A Beautiful Day For a Walk at Dove Stone Reservoir

A week ago today Caroline and I took a bracing walk round the picture perfect in the snow Dove Stone Reservoir.

There was still plenty of snow around on the hills.  Underfoot in places was sheer ice and we had to tread really carefully.

In other places where the sun’s rays had reached the going was much easier. 

This was not a sight we have ever seen before at Dove Stones.  A family camping!  In the snow for heaven’s sake.  Strange.  Very strange.  But true.

The walk is probably around three miles and on such a lovely day was a real treat.  Homeward bound now we made a stop at the Lime Kiln Cafe beside the canal for another treat.  Coffee and cakes.  Let me tell you, that scone was absolutely delicious!

Being such a gorgeous day we sat out on the balcony.  The fleece blankets provided by the establishment came in useful.  It was a gorgeous day but it was also pretty cold!

Icy Cold Cragg Vale

Tuesday morning of this week William and I needed to drive over the tops to a furniture store in Mytholmroyd and I suggested we take a walk through Cragg Vale on the way.

It was a wee bit chilly to say the least but sporting appropriate clothing what did that matter?  Not one little bit.  Not one little bit to me anyway.  I love a walk on a cold, crisp day.

And this is how crisp it was.  Icy crisp!

We met four friendly little piggies along the way.  They stared at me and talked, well… snorted really, to me like we were old friends.  For quite some time too.  I found it very amusing.  Billy?  Not so much.

For some reason he’s nervous around animals and he feared for my safety when they started to climb the wall to get a closer look at me!   They just wanted some attention.  I think!

We continued on with our walk up through Cragg Vale to Withens Clough Reservoir.  All very bleak on days like this but worth the effort all the same.  Cragg Vale is a lovely place to go walking and from there you can climb even higher onto the the moors.  Not for us this time though.

Retracing our steps back down through the village now…

… via the church of St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness.

We’d had a good walk and a couple of hours fresh air and had worked up an appetite for lunch so it made sense to head for Hebden Bridge (after the furniture store) and satisfy the need for food.

After lunch we wandered around the streets of Hebden and ended up in one of the antiques shops.

Where this display caught my eye.

In particular this jolly little monk.  I love Hummel figures but it was the little monk who came home with me.  His little well is going to be filled with toothpicks so he’ll be useful as well as pretty.

Until next time,

Fun in the Snow

Last weekend saw the first snowfall of the winter and there was fun to be had.

George (on the left above) stayed over with us Friday and Saturday night and had a great time with his friends out sledging both Saturday and Sunday.

Its great fun going downhill on the sledge but it can be a pain dragging the sledge back up the hill.  Especially when it’s impossible to stay upright and you end up on all fours like George.

I watched and happily took photos of them for a while and then when..

   .. they set off to find a better slope I sloped off home.  I’m so glad I got my act together on Sunday and tromped through the snow, camera round my neck, to find George and his friends and get these snaps of them.  It was fun and really not as cold as it looked.

Yesterday was another snowy day and it just so happened that William and I had to collect Charlie from school.  Leaving the car safely parked outside the house we set forth on foot.

Charlie had a great time chucking snowballs at both me and granddad on the way home.

The snowballs seemed to get bigger each time he made one.  The little treasure! 

Childhood is all too fleeting a time but these photos and this blog will help ensure that fun times like these in the snow will be remembered again and again in the future when these little boys are grown men.  And that makes me happy.

As the afternoon wore on and Charlie’s daddy came home from work William and I set off back home.

 

As we made our way carefully down the footpath kids in the fields alongside us were galloping around having a great time.

We haven’t had any snow today and there’s none forecast in the short term.  That’s okay with me.  Everything in moderation is my motto.

Jingle Bells in January

It didn’t half snow on Friday night.  Kids around here were in seventh heaven on Saturday.  Sledging weather it definitely was.

Charlie was spending Saturday afternoon with us while his parents were at work.  Due to the treacherous condition of the side roads, instead of him being dropped off on our doorstep , William and I walked down to the main road and met up with Charlie and his daddy down there.  I’d said to make sure and bring Charlie’s sledge with him.

Granddad gamely pulled him along the paths back to our house.  Charlie loved it and sang Jingle Bells loud and clear as soon as his bottom touched the seat of the sledge.  It was really cute!

Helping to shovel away the snow.

Jingle Bells in January.

A little slideshow I made in Windows Live Movie maker.

George slept over on Saturday night.  Sunday afternoon there was a treat in store for him.  George’s granddad and I took him to the old Picture House in Hebden Bridge to see Life of Pi.  He was more excited about going in the old building than he was about the actual film.    Above, a kid in a candy store, buying a mix up of sweets to take to the pictures.

Like all his generation George is far more used to large multi-screen cinemas than little old fashioned picture houses like this one.  Of course, if you are a member of my generation, you will probably have happy memories of Saturday afternoon matinees in picture houses just like this one.   One of the films I particularly remember watching was Whistle Down the Wind starring Hayley Mills.  I loved that film.  Hayley Mills was such a fantastic little actress wasn’t she?

As for the film, Life of Pi?  I don’t think any of us will be in any hurry to go see it again.  But it was okay.  Kind of.  It did have its moments though.  So, there we are.  I’d make a fantastic cinema critic wouldn’t I?

And as for the snow?  By Sunday night it had practically all gone.  I’m hoping that’s the last of it too and that spring will show its happy little self very, very soon.

Until next time,

Kathleen.

We've got snow.

It's a man thing.  As soon as it snows they're all out there with their snow shovels having a great time. 

Or at least it looks like they're having a great time!  I'm glad they seem to enjoy it because we live at the bottom of a hill and if these neighbours didn't all get out there and work together shifting all the snow it'd be a whole lot more difficult getting up that hill in our cars.

I hope it doesn't stay around too long though.  Snow can easily outstay it's welcome to my mind!  It always looks so pretty though.

Kathleen.