Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Pursued By A Jinx
by admin - 17:02 on 01 June 2011
When we left the Green Dragon at Hardraw it was with no idea where we'd spend the next two nights. No problem – the sun shone, and with no particular place to go we could cruise around the main roads and back lanes of the central Dales confident we'd find somewhere good at the end of the day.
So after more than 120 miles on Kawasaki San that saw us in and out of Swaledale, Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale, Kettlewell and Masham we found ourselves in Redmire, barely twenty miles from Hardraw.
There we found a bed at the Bolton Arms, although not a very big one. I knew that the wooden footboard would be a problem for me but the room was better than the alternative one with a more suitable bed and I didn't want to disappoint Matchgirl who liked the view. I'm a big softy.
A bigger problem was our Travelling Shower Jinx. At the Green Dragon, we'd arrived to find our shower in bits because the newly tiled cubicle had fallen apart the day before and the landlord's car had broken down during attempts to gather the necessary repair materials. As there was also a bath in the Turner Suite, we didn't mind.
We enjoyed our shower in the Bolton Arms after yesterday's long day in the saddle and looked forward to another this morning, but water flow ceased seconds after switch-on. The cause, we learned later, was jerry-building inherited by the pub's recent, now much wiser, purchasers.
Breakfast was taken in a slightly grubby state, after which we wandered around the village and along footpaths to the station which is one terminus of the Wensleydale Railway. From there its route travels through Leyburn and Bedale to Leeming Bar, but as we'd missed the train by five minutes we settled for more strolling, to Castle Bolton then back to Redmire.
In the last few days we've seen road signs that warn drivers of ducks crossing, and of red squirrels; Redmire is possibly the country's only twee, rustic village to have a sign (just beyond its boundary) that alerts motorists to the presence of tanks. Catterick Garrison isn't far away so military action isn't unusual.
Back at the pub we were offered and accepted a change of room to one with a fully functioning shower and unimpeded bed-end. We assumed that the flickering light there was an extension of The Travelling Shower Jinx until we realised that the bed rested against a switch.
After lunch, a grey, windy day was no incentive to saddle up so Kawasaki San had the whole afternoon off too while Matchgirl and I made use of the novels we'd bought a couple of days earlier at Hawes' pre-owned book emporium.
The excitement continues this evening, for Matchgirl is unwilling to miss her weekly dose of Sralan and his would-be apprentices. That's if The Travelling Shower Jinx doesn't extend to the television. Time will tell.
Add your comment
© Russell Turner 2008-2024