on another road, which in the end took us on a lovely ride around the area, which was my fault as I was ignoring the satnav because it was trying to send us down crappy, but which turned out to be correct, roads.

We were heading for Ribblehead Viaduct, somewhere we've been to a couple of times before, but it would put us in a position we need to be in tomorrow night. Gosh it was a long journey, made longer by my error. We covered many miles through the Yorkshire Dales, and if I wore dentures I'm sure some of the roads would have loosened them. Along the way, due to the Third World communications facilities up here in places, I was continually trying to contact a very dear man who I am hoping we could visit on Monday morning.

Thankfully we touched base whilst we still had a signal en-route. So more of that on Monday.

Unfortunately the car park at The Station Inn (N54.206965° W2.363539°) our usual stopover, close to the railway station and viaduct, was full of motorhomes, campervans and cars, so no room at the inn for us. It wasn't a huge problem as we simply parked further down the road among the day trippers' cars, and here's where we'll spend the night.

Needless to say we have no WiFi, TV, or phone signal here. Never mind, I suppose that means we'll be watching another DVD tonight.

We'd been stuck in the cab for a number of hours so it was good to get out and stretch our legs followed by a nice little walk close to the viaduct.

So that's it really. By the end of the day I vowed I would never come 'North' again. Two reasons: Shit roads and shit weather. Oh there's a third - lousy communications.

This evening is to be spent with my darling Rosina watching who knows what on the telly, and tomorrow morning I'm going to take the vehicle up to The Station Inn's car park and dump and refill, before we set off again.

FRIDAY 6-9-24

Another peaceful night, our last one at Goathland. We were able to enjoy a nice hot shower this morning before filling our fresh water tank and dumping.

Quite a lot of destinations we travel to are as a result of watching travel programmes on television, so today we were off to Saltburn-on-Sea, just north of Staithes on the Yorkshire coast, having seen it featured on a Programme with Michael Portillo. I'm not sure if it was one of his railway programmes or just a straightforward tour along the northern coastline. At least it is somewhere we haven't been before. The approach road to the town was pretty narrow in places but we arrived unscratched.

We made for the main car park (N54.584762 W0.967347°) which had a number of dedicated motorhome bays which is a most welcomed feature for travellers in the UK. We were in luck and grabbed the last one available. For a fee of £7.20 we may park here for 24 hours, which is excellent value.

We were soon having a wander around. I'm sure it looks much better on a hot sunny day, but never mind. Portillo's programme featured the Funicular Railway which takes passengers from the seafront up to the town centre, and I thought it would be nice to have a ride on it, but no, it was closed for repairs and maintenance following a fire earlier in the year. Just like Goathland, there were dogs everywhere, in fact when we popped in to the pub there for a quick drink the bar was full and looked more like a vet's waiting room, so we didn't stop. They're also on the large beach which displays clear signs telling owners their dogs are banned from it until 1st October, but typically most take no notice.

Without the Funicular it was a steep walk up to the town, so much so that they could do with a defibrillator in a box halfway up the long flight of steps.

I must say they have a very nice railway station which has lots of hanging baskets and flower tubs. It makes so much difference. Railway station aside there wasn't too much to see up there, but The Chef did manage to buy a loaf of bread from a popular bakers, only to find she could have bought better in the Sainsburys supermarket across the road.

Having discussed our meal options for the day we decided on soup and fresh bread this evening making life a bit easier for The Chef, and something more substantial for lunch. That 'substantial' turned out to be food from a hot counter in the local Spar shop-cum butchers. Rosina had lasagne and chips and I had barbecued pulled pork and chips. Each portion was plenty big enough and all for just nine pounds. I rushed mine a bit, fearful it would get cold (we're ten degrees cooler up here than back home) and my digestive system paid the price for much of the afternoon.

Struggling to occupy our time, we came back home for a coffee before going for a walk along their pier to watch a few surfers practicing their art on the brown waters of the North Sea. Hawaii it ain't. I would have thought by now somebody would have come up with a fancy surfboard that has a small outboard motor on the back given how long it takes them to get far enough out to surf a wave.

Then it was a walk along a path through a narrow valley behind the car park, it was all rather nice, they certainly make an effort here to provide facilities for visitors and locals. The park has a miniature railway which runs for about three hundred yards, but yup, you guessed it - it wasn't working. We saw it running this morning but it was mostly empty, so I suppose it made sense to call it a day.

