Wednesday 2 September 2015

Studley Once More

The day after the rainy interlude at Harewood was so sunny and warm, we decided to turn it into a Very Lazy Day spent mostly in our garden. But first, we started with a shopping trip through our favourite shops in Ripon, all within a few minutes walking distance from our cottage.

A shop I had on my mental list of "must visit" has, sadly, closed since last year. It was a shop for vintage clothes, and I bought this dress there.
But don't worry - I did not go home without two lovely dresses, excellent finds at Dorothy Perkins'! Summer sales were in full swing, and one of the dresses was only 8 quid, the other one 22. Of course, they will appear as Fashion Posts on this blog in due time.

All our other favourite shops were still there, and we spent a pleasant morning browsing and buying, also briefly visiting the Cathedral. There was a lot going on, apparently preparations for a concert, and so we did not stay long. Also, the day was far too nice to stay indoors.

We had a snack in the garden and then spent all afternoon there, reading, sunbathing and having coffee and tea. A wonderful lazy day, just like a holiday is supposed to be!

On Thursday, we decided to walk once again to Studley Royal. Believe it or not, the reason we did this was to buy napkins... and a most wonderful blanket of lambswool we had spotted at the National Trust shop at the entrance to Fountains Abbey, which was just perfect for my sister's living room.

This time, we approached Studley on a different path. And we did not pay admission to walk around the abbey this time; we really just wanted to walk in the sun (which we did) and make our purchases (which we did, too).

 
In the evening, my uncle and aunt, J & B, arrived in Ripon. We had an excellent meal at The Royal Oak, a pub I can highly recommend. Afterwards, we watched the Hornblower set the watch, as I have already described a few posts back.

For the next day, we had a great day out planned with J & B. You'll find out where we went in my next post.

16 comments:

  1. Sometime a Really Restful Day is exactly what is needed to help one appreciate those that are enjoyable but not restful.

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    1. So true! Last year, we simply never took the time to really enjoy our garden, and we were resolved to change that this year.

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  2. Did you ever live in England, Meike? You're obviously very attached to it.

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    1. No, I've never lived in England. But I was (mostly happily) married to a Yorkshire man; we were together for 10 years, and I still feel very attached to where he came from and to his family.

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  3. Now I am left wondering where you went with J & B! I am guessing Lightwater Valley!

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    1. Lightwater Valley does not even appear on my list of places I want to visit in Yorkshire, Neil :-)

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    2. What can be better than queuing for a rollercoaster whilst scoffing a hamburger? To find out more about "The Ultimate Family Adventure" at Lightwater Valley go to:-
      http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/
      You will be pleased to discover that it includes a "shopping village"!

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    3. I know, Neil, I know! My nieces and nephews in Ripon loved to go there when they were younger, but thankfully, they never asked me to come along. As for the shopping village - the mere idea makes me shiver.

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    4. Hey you are no fun Auntie Meike! You are probably one of those weird people who find pleasure in taking solitary country walks!

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    5. Using the non-commercial definition of 'weird' (i.e. suggesting something supernatural; unearthly) I'm not sure that Meike ever begins to fall into that category. Even you, YP, with whom the comparison was obviously being drawn, can't claim to be weird (for that reason anyway).

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    6. OOPS! Non-American. How on earth did the spillchucker get non-commercial out of that?

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    7. Graham: Well, there are people who know me rather well who'd willingly attest me enough weirdness to be called... weird. Maybe not quite in the supernatural way, I have to admit that. Everything about me (except my hair colour, which would be completely grey by now) IS natural, I can assure you!

      Neil: Indeed I find a lot of pleasure in taking solitary country walks, and believe it or not, one of my nieces has even come along occasionally.

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  4. A beautiful day........Another beautiful day. You and your sister know how to have a vacation!

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    1. We do, don't we! And it is so nice to go through the pictures and write about each day, makes the holiday last longer.

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  5. I like that picture of the deer crossing the road!

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    1. I was really lucky to have the camera ready at that moment!

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