Friday 18 January 2019

A wintry outing.

Today, in a slight deviation from our usual plans, friend W and I had a different venue for lunch.   All through Spring, Summer and Autumn we go over the top of the Pennines to Kirby Lonsdale to meet our friends P and D for lunch - always an outing we enjoy.   But we never go in the Winter - the road is so bleak and the weather can change at the drop of a hat.  So today it was Hawes, the unofficial capital of Wensleydale.

Today 'slight snow' was forecast but we all four, from two different venues,  set off in good spirits.  It was bitterly cold and slightly hazy.   I had hoped to take some photographs of Wensleydale for you but the haziness made the idea of photographs a non-starter.   Passing Addlebrough  in this weather always brings home to me how ancient the landscape is when I think that the Iceni tribe had a camp on the flat topped hill, from where they must have been able to see for miles around.

We met on time- went into the pleasant, warm restaurant, which was packed, took our places at the reserved table with a lovely view, read the menu and tucked into a delicious meal (in my case beef and vegetable pie with vegetables and chips (chips with gravy I hear you ask in horror) followed by Grand Marnier and Orange flavoured bread and butter pudding and custard.   At present I don't feel I want anything else to eat for at least a week, but I am sure the feeling will wear off.

By the time we left Hawes and the Wensleydale 
Creamery Restaurant it was quite seriously snowing, but we had only gone a short distance towards home (fifteen miles away) when the snow stopped. Now, central heating turned up, curtains and blinds drawn, Tess and I are snug for the night.   I am hoping there is none of the white stuff around when we draw the curtains back in the morning.

15 comments:

Terra said...

What a nice day trip for lunch, it sounds ideal on a hazy day. You mention Gran Marnier, my husband and I used to enjoy that and also a good aged port from time to time. Maybe I will buy some!

angryparsnip said...

Lovely.

cheers, parsnip

Anonymous said...

I'm really pleased that the Wensleydale Creamery is thriving, we visited about twenty years ago when they had only recently survived the threat of being shut down. It was so obvious how important the creamery was to the town and the local economy. I try to buy their cheeses when I can.
MMS

pat chester said...

love, love chips with gravy, used to have them from my cousin's chip shop.

Bonnie said...

What a wonderful day out and a delicious meal!

Sue in Suffolk said...

It sounds a nice meal out .
I also hope you don't have snow over the weekend. Stay warm

Joanne Noragon said...

Yes, I'll hope with you there is no snow!

Jomo said...

So glad you had a lovely outing and are now snug with Tess x my daughter is in Suffolk and had some snow yesterday but nothing serious. My friend is due to come and stay with me in Coventry tomorrow overnight but she won't drive in bad weather x stay warm and safe x

Chris said...

I'm always interested to know what others mean by "bitterly cold". For us it means minus 21C with a strong, biting wind, which is what is forecast here on Sunday night! Currently praying that the meteorologist got it wrong.

Heather said...

Glad the weather didn't spoil your lovely lunch with friends. It has been very cold and damp here too today but no sign of snow, though we're sure to get a sprinkling before spring arrives, or sometimes afterwards!

Shelagh Duncan said...

Chips with some special cheese scattered around then delicious gravy poured over and you have the official dish of Canada. Poutine. My kind of food!! Stay cozy dear Pat.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

My sister got to try chips and gravy when she went to Canada. She liked it. I can't remember what she called it though. Oh. I see the previous person also wrote about that and its "poutine."

Rachel Phillips said...

Are you naturally thin?

The Weaver of Grass said...

No Rachel. I am definitely not naturally thin - I have to work at it. I get some exercise with Tess (although at a slow pace) and when I have a meal like yesterday I really go steady for a day or two. Luckily I love fruit and salad

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

VC said...

I'm a Mancunian and chips should always come with gravy!