Greetings followers of
BTM's ramblings :D
Todays travels were brief, after a late start. It was almost 11:30 when I left.
So with a toss of a coin I headed....
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north, & into Wharfedale
Car of choice today?, the 'Works Van'
A short hop up a teeming A1 led me to Wetherby, once a very important staging town on the Great North Road as was (& home of some of the finest Fish & Chips in Yorkshire
)
The town was heaving as usual, with very little parking space to be found. It took 2 trips round the Wharfeside car-park & around the market-place & town hall square to find one.
First off was a meander around the old Posting Inns that exist (with alterations)
For example;
The Angel is the finest & most vibrant looking survivor, with a tell-tale postioning of windows in the gable-end.
Wetherby is (as Andy will probably confirm, is one of the areas in West Yorkshire where all the money is.
One of the adjoining villages is unfortunate enough to have so many professional f**tballers living there that half the population look around if the local Butcher shouts 'Fowl' (as in Chicken)
Supporting that fact was the large number of expensive cars, in the 45minutes I was there, I saw;
2 Bentley Continentals
1 Bentley Arnage
4 Porche 911 - whatever model
A couple of Cayennes
I lost count of the L322 Range Rovers
I had to sample the Fish & Chips from the Whaler, it wouldn't be a trip to Wetherby without that :lol:
A 'Whaler Jumbo' was requested (£6.40 with Chips & Peas)
Gorgeous........
A very vibrantly coloured (allegedly)
110 Crew-Cab was spotted. An F plate?, he's more than likely twisting it for the tax-exemption?
I even found a
'TARDIS' :lol:
A swift canter to Harrogate was next in line (bad pun, given there's a race-course at Wetherby)
With a quick stop after spotting a
Heritage 110, plus a L322 next to it with a highly expensive registration plate?
Harrogate is a beautiful town, but expensive & very busy. I passed by.
There was still a heck of a lot of agricultural equipment coming out of Harrogate on trucks & trailers after the close of the Great Yorkshire Show. And a large variety of expensive motor-cars again (including 3 TVR's :D )
Next stop; Ripley. For an Ice-Cream :D
Sadly the special was only Strawberry, so I had a £2.00 tub of 'mix'
Headed up towards Bolton Abbey, up the A59 then.
Passing the USAF
'Golf-Balls' at Menwith Hill.
A few photos of the Abbey surrounding & back towards Harrogate (hence Wetherby & the A1 again)
The Strid was its usual fearsome self. This is a rocky area where the Wharfe is forced between 2 rock shelves & has tremendous power. It deceives people & as they try to jump, they misjudge (or slip)& they are gone.........
It has all sorts of underwater shelves & hollows that hold objects in them
A couple of years ago, a honeymooning couple drown. One fell/slipped & the other dived in.
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Both bodies were recovered over a month later.......
On a lighter note
I saw a reminder that it's Masham Steam Rally this weekend heading north on the A1, I saw the Ragsdales
'Dreadnought' on a low-loader.
Sorry, not a detailed as yesterdays ramble, but that's the way it goes