Day 1

Dan and I had a rather uneventful flight from Ottawa to London Heathrow on the 23rd. Once at Heathrow, we picked up our bags, had a lovely conversation with our Immigration officer, then headed off for the tube.

First things first, we needed to get our Oyster cards topped up. We went to the tourist counter by the tube stop and put on enough money to keep us in tube travel for our visits to London. Next onto the tube, which would take us straight to King’s Cross Station in order to catch our connection to Darlington. Uh oh, dan looked down just as the tube was pulling from the station and realized that he had forgotten our duty free whisky at the tourist counter!!! We thought about going back, but with our connections rather tight, we felt we should carry on, and hope that whoever found the Dalwhinnie 15 year old scotch would appreciate it!!!

We soon found ourselves at King’s cross, and after a short wait, boarded our train for the north.

Once in Darlington our dear friends Glenn and Gwen were there to meet us! What a sight for these tired eyes!!

From there, G and G drove us to their house in Richmond, and our home base for the next 14 days.

Once settled, we took a lovely walk up to the market place and then to a restaurant where we ate a wonderful meal. Tired and ready for bed, we all headed back to the house and off to a good nights rest!

Day 2

Both dan and I had a wonderful sleep, and awoke very refreshed. After breakfast, Glenn said that we could do a lovely walk right from our home base. Off we went to explore!

We followed parkland by the River Swale across the town and made a quick stop at the old railway station. This station has been converted to a market complete with artists, a tea room, a number of local crafts and a lovely bakery. It was all we could do to resist the delicious smells emanating from the ovens!

On we went through the woods on the south side of the river following what used to be a old railway bed.

From a distance across the fields and river we could make out the ruins of Easby Abbey. A ruin so picturesque that Turner chose to paint it!

The setting was pastoral, but the ruins left a trace of a far more violent past.

Once past the abbey, we ventured back towards town again, through some lovely woodlands in full bloom!

With the town in site, it was time to plan on doing some provisioning for the coming days. Our next adventure took us to a giant Tesco’s where we got goodies to feed us for a few days!

Back home we prepped dinner and awaited the arrival of our Camino buddy, Sandra. With a great reunion and lovely visit under our belts it was time for our good nights. Tomorrow’s adventure to Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle awaited us all!.