Adventure in the Dales

Kagi and I had a really exciting week last week. There are lots of stories to be told, and although it is no longer lent so I probably won't be blogging daily, I'll try to tell them.

First, I'll tell about the climax of our week. In the autumn, +Kara and Forrest blessed us with a gift of a night at a bed and breakfast where they spent a night while in England. Kagi and I were looking forward to using it for months, but obviously needed to wait until I got back to use it. It worked perfectly to take a few days in the Dales during the university's Easter break.

Kagi also arranged with Jako and Anneke and their family to visit and coincide with our trip so we could get a day out together. They stayed with us on Sunday evening and then Monday morning we headed out, planning to meet them at Bolton Abby.

We rode our bikes down to the train station about a mile from home and took the train to Ilkley, a beautiful town on the edge of the Dales. From there, we rode our bikes to Bolton Abby.

Our cycle route from Ilkley to Bolton Abby. It's about 7 miles, and thankfully mostly down hill.

On some of the Abby ruins, next to the main part and looking at the main house. I believe all of this belongs to the Duchess of Devonshire. We had a picnick here. It was nice but it was unbelievably cold. 

Kagi skipping rocks near the Abby.

After our lunch, Kagi and I headed off on our bikes toward the bed and breakfast. Here is the route we took:

It was about 20 miles to our destination.

I loved this -- a solitary ewe with her lamb in the Dales.

When we came upon this Kagi and I did a little exploring. It's a very old ruined building.

One view of the inside.

We think this was a defensive tower from some of the signs we saw around.

I thought the flower boxes in the walls were interesting. Between them and the fire places you can imagine what this might have been like.

We continued cycling, and at one point were held up by the traffic:

Finally, exhausted but very happy, we arrived at the Tudor House. The owner served us tea with brownies and a dessert bar, and we decided to spend the evening in. We really enjoyed being there!

Our room.

Fresh flowers on the window sill.

 In the morning, we had an absolutely wonderful breakfast made from local produce which included everything you could imagine. We enjoyed our time eating and then relaxed again before heading on our way.

The B&B owner recommended the scenic route back to civilization. It was beautiful...

And then we came upon a little problem since we had bikes.

But the only option was to keep going at that point!

I know... looking cool!

Eventually, we made it back to the main route. We rode along this canal for 10-15 miles before getting on a train toward home.

It was a really nice trip, and it was also nice to get home and rest up:-)!