Got the decorating bug

Painted Stairs

I don't know why I have the decorating bug at the moment - might be something to do with browsing on Pinterest - but I have a few ideas and projects on the go. 

I have finally finished painting the stairs (we can't afford a carpet at the moment) which was a bit of a labour of love as getting that masking tape straight was a pain. Then everyone kept wanting to come up or down the stairs when the paint was drying and as for my battle with dog hair....

Hall table

I found this old table in a junk shop and paid a whopping £2 for it - bargain. It had a hideous green "leather" top and was badly scratched so I asked my carpenter neighbour to cut the back off it so that it could be fixed to the wall. Several coats of blue paint and a map of Paris has changed this tatty table into the perfect place for flowers. Also, now it is attached to the wall with mirror plates, the dog can't knock it over. 

Before

I'm ordering the lampshade from Lush Designs next week and then that's the hall finished. Meanwhile, I have plans for the living room....

Map of Paris

Bonnie Scotland

We just spent a week away in Scotland and a week was not long enough! 

We stayed in a bothy (cow shed) in Tynron, Galloway, not far from the Solway Coast. Despite the weather reports it was quite sunny and warm with only a couple of "dreich" days. Most of the time we walked or played with the dog on the beach.

Behind the Bothy is Tynron Doon, a large partially wooded hill that once had an iron age fort. We climbed up to look at the spectacular view over the Scaur hills (and to get a good phone signal). The route down was fraught with danger - particularly when I fell in a slurry pit and had to walk the lat two miles home covered in cow poo....

Along the Solway Coast and some lovely towns and villages wrth visiting - the best of these has to be Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet. Kirkcudbright (Kir-coo-bree) is the "artists' Town" with The Tollbooth Arts Centre and several galleries. THe best of these is the WhiteHouse Gallery.

Because the climate is quite mild in this part of southern Scotland there is plenty of gardens worth visiting. We went to Cally Gardens, which is in the woods at Gatehouse of Fleet. It has some imaginative planting and is quite informal (a bit junglie) which is how I like gardens to look. 

The coast is beautiful. Totally unspoilt - no bucket and spades, no "kiss me quick" hats, no fruit machines or fun fairs. Instead, clean beaches, clear water and plenty of shells. We spent a lovely day at Rockcliffe and another day at Carrick and Brighouse Bays.  We walked across the strand to an island and looked in the rock pools. 

Jackson features in many of our photos - mostly carrying a stick in his mouth - it's not the same stick in every picture! 

Well it was all over too soon and now I am back in Yorkshire, freezing cold and looking forward to my next holiday. To see more photos of Dumfries and Galloway please go to Flickr by clicking on this Link.  

A Walk in the Woods

Once a week Jackson and I go on a really looong walk, usually on the moors or down by the river.  But, because it was so hot this week, we went to Middleton Woods in Ilkley instead. 

Middleton Woods is also known locally as "Bluebell Woods" because of the magnificent display of bluebells. During May the woods become a carpet of shimmering blue.

The woods are full of birdsong this time of year - woodpecker, cuckoo, blackbird, thrush, pheasant and crows. 

We had been in the woods the week before I took these photos and the bluebells were fantastic. Unfortunately, this week they are looking faded but I had forgotten the camera the previous week! 

We stopped at a bench for a few minutes to rest before working our way back through the woods on a circular walk. 

And, of course, the woods are full of sticks - Jackson's raison d'etre! 

Copper Beech amongst the beech and silver birch.

At the end of the walk Jackson always gets a dog treat. 

Why did you do it???

WHY did you think it was a good idea to roll on a sheep corpse last week? You have been subjected to three baths in expensive shampoo (don't tell Rachel we used her Australian stuff) which you hate and yet the smell doesn't seem to be dissipating.
It is particularly fetid behind your ears (your best feature) and you seem to wear it like a perfume (eau de stink). Have you wondered why nobody has cuddled you all week? Possibly not - do you even think at all?

Friday Afternoons!

2pm on a Friday comes around and I'm free from work! Yippee! I zip straight home, grab the dog lead, jump in the car and we both head for the hills....

One of our favourite walks is on Addingham Moorside, although we only do this once a week as it is rather strenuous.





The first part of the walk, up to Silsden Nab, is the steepest. It's good to get the worst part out of the way.

View of Silsden from the Nab with Cowling Pinnacle in the background.

Hurry up!

Walking along the path toward Addingham.

View of the wind turbines at Chelker Reservoir in the distance.

Beamsley Beacon with Addingham village in the middle distance

Turn right over the wall and start the final ascent to the bench on the top.

The footpath.

The bench is on the far right of the picture.

Here it is, at last!

Riddlesden Moor stretches out behind. To the left is Ilkley Moor, roughly 3 - 4 miles of walking (but not today)!

Interesting! What have we here?

Well fancy that! It's a stick.....

Looking down on the valley below. It's a shame that blogger doesn't have smell-o-vision because the heather is in full flower and everything smells dry. It's also a shame there isn't any sound - you can hear the curlews from here.

Well worth the walk!

Pen-y-ghent (or Are We There Yet)?

So, last bank holiday Monday we decided to take a walk up Pen-y-ghent, one of the three peaks. It overlooks the small village of Horton in Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales.

The weather wasn't too bad for the last day of August in the UK (it was dull but warm) and, once we had started the walk the cloud over the crag lifted. It's a shallow uphill climb for the first couple of miles.

We stopped at a bank of scree for a chocolate break - I insisted - and looked down on Hull Pot (the one filled with water).

View across the valley with Horton in Ribblesdale in the distance.

The climb got steeper toward the top and the guide books said it was a "short sprint to the top". Ha ha! I wasn't sprinting, I can tell you.

Jackson sit! Sit I say! Stay still for the camera! Oh never mind....

The views from the top are spectacular although it is very windy up there. Fortunately, there is a sheltered bench to sit on. Other people were there eating their sandwiches - much to Jackson's delight. A dribbling dog is not attractive!

The descent is much quicker and steeper. Jackson hopped from rock to rock but my Sister-in-law's little dog panicked and had to be helped down by a kindly stranger. Everyone else leapt around like mountain goats leaving me to plod my way down. Not impressed!

At the bottom it began to rain that diagonal sleety Yorkshire rain. I had brought a hat and waterproof clothing (unlike some people) and had a change of clothes waiting in the car. Typical me, though, I fell over in the mud in front of a group of people.

Well, that was five and a half miles and is the least strenuous of the three peaks. I'm looking forward to climbing up Great Whernside and Ingleborough next, although I could never do all three in one day. We adjourned to the pub for some cheer and I fell asleep over my drink.

For more pictures of Pen-y-Ghent visit my Flickr.

Three years old today!

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

You look like a doggeee....

and you smell like one too!

A walk on Cowling Pinnacle

Last weekend we walked the dog between the two towers on Cowling Pinnacle. It was late afternoon and very hazy, therefore the light quality in these images isn't very good.

The distance between the two towers is less than a mile so it doesn't make for a very extensive walk. However, the scenery from the top of this tower is stupendous. We could see West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Lancashire laid out before us. these two towers have the nickname "salt and pepper pot" and are quite a landmark as they can be seen from miles away.

Unfortunately, when we climbed the first tower (above) to look at the view the dog decided to jump from the top. I let out a scream and Jonathan grabbed the dog just before he leapt to his death! I haven't got over the shock yet.

It was really cold on the pinnacle and the ground was frozen solid. But the sun was shining and we saw a hawk hovering over the cliffs.