A Weekend away in the Dales
To say Nick and I have been busy the past few months would be an understatement! So I decided to book us a weekend break and getaway in the Yorkshire Dales…
The past few months have been pretty hectic for Nick and I. Even over Christmas we had a great few days with family and friends, but it felt like we were soon back to work without any real time off. So I decided to book us a weekend away in the Dales…
I booked our Airbnb quite last minute so there wasn’t a lot to choose from, but I managed to book the cutest little cottage near Ripon. Springhill Cottage is attached to a main farmhouse, and is beautifully finished with a modern kitchen, and a cosy lounge with a log burner.
We were welcomed with a little basket of food on our arrival, with some tasty crisps, local bread, jam and biscuits, and a bottle of wine. The crisps and biscuits certainly didn’t last very long!
The cottage had a private garden, and unfortunately it wasn’t warm enough for us to sit outside and enjoy the amazing views of Nidderdale, but it was great for the dogs. And we also had access to the fields surrounding the farm for walking the dogs.
They also had an annex on the farm that is available to book on Airbnb, the pictures of it looked amazing! Check out their instagram page @springhillcosycottage.
It was great to switch off for the weekend, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. Unfortunately we couldn’t go out to any of the local pubs to eat because Dolly is still getting settled in with us, and it’s too soon to take her into a restaurant or pub environment. But the kitchen at the cottage was well equipped, and we took all the food we needed for the weekend so we didn’t have to trek to the shops.
There are some great places to visit in the Dales, and we were really close to Brimham Rocks so had a walk there on Saturday. The cottage owners had printed out a map and highlighted the route for us to walk there, and it was about a 4 mile walk, so far enough for our little Dachshunds!
And on Sunday we headed over to Pateley Bridge, a little town about 10 minutes away from where we were staying. Unfortunately most shops were shut, but it was very quiet when we were there so not surprising. Thankfully the one shop we had gone there to visit was open, the world’s oldest sweetshop! It was just as you would imagine with rows of jars of sweets lined up behind the counter. So we stocked up on sweets and headed back home.
This year I’m trying really hard to improve my work / life balance, and booking weekends away like this is something I’d love to do more! This cottage was amazing and is definitely somewhere we’ll stay again. Our next trip is Paris in March and I can’t wait!