We now need to return home by the end of the month as we wish to attend a funeral. The deceased was a former colleague of Rosina's and her late husband was a colleague of both of us. This means we'll need to keep a closer eye on what time we spend where. To that ends we're going to give places like Amble and Bamburgh a miss as we've been there before and instead will set off for Kielder Forest tomorrow.

Farewell to the lovely Rose Cottage, our accomodation for our first two visits.

THURSDAY 5-9-24

Well lying in bed this morning having slid back the skylight blind we saw little point in hurrying to get up. It looked very damp and the wind was blowing the tree branches above our heads.

Instead of one spot rain all day we got wind, drizzle and a visibility of about two-hundred yards which didn't improve all day. We thought we'd stay indoors for the morning and have a read in the hope things would improve after lunch. Needless to say they didn't.

We considered our options and decided to forget the walk and maybe get a bus towards Pickering jumping off at Thornton le Dale, home of Mathewsons Car Auctions, star of the TV series 'Bangers & Cash'. Normally we'd be able to keep an eye out for buses coming down the hill in to the village giving us enough time to get to the nearby village bus stop, but with today's appalling visibility we could see nothing and so I trudged to the bus stop to look at the timetable whilst The Chef did the lunchtime washing up. Oh dear, there didn't look to be another bus until about 15:00 so we didn't bother with that bright idea. Instead we decided to get out and stretch our legs walking the village' Millennium Trail', not at all taxing, but it was good to get out for some fresh air and exercise. It didn't take too long to get round and we were soon back at the shops where I treated us to a couple of overpriced cakes.

When we returned we were left with just one neighbour, though we have been joined by another this afternoon. While I was still dressed for the weather I topped up the fresh water tank and dumped the grey waste. We're now ready for tomorrow mornings lovely hot shower before we move on. After our next brief stop we'll be looking at the weather forecast in detail to decide what we do next. I was chatting to one of the neighbours as we shared the use of the outside tap and he said he was planning to go further north up the coast but having looked at the weather forecast has decided instead to go over to the Lake District. Given the amount of rain they get there it doesn't bode well for our more northerly section of the trip.

My darling Chef is currently working on tonight's gastronomic delight whilst I bash this out. I was arm-wrestling the blog's software a couple of days ago as it seemed impossible to add another page for this trip, and I gave up in disgust vowing to just give the whole thing up, but due to boredom this afternoon I have return to the battle and succeeded in cracking it, which has meant I've had to sit and upload three days worth of text and pictures.

This evening, in the absence of a TV signal, we'll be watching another DVD. Oh, the excitement of it all.

This has been our sixth visit to Goathland spread over a number of years and it will be our last. I may miss the village but not their steam train at £49.50 a ticket, nor their crap weather.

Ever the optimist

I bet they're off a cruise ship!

WEDNESDAY 4-9-24

Another peaceful night having enjoyed last night's DVD film 'Eddie the Eagle'. We'd seen it a couple of times before but it's a nice little film. What it did do though was to pull yet more power out of the habitation battery.

This morning was another grey one and rather fresh. The Chef had suggested that we take it in turns to be first up in the mornings rather than it always being her. So it was I who crawled out to face a temperature of 14°C, a bit cool for my liking.

Today's walk was to be a repeat of one we did last year, it takes about two hours and takes in some nice scenery. It was a backpack day because we were taking our lunch of sandwiches, crisps, cereal bar and coffee with us. Added to that I was carrying the new video camera in a bag hoping to capture  a few bits and pieces which I can play with when we get home. At this stage I'm electing not to record in 4K quality, which uses four times as much memory, so should be very good quality. But I'm fearful that to process the footage then edit and burn a DVD from it will require the power and processing performance of a computer capable of controlling a manned mission to Mars. So I'm recording in Ultra High Definition, which is about halfway between 4K and what I've been used to.

It was difficult to know quite what to wear and so in the end we went for hoodies and macs, that way we could keep both dry and warm with not too much bulk. Before setting off I deployed the large folding solar panel down the side of the vehicle hoping that it would generate a bit of much needed electricity and not get stolen whilst it did so.

On yesterdays walk we were removing layers of clothing because the sun came out and we were getting too warm. Today after half an hour we were glad we were dressed as we were. We saw hardly anybody on the way round which was nice. What wasn't nice was that we saw just one steam train, well the top half of one through the trees. The North York Moors Railway are obviously running a very reduced service now that all the brat kids have gone back to school.

