Last day in Middleham

And "Quartet" was entertaining - very entertaining - and the meal in The Station Restaurant afterwards very good, at the end of our last day in the Dales.

At a home for retired musicians, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.

We spent the day in Middleham, walking around the town and out onto the moors to the area where the race horses are exercised. There are 22 stables in Middleham, all of them involved in the breeding and training of racehorses.

The town is lovely, very picturesque and interesting.

So, after the walk, we drove off to Richmond for the film and a meal, and drove back to the cottage on a cold night, thankfully not foggy this time, with snow forecast within the next few days.

The drive back to St Albans was very good, the roads being far quieter than we expected. We stopped off for an hour at Yelvertoft to see the boat, to make sure all is well with her. It was bitterly cold, and friends there reported being iced in already once before, with very low temperatures expected in the next week or so. It was sad, leaving Kantara, but I have to say I prefer to sit out the coldest weather in the house, rather than the boat!

Middleham and Richmond

On Sunday, we drove into nearby Leyburn to buy in some supplies, but spent the rest of the day in Middleham. We've been here before, but we had to visit the castle again. There's something rather magical about ancient stone buildings.

On Monday we drove out to Richmond. Again, this town isn't new to us, but it was good to wander around and see the sights. Unfortunately, the castle is only open on Sundays during the winter, but we enjoyed a walk around the outside of it, and spent some time down by the river.

Finally, we went down to the old railway station which has been converted into a two-screen cinema, restaurant, art gallery and conference venue, with a number of "food artisan" shops, and a heritage centre - a brilliant concept, superbly executed.

We had hot drinks in the restaurant before seeing "The Hobbit" in 3D - an excellent film shown in a very comfortable, pleasant 92-seat cinema - and had a good meal there afterwards. 

A very good end to a good day!