Back just over a week now from another cat sitting in Sunderland as S&G indulged in their annual trip to the lovely isle of Arran. I can report that the overnight stop on the way up (at Wentbridge) was as excellent as ever and that Bobby and William were both perfectly behaved throughout our stay.
Mrs. No Name managed to dispense William’s medication without any undue trauma and both cats were respectful of the ‘stay safe’ bedroom from which the felines were barred for the duration of our visit. Mind you, they were always waiting outside the room for the breakfast repast, whether that was six in the morning or as late as eight. The bad news is that Mrs. No Name had cricked her neck quite badly doing something unspecified which sadly constricted any planned activities she may have contemplated. So, a visit to the nearby shopping outlet and a lunch time meet up with her old school friend were really the limit of what she could achieve. I was therefore limited to travails into the town (city) centre and an exploration of a varied kaleidoscope of coffee shops and their wares!
On the way back home we had decided to extend the trip with a five night break at Nidd Hall, which you will be astonished to hear was another Warners Hotel (upmarket Center Parcs did I hear someone say….ooh, that would be me). Well, you could certainly forgive someone for saying so when entering the building as, although it is Grade II listed, it definitely lacked the grandeur of our previous visits to Warner properties – the hotel did agree to move us after a sleepless second night for Mrs. No Name – it was to an upgraded room and although we offered to pay the difference in cost, the manager declared it complimentary, so kudos for that. The first room was fine incidentally, but external air conditioning units are the bane of Mrs. No Name’s life (or nights). Anyway, as the week progressed, we ‘grew into’ the Nidd Hall experience and we had in fact played the putting, bowls, skittles and badminton by the end of the first afternoon :-). We ate in both Rawsons (the standard Warners self service Market Kitchen) and Brasserie 32 and I think we both felt the food to be okay but a reduction in quality from previous Warners visits. The Blackstone takeover may or may not be the culprit but we definitely saw some changes in standards.
We took a couple of local trips whilst we were there, the first of which was the local town of Knaresborough. I think we managed to see most of the sites in the day we were there, including the Castle, Courthouse Museum and the famous Knaresborough Viaduct, which spans the River Nidd (a river that definitely appears to be punching above its weight by the way). The museum includes furniture from the original Tudor Court, as well as exhibits about the castle and the town. Of particular note were the 17th-century cupboards and doors, and benches and panelling from the 16th-century courtroom. The building is grade II listed. Small but I’ve probably said before there is much to admire in small scale, unpretentious local museums. The castle, now much ruined, comprised two walled baileys set one behind the other, with the outer bailey on the town side and the inner bailey on the cliff side. The enclosure wall was punctuated by solid towers along its length, and a pair, visible today, formed the main gate. Not that much to see in truth but the combined ticket price (castle and museum) was good value for money. Final destination was a cheeky beer in “The Worlds End” (one for any Cornetto Trilogy fans)
The following day we undertook the short ramble to the village of Ripley, which we had been to before (read all about it in this post from 2023). This time we got to see the interior of the Castle gardens (we missed the timed walking guide of the interior by half an hour ðŸ˜) and enjoyed the stroll around the lake, even if we were moderately surprised by what I perhaps exaggeratingly called the cow herd stampede – to the lake for its daily refreshment apparently. Overly dramatic, but when over 50 cows career pass you at some pace within a few feet, it can feel a little intimidating to the lily livered town dweller! Interestingly, we didn’t revisit the local Church or the Boars Head but managed the famous Ripley ice cream and enjoyed a surprisingly fine coffee at the castle gardens entrance. Also good to know that Mrs. No Name managed the 40 minute stroll to and from Ripley without any real issues.
The journey home took a little longer than usual, but we broke the journey at the Boundary Mill outlet, where I procured another pair of shoes to complement the previous visit’s purchase in February. Mrs. No Name purchased absolutely nothing, presumably still recovering from her pre Civvy P shenanigans in February.