By the time we'd done the circuit and arrived at Goathland railway station it was starting to spit with rain. There was a train due in twenty-five minutes after we arrived and so The Chef was happy to hang around for a while to allow me to video the arrival. Then it was in to their gift shop to buy a mug to replace the one which became handle-less at the end of our last trip. I kept the handle and mug to repair as this wasn't the first time it had happened. During our two 90-day trip around America in 2008 we collected souvenir mugs from many of the places we visited. At the end of the final trip we enquired about having them all shipped back by sea, but the cost was so high it was cheaper for us to buy another suitcase and packaging material and fly them home with us as baggage. They were all once on display but a few years ago I decided to start using them as they weren't really of any interest to other people. That's when we started to create handle-less mugs. Anybody taking a close look at the collection will see a few with glued on handles.

To save returning 'home' too soon I suggested to The Chef that we pop in to the Goathland Hotel (the Aidensfield Arms on TV) for a drink and a look at their menu with a view to our eating there this evening to give her the night off. Jesus it was packed with trippers and their damned dogs, so we just turned around and came back out again.

The rain was now coming down heavier and we were glad to get indoors. I decided to leave the poor wet solar panel out just in case it brightened up later.

This evening was to be spent at the top of the road at the Goathland Hotel, who, according to their website, were supposed to be open and serving food between 19:00 and 20:00, only they weren't, they were closed. This did not please me. In the end we crossed the road and went to the 'Inn on the Moor' hotel which is where the cast and production crew of  'Heartbeat' stayed when they were filming. So we spent our money there instead. I told the staff the reason we were there and they told us they do it all the time, pleasing themselves if and when they open. So when I get around to it I'll give them an online review.

Our meal was very nice and good value for money. When we left to come home the village was as quiet as the grave. Something the locals must enjoy once the day trippers have all gone home. On the way back The Chef said how nice it was that it wasn't raining, and just as she said it the heavens opened and we had to leg it back.

So what's left of the evening is being spent in the warm with the central heating on whilst we listen to the rain bouncing off the roof. Tomorrow we're hoping to walk to Grosmont, where the NYMR have their engine sheds and we will either return to Goathland on the train or catch a bus. I doubt we'll be walking back as I think they are forecasting a one-spot rainy day.

Global warming! - We used to have to cross using the stepping stones.

TUESDAY 3-9-24

Well, that was a nice peaceful night. As we have no television signal here The Chef chose last night's movie - The Cruel Sea, a black and white classic starring Jack Hawkins and numerous others. I'd seen it more than once before over the years but it appeared to be new to The Chef. I think it lasted about two hours and as a consequence drained the habitation battery more than I would have liked. We'll be replacing it before our final trip in the spring. I could have changed it sooner but didn't see the point in having it sat idle all through the coming cold winter.

We awoke to a bit of sunshine, but that didn't last long, leading to a couple of hours of fine drizzle. We weren't phased by it because that's what had been forecast and we'd planned to sit it out before having an early lunch and a nice walk.

On the way back from dumping some rubbish I noticed vehicle one belonging to one of the gobby northerners roll back off its levelling blocks. Further enquiries established that they were both leaving. What a result. I moved out of our parking space leaving it available for any other camper who might arrive, whilst I positioned ourselves to strike the moment they left. Better than that, I waved them bye-bye and locked the gates behind them. We're now occupying the same area we had last year which is right on the end of the car park near the grass field, and as a consequence is nice and private.

After lunch we readied ourselves for our walk. We didn't want to undertake anything too strenuous as I don't think we've done any such walks since we were last here, so we're a bit out of condition.

When we set off it was rather cool and cloudy and so I wore a jumper and Puffa jacket. Needless to say within half an hour they were off and tied around my waist. We were looking forward to a nice refreshing drink at the tiny pub at Beck Hole, but unfortunately it shuts on a Tuesday. Why a Tuesday I have no idea, but shut it was. Rather than return up the steep hill to the Malyon Spout Hotel on the main road through Goathland village we elected to return along the old railway line which you'd think would be level, but no, this section was a pretty steady climb upwards because at the time it had railway rack laid, the wagons were winched up the incline. This resulted in a serious crash when a wagon broke free and came crashing back down. So that's why it became the old railway line. In fact the lane leading down from the main road to Goathland Hut right behind our parking area also formed part of that line.

By the time we returned home the sun was shining and it was lovely and warm, so much so that we got our chairs out and enjoyed soaking up some sunshine.

