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Bertie’s Farewell Tour: Favourite Walks Before Spain
We’ve done all his favourites this week. Bertie knows something’s up — he always does. The suitcases are out, James has started making long, contemplative noises in the shed, and I’ve washed the car mats, which apparently signals a full geopolitical shift in Bertie’s universe. So we walked. First was the easy one — down ... Read more
Late Spring in Pickering: Last of the Light
The cow parsley’s already tall enough to tickle Bertie’s ears, which is my usual cue that we’re slipping into the tail end of spring. I swear it’s earlier every year — or maybe I’m just getting slower to notice the change. James insists it’s because I always get distracted talking to strangers in the bakery ... Read more
Grandkids Visit: Chaos in the Caravan
They arrived like an ambush. No warning, no warm-up act—just the sound of car doors slamming and then a small voice shouting, “GRANDAD, WHERE’S THE TOAD?” before I’d even put the kettle on. Four of them. Four small, unstoppable humans, all under ten, with muddy shoes, suspiciously sticky hands, and the boundless energy of creatures ... Read more
Rain, Rain, Go Away: Wet Weekend in Malton
It started as one of Patricia’s bright ideas. “Let’s go to Malton for the weekend,” she said, folding the map like a woman planning a small invasion. “We’ll eat somewhere nice and poke around the food market. Might be good to get out.”I should’ve known we were doomed when she packed the good umbrella. We ... Read more
James’s Workshop Reopens: Yorkshire DIY vs. Spanish Siesta (ft. Solar Madness and Kev)
The shed door groaned like it remembered me—and wasn’t pleased. Fair enough. I hadn’t opened it in months. A winter of wine and sunshine in Spain, and now here I was, back in Pickering, wrestling with a rusted padlock and a grudge. I finally kicked the thing open and was met with that particular Yorkshire ... Read more
Spring on the Moors: First Signs of Life in North Yorkshire
Spring sneaks in when you’re not looking. One minute it’s all hard ground, bare trees, damp mornings. Then you look again, and something’s changed. Just a little. Something green pushing through. The smell of the air different somehow, softer. Like the land’s stretching itself awake after months of hibernation. We needed a walk. Proper walk. ... Read more
A Proper Yorkshire Catch-Up: Pubs, Friends, and Familiar Faces
First proper Yorkshire pint. That’s the moment you know you’re truly back. Not the drive. Not the Moors. Not even walking through the door of the house. It’s that first sip in a dimly lit pub, where the air smells like old wood, slow-pulled ale, and conversations that have been going on for decades. We ... Read more
Helmsley Castle: A Fortress Through the Ages
Some places wear their history lightly. Helmsley Castle does not. It looms. Perched on a limestone ridge above the Rye Valley, it stands half-ruined, half-stubborn, as if still waiting for its next battle. It’s been everything—a Norman fortress, a grand Tudor home, a Civil War stronghold. And today? A perfect excuse for a walk, a ... Read more
Back to Pickering: A Spring Return to the North York Moors
You just know when it’s time. The light shifts. The days hold onto themselves just a little longer. The air stops feeling so damp, so heavy. And suddenly, you’re standing in the kitchen, staring out at the Galician hills, thinking about the Moors. Pickering starts creeping into conversation. “Maybe we should head back for a ... Read more
A Seafood Extravaganza and the Day James Got Lost
Hola from Galicia, where today’s plan was simple: a nice drive to A Coruña, eat some seafood, maybe a bit of sightseeing. What actually happened? I got lost. Again. It started fine. Coffee, almond cake, Wordle. Patricia got it in three (of course she did). I overthought mine and ended up staring at the screen like an idiot ... Read more