Part Four – Oop North

Flying back late in Gatwick, we had one of those London experiences we had forgotten about. Making good time out of the plan and picking up our bags, we made it to the train platform 2.5 seconds after the doors of the train closed, only to then find out the next train isn’t for another half an hour. Oh joy.

Though the next day, we experienced the other side, as we caught the train up to Leeds to spend a few days with James & Petra. What would be a painful 4 hour drive in New Zealand is an easy 2 hour trip on the train. That evening we headed into Leeds to visit some cools pubs and have a traditional Yorkshire curry. The curry was good, but not as impressive as the naan, which were massive and served on the end of large hooks. And we only got the normal size - the “family size” was big enough to provide overhead shelter for a small scout group.

The next day the English summer finally caught up with us good and proper – it rained all day. Which put a bit of a damper on our excursion into the Yorkshire Dales. Nevermind, that just meant more pub time and less walking time. This included visiting James & Petra’s wedding venue – The Craven Arms pub, with a medieval barn attached to the rear. The pub also has its own local microbrewery, which is going to brew a special beer for the wedding. It’s enough to make me want to get married there!

The next day we drove up to the Lakes District – via some select pubs of course – to stay our final night with Petra’s parents, who live in an awesome renovated slate house at the end of the very remote Kentmere Valley. It is a classic Lake District valley – apparently it is the setting of Postman Pat – and was a real treat. And Petra’s parent’s place was no typical cottage, her old man is a technie-nerd. There were three TVs in the house, including the Den with its projector screen. We even had our own ensuite room about the garage – it was like staying in a B&B. Not only that, but Petra’s mum treated us to a three-course meal as we did a taste off of the wines James & Petra were trialing for the wedding (Kiwi Sav and Argentinean Red).

The weather improved for our final day up north. Enough for me to go for a run with James around the valley. Hard work for someone who has spent the last 3 weeks drinking and eating his way around the Czech Republic and Croatia. Especially as James is a serious runner, competing in National and European meetings and running 5kms in around 14min20secs. He took it easy on me.

It was an awesome few days catching up with James & Petra – and a shame we didn’t have more time.