At home, with fail, The Pup wakes us up by whimpering and pacing around 6am. She’s a Labrador and therefore starving. If we’re not quick enough, we get booped by a wet nose until our resolve gives in and we head off to make her breakfast. However, in the campervan, she sleeps in. No desperation for food or relieving herself. I awoke at 6am to find her curled up under the duvet and half expected her to start her list of demands. But no – it was gone 9am before she started to fidget and we finally got up.
It’s quite cold in the van so the heater went on. Outside it’s eerily misty with the sun unable to poke through and a heavy dew dripping from the awning. We did our ablutions, tidied up, washed our breakfast things and decided to go for a walk. The mist has lifted, but it’s still very hazy – though strangely warmer than the conditions suggest. We decided to walk into Leyburn and followed a couple of hikers dressed in thick coats, woolly hats and gloves. I’ve just got a thick jumper and my gilet on and feeling hot. Am I going to regret this?
It’s a pleasant walk through fields to town and we had a quick walk around though it’s Sunday and lots of the shops are shut. We walked past the pet shop with a bowl of drinking water and a brimful pot of doggy biscuits outside. The Pup does have manners and delicately helped herself to one little gravy bone though she would have had more. I just images of a large dog just inhaling the lot in one go as it passed. Lovely idea though.
We wandered out to the edge of town before turning right through a modern housing estate before being burped out into countryside again. There were really no outstanding views with the misty conditions, but it was warm. We dropped down into the village of Harmby again and walked past a little sign marked “waterfall”. Hidden behind housing and just off the road was a little glen/steep valley with a cascading waterfall at one end. Without the little sign, you wouldn’t know it was there. It fed a little beck that tumbled down the hill surrounded by tall trees – a beautiful little gem of a place. We followed the dirt path and found ourselves in a little estate of bungalows shortly after. We trotted down to the main road and picked up our footpath that cuts across from Harmby to our little camping site.
Once back, The Pup retired to her dog bed outside and watched blackbirds looking for worms. The birds were in full flow with their singing again and it was so peaceful. We chilled with a cuppa before making some lunch. Afterwards we sat inside the van with the side door open as it was a bit cool and the sky seemed to darken one minute and lighten up the next. A really weird day.
It was soon time to break camp and pack away which was done fairly leisurely. Richard walked past and explained that it was so cold last night that there was ice in his water pipes at 6:30 that morning. Blimey! Just love British weather! We said our goodbyes and headed back along Wensleydale, a wide broad dale with the River Ure running through its valley bottom. Through little villages – West Witton, Aysgarth, Bainbridge and Hawes before climbing out of Wensleydale and over the tops to Ingleton. The weather was still undecided – looking decidedly black as if it was about to storm to seeng the sun briefly puncture a hole through the foreboding clouds. Weird. We arrived home, and settled down for the evening, thoroughly refreshed and relaxed. Just perfect.
apathtosomewhere 