Wednesday 13 December 2017

Wednesday

Today was the day earmarked for Christmas Dinner at The Creamery in Hawes with friends P and D from Windermere.

Some years ago the cheese factory in Hawes in Upper Wensleydale threatened closure with the loss of quite a few jobs.   Luckily the Management saw its potential and there was a buy out.   Since then Hawes Creamery has gone from strength to strength and is known everywhere for the quality of its Wensleydale cheeses of various varieties.
There is now an efficient factory with tours each day, a shop, a cafe, a restaurant and all efficiently run.

The day started off well as we woke to find all the snow gone overnight and sunshine.   But as we set out it began to rain.   It is only half an hour to Hawes but it absolutely poured - the sort of rain which only falls in hilly areas - and by the time we reached The Creamery there was a huge amount of surface water on the road and the River Ure down in the valley was banking and threatening to overflow, which is does quite happily. 

Lunch was delicious - we all had a glass of wine with it - we all had a pud (well, I had cheese and biscuits) and then coffee.   By the time we left our fears were confirmed - the river was over and we had to come home by a circuitous route and at one point W had to negotiate quite deep flood water.   Luckily she has a four wheel drive vehicle and there was a similar one coming the other way which gave us an idea of how deep the water was before we set off through it.

Home to find that friend S had taken Tess on a lovely long walk (on a bitterly cold day too) which meant that I didn't have to brave the weather again.   Now all the blinds are drawn, the bungalow is warming up and we are settled in for the night.   Wherever you are and whatever you are doing - keep warm and enjoy your evening.

20 comments:

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

How many Christmas dinners are you planning to have this year? My record is six. Glad to hear you all got home safely if circuitously. Keep safe and warm.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Good that things were kept going at the cheese makers and glad you had a tasty meal.
We've had a fair bit of rain today, but as everything was very dry for months no problems except for large puddles.

Terra said...

That is so great about the Hawes Creamery continuing on; I saw something on a British tv show about it.

Sue said...

I got very wet taking Rick for a walk today. Did you go through Bainbridge? I bet the falls were roaring.

Librarian said...

I have fond memories of visiting Hawes and the creamery in the summer of 2016. You have probably not seen my post about that visit with the pictures I took; you can find them if you click here.
During that same holiday, I also visited Leyburn. If you are interested, there are a few photos here.
Good job your friend has a vehicle that can handle the road conditions you encountered, and how good of your friend to have taken Tess out for a long walk!

Derek Faulkner said...

Sounds like a great place to visit Pat, I do love cheese. I envy you the rain. Here we had rain most of both Sunday and Monday but the ground has been dry for so long that it simply soaked it up and left no trace in the empty ditches.

Joanne Noragon said...

Braving the afternoon makes us all smile. Hurrah for ladies on a mission, and many more.

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

The Creamery sounds wonderful, its always great when a business is saved. Its has rained here in Essex all day too.

Rachel Phillips said...

I am glad you had a good time today. So did I, rain or no rain. x

Mac n' Janet said...

Never rains but it pours. Hate driving in the rain, so scary, glad you're all safe.

justjill said...

Interesting about the cheese place. I love Wensleydale Cheese, has to be with the Christmas cake. You seem to be enjoying the new home? Nice to be cosy. And Tess walked. Great.

Anonymous said...

Wensleydale cheese is one of my favourites.
When we went to my sisters for Christmas near Northallerton a couple of years back we nearly ended up stuck in the middle of a deep flood on one of the roads - how the car kept going I will never know but thankfully we got through it.

angryparsnip said...

Lovely.
I missed going to Wensleydale the time I was in yorkshire.
Sorry about the weather.
I sent your Christmas card to your old address. Hope you get it !

cheers, parsnip

Granny Sue said...

Lovely evening here by the fire, with a little brandy in hand. It is supposed to snow tonight, they say, but it won't amount to much. Your day sounds very full--of friends, adventure and good food.

Heather said...

It sounds as if you intrepid ladies had quite an adventurous journey home. Glad you got there safely after and enjoyable lunch. We really appreciate our cosy homes when the weather is doing it's worst, don't we?

Linda Metcalf said...

Sounds like such a fun day! But always good to come home to warmth and rest.

Minigranny said...

A lovely warm home always seems even more inviting after weathering the storm ! So glad you enjoyed your lunch out.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thankseveryone. Yes, it was so wet that there was a bit of the Dunkirk spirit about.
Thinking about it - Dunkirk spirit is one of the things we English are good at!!

Gerry Snape said...

So glad that you are upping me on the number of christmas lunches Pat...I had my third today...another tomorrow and the oldest grandgirl on Saturday....onward....

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

You make even bad weather and flood sound fun and good-hearted.