Goathland

Now that spring is here, the urge to get onto the moors is overcoming us!

One of our camping family friends went up this weekend to try out their new tipi with stove (we only didn't go too due to Ian's total unpreparedness for leaving for Siracusa on Monday!), so we met them today in Goathland to bimble around the Esk and Mallyan Spout.

Again, we had sun, sun, sun, and a good amount of wind. But not enough to stop us basking on rocks for snacks.

Down in the Esk Valley it was warm and sheltered and beautiful. I can spend hours watching little rivers cavort over rocks!

There was enough wind to get us properly sprayed at Mallyan Spout, and Thea wasn't too impressed.

But all was made better by plenty of time to play near the stream (far too full/cold for paddling this time).

Nathaniel and I started a cairn and then Nathaniel improved it with a copse of trees sprouting on its slopes, a garden and a little path ("A path, a path!") on two levels. If I had passed him a herring, you know what he'd have done.....

At the top of the climb out of the valley, someone has thoughtfully placed a pub, so you can guess where the day continued.

But not quite ended. The kids both slept on the way in, so unusually were alert and chatting all the way home. This prevented us from our customary dash into Helmsley where Ian sits in the car park with the engine running to fool the sleeping offspring while I dash to a fine ice cream emporium for us both. Instead we improved it - scampi and chips from what used to be the country's second best fish and chip shop (now under new ownership with inferior chips), eaten picnic style in the car!