Farewell to Yorkshire and a three-train day

We spend our last day in Yorkshire quietly: helping with the post-party cleanup, doing some washing, packing. We go out for another pub lunch - an excellent meal at the Blue Bell, where we sampled haggis bon-bons as a shared starter - more driving through beautiful NYorks countryside, ice creams at a famous shop in Ripley, and a walk around The Top in Knaresborough. Blue sky and sunshine - pity it wasn't like that on garden party day. An early night in preparation for the big travel day.

Knaresborough - view from The Top

 

Farewell to Ardann Cottage

We are collectively up in good time for Laura and David to drive us to Knaresborough station, where we catch the local train into York. Pleased to find that our next train comes in on the same platform, minimal movement required. We haven't yet worked out how to find the carriage in which we've reserved seats, so we board in the nearest carriage and eventually find our way to our carriage and seats after departure. 

Another win - our seats are on the right side of the train in all senses, which means we get spectacular views out to sea as we travel along the Northumberland coast: cliffs, boats, Lindisfarne on the Holy Isle.

Our train arrives in Edinburgh on time, we find our way to the exit that friend Marlene has specified and soon spot her car. She takes us for lunch at The Sheep's Heid, one of the oldest pubs in the UK, with a 19th century skittle alley in the back. More good food, soup followed by cod and chips, with the standard accompaniment of mushy peas. Am beginning to feel a bit deprived of fruit and veg and have definitely eaten too many chips lately.

Marlene drops us back at the station in plenty of time for train number three from Edinburgh to Inverness, and this time we manage to find our way to our carriage before boarding. We find our reserved seats are part of a double, rather than being face-to-face singles as on the last train, but we strike up a conversation with our companion and h turns out to be someone with whom we have much in common. He's a barrister who does civil law cases, a counter-tenor who sings in the St Alban's cathedral choir, and a former oboist who's hoping to get back to it in retirement. We made encouraging noises and told him to go to Howarth's to buy a good instrument - he knows the shop.

Scenery on this trip is quite different - no longer are there yellow meadows of recently harvested wheat and hay, interspersed with green fields occupied by sheep, cows and horses. Greens are muted, no crops, fewer animals visible. As we approach Inverness we follow the path of a swiftly flowing river full of rapids. Rising on either side are heather-covered hillsides, and higher land is visible in the distance. White patches on the hillsides are sometimes stones, sometimes sheep. The weather is also Scottish, grey with periods of rain.

It's dry when we reach Inverness, but very windy. After a long walk into the cold wind along the platform we find our way through the station to a taxi rank and are deposited at Ardmeanach House, which is warm and welcoming, and our Yellow Room is very attractive and comfortable.