Lytham and Yorkshire

Lytham and Yorkshire

We were delighted when we received an invitation to attend the wedding of Paul's nephew Thomas to his lovely partner Jodie on  April 20 in the Yorkshire Dales. We started to plan our trip and invited our good friends John and Shelley to join us.  

In February Joan, Kristine's  94 year old mother, was hospitalized  and made the decision to move to a  Residential Care Home.   Kristine changed her plans and flew to Lytham at the beginning of March to help her sister sort out Joan's house.   By the time Paul arrived in Lytham, Kristine had been in the UK for over a month and Joan was happily settled into the care home and the house was on the market.

Joan's house in Lytham, up for sale

Lytham - April 16 - 19

Paul, John and Shelley flew into Manchester on Thomas Cook Airlines and then drove to Lytham, first stopping at Joan's nursing home to say hello. 

Kristine and Paul stayed at Joan's house while John and Shelley stayed with their longtime friends David and Brenda Cookson who conveniently lived close by.

It was a busy three days with visits to Joan as well as to see Paul's aunt Marjorie whose 100th birthday party we had attended the previous November. 

Joan in her easy chair

Yorkshire - April 19 - 26

We said our goodbye's to Joan and to the house she had lived in for 28 years and set off for Middleham our base in the Yorkshire Dales for the next seven nights. Prior to John and Shelley's decision to join us, we had already booked The Jenny Wren, a small one bed room cottage that we had previously stayed at.  Fortunately we were able to find The in and Out Cottage for John and Shelley close by.  After settling into our cottages we met for dinner at the Richard III one of the lovely old pubs in the village.

Tom and Jodie's wedding was held at Mary and St John's a charming old stone church in the village of  Hardraw, a thirty minute drive from Middleham.  After the service we set off for Yorebridge House where we enjoyed drinks and hors d'ouvres under sunny skies in the beautiful gardens.  A sumptuous dinner, amusing speeches and dancing to a live band rounded out the day and knowing that we had a thirty minute drive along windy lanes ahead we left the party to return to Middleham.

Kristine, Paul and Sarah (Mother of the Groom)

The next day was Easter Sunday and we attended the service at the 13th century parish church in Middleham . On our  way up to West Scrafton to see our old friends Felicity and June we visited Paul's mum's grave at Coverham.  That evening we met Jodie, Tom, Sarah, Jenny, Emma, Paula and David at the Blue Lion in East Witton for a family dinner and to wish the newly weds  Bon Voyage for their honeymoon in South Africa.

Middleham was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Medelai i.e. middle ham or village.  Construction of the castle began in 1190 and by the reign of Richard III Middleham was a bustling market town and political center. Today Middleham is the north of England's most important center for training race horses.

Paul grew up in Bradford an industrial town about 60 miles from Middleham. About 20 years ago he got involved in the Bradford Grammar School Old Boy's Association and over the years we have attended events in various cities in North America and visited the school on several occasions.  Over the years Paul has talked to John and Shelley about his school days and we thought they would be interested in visiting the school. Simon Hinchliffe, the school's headmaster and his family attended the BGS Old Boy's Reunion which Paul and Kristine hosted in Orlando the previous October so we we looking forward to meeting up with Simon and seeing the school. After lunch in the school cafeteria Simon enthusiastically guided us through what seemed like every corner of the school. As with previous visits we were impressed with all the new facilities and amenities available to the students.  

Paul in the Main Hall at his old school

This  photo was taken of Simon and Heidi in Orlando in October 2018

One of our favorite places to visit in the Dales is Tennants Auction House, the largest family-owned fine art auctioneers in the UK.  Although we were not there on an auction day we were still able to explore many rooms full of desirable antiques and collectibles.  As well as a ballroom/meeting room the auction house has a large and very popular cafe where we had lunch.

We started our day with a tour of York Minster and then after lunch Paul and John visited the railway museum and Shelley and Kristine looked around the shops in the famous Shambles and then went to a rather disappointing exhibition of Turner paintings.

Masham the home of the Theakston Brewery Tour is a short drive from where we were staying so we decided the brewery tour and beer tasting was a good way to spend our last afternoon.

The next morning, Friday April 26 we drove to Leeds/Bradford Airport to catch our flight to Nice, France.