Last days in Yorkshire

I am writing this in France where we are relaxing after the first stage of our epic drive back to Lazio.  We left ilkley late Monday afternoon, took the midnight ferry from Dover and after rest and refreshment stops en route arrived in the champagne region early Tuesday afternoon.  The driver took several sleep stops, MrFF can fall asleep to order, I can only sleep in a bed at night so I didn’t get any sleep for 36 hours and was a little tetchy when we stepped out for dinner last night.   I am rested now, we plan to take a walk as the sun is out after a wet start to the day.  Later we will have swim and a sauna, a quiet evening and back in the car tomorrow morning.  We are getting closer to those cats.

Before we left we had a delayed celebration for MrFF’s 76 birthday.  We took the little Dales minibus service that only seats 15 so you have to join the queue in good time, to Bolton Abbey,  see below.

From there we walked 10 miles of the Dales Way home, mostly following the river Wharfe. It was a sunny t shirt kind of day, we stopped in Addingham for a birthday lunch beside the river, here is the view from our terrace table, sorry about the glare from the glass balustrade.

MrFF offered the option of then taking the bus back to ilkley but I was happy to keep walking and we were home in time to watch a mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana.   It was a glorious trip that made it even harder to leave Yorkshire but we did and tomorrow evening we should be in northern Italy for our final overnight in Aosta and at our house Friday evening.  Today we are enjoying the calm and the memory of our lovely walk a week ago.