This also gave me the opportunity to continue watching the progress of a gang of workmen erecting two tepees out on the grass. Apparently there is a wedding here on Saturday and they have been joined together to be used for the reception, including a disco. I told the guys that if there was going to be a disco in a tent Saturday then I was glad we were leaving Friday morning.

It was then time to wind up the laptop and download today's pictures and knock up a few words about today, but to my horror I noticed that although I had left the laptop charging from the vehicle battery while we were out, it was still as good as flat. Having made checks I was confident it was the charging unit itself that was at fault. I suppose it had done well as I've been using it for ten years so I can't grumble. I do tend to carry spares of many items onboard and was so relieved, having fought my way to the hidden safe in the back of the vehicle, that there was a spare lead available. We were back in business. Had I not been able to get the laptop fixed we would have been completely cut off from the outside world as we still have no TV or phone signals.

The Chef has now moved in to creative mode and has made a start on tonight's gastronomic delight - Spag Bol. I'm hoping that tomorrow she will get the night off as the hotel at the top of the road will kindly be reopening, though I don't know for how many days. They must have changed to their 'We've made a fortune again this summer and are now putting our feet up' restricted hours programme. A bit like the steam railway. Believe it or not I haven't seen one train all day.

MONDAY 2-9-24

We were away in good time this morning and ready to implement the cunning plan. Rather than use the A1 which I hate, I thought we'd stay on the east side of the country and head north on the A16 through Lincolnshire and beyond. However that plan was kicked in to the long grass after it took us an hour to reach the Peterborough area having spent many miles stuck behind numerous slow moving vehicles on single lane rural roads..............so the A1 it was to be, though I have to say the journey went pretty well with only a couple of holdups due to roadworks. Lunch was enjoyed just after we left the A1 heading on the A64 towards York.

We arrived here at the Goathland Community Hut (N54.398776° W0.715352°) at about 14:30 to find there were already three motorhomes parked up. We were clearly not to have the pleasure of having the place pretty much to ourselves as we did when we visited last year.

There was a decent sized space between vehicle two and three and so I backed in there. Unfortunately during the 'setting up home' phase I discovered that we have neither a phone signal or television reception. I must take a look at the blog entries for our last visit to see if we had the same problem the.

The weather became rather wet as we headed north but by the time we were ready for a little walk around the village it had stopped. Well just about long enough for a short walk around the village. I was on the lookout for a 'Goathland' souvenir mug to replace one I broke right at the end of our last trip and forgot to replace. I had opened the habitation door to throw out the dregs in my breakfast mug of tea when the handle broke off and the mug spun round and the sharp ceramic edge from a join took a deep chunk out of the back of my middle finger. Never mind, it's mending nicely.

Sadly I could find no suitable replacement mug but did manage to find a few packets of self-indulgent biscuits in the village store.

As the rain began to fall again it was a quick walk back 'home'. Once again the TV just wouldn't tune to any stations whatsoever. I'm so glad we bought a small selection of DVD's with us.

The concern is that our habitation battery is now six years old and it isn't holding its charge as well is it did, and we have to be mindful of how much power we are draining out of it for such luxuries as television, and particularly playing a DVD. We will be replacing it in the spring before embarking on our final tour which will be around France. We do have a fairly large free-standing folding solar panel - but for that to work you need sunshine.

After being 'home' for a while our neighbours from motorhomes one and two arrived back. They we clearly together and had positioned their vehicles so that their habitation doors were facing one another. This provided these gobby northerners with the ideal opportunity to shout across at each other from their vehicles. Dear Lord! It wasn't too long before I decided to up sticks and move further along the car park and out of earshot.

There has been an improvement in the weather this evening suggesting the rainy clag has blown over and we can enjoy a nice evening.

Tomorrow is forecast to be a bit of an indifferent morning, in which case we'll go for one of our walks later in the day.

I expect to set out looking like as pack mule as I have bought along a new video camera I have squandered my pension money on (are you listening Sir Kier?). It is capable of recording in 4K definition, which is four times the quality of what I have been recording, which in itself is pretty amazing. My problem is I have one of a pair of video cameras I bought for our 2008 tours of America, the other one dying with honour a few years ago. But they use video tape which means when you take it away on holiday you have to take lots of tape with you and it all gets a bit bulky. The new camera uses memory cards which take up no room at all, so we're here to take it for a bit of a test drive as well as trying to take the usual pictures for the blog.

So here we are, no television and the evening is still young............I suppose we'll have to try talking to one another.