As many of you know, my dad has bought an old windmill in Yapham, a short drive from Pocklington, and I stayed for a few days in the 'miller's cottage'. My jetlag caused me to wake at 5am and I snapped a great picture of dad's mill with the sun rising behind it:
And here it is during the daytime:
It's really an incredible building, with great potential. I look forward to seeing what dad achieves with it over the years as I visit. Perhaps one day I'll be staying in the 'Mill Guest House', enjoying breakfast in the Miller's Cottage!
I crammed a great deal into my time Up North, gazing at the villages and towns with a different set of eyes from those I looked through when growing up here. After three years I am used to Australia's vast landscapes, incredible vistas and relatively brief history. Back in Yorkshire I cherished things I'd previously not taken much notice of: the town market, the hedgerows, the ancient buildings in York, Northern friendliness and that landscape that is quintessentially English.
I also enjoyed seeing memorabilia from my past, reminders of my childhood and specific times in my life, which I'd forgotten having not had these artefacts around me in my new home. And of course it was wonderful to see family I'd not seen for three years. Some had really changed!
It was one year since dad came to visit me in Australia and we'd had our road trip to New Zealand. Apparently he went on about how awesome it was a little too much when he went back to England, so the words 'New Zealand' and 'Australia' were banned! But the ban was temporarily lifted while I was there so we could reminisce about some of the adventures we had. I'd taken dad on the Bondi to Coogee clifftop walk when he stayed in Sydney, so he decided to take me on the Bridlington to Flamborough Heads clifftop walk in the North of England. Quite a different experience!
We even wandered round the lifeboat station, and I marvelled at how different the lifeguards were to the ones I'm used to on Bondi Beach.
I also spent a day wandering round York, which I love, and remember fondly from many Christmas Eve visits and from Dad's wedding a few years ago. Many of the buildings in York are so old they are leaning in towards each other, and the tops of the buildings are nearly touching! And of course the Gothic architecture of the Minster itself is stunning.
Dad and I had enjoyed New Zealand's bushwalking so much, we decided to replicate it with some tromping through Yorkshire hills. We visited some ruins and saw some archealogical finds.
We visited a property in Pocklington which had been left to the public by its intrepid owner, Major Stewart. Wandering round the museum dedicated to his life and adventures, we saw that he'd caught a shark on Bondi Beach in 1920!
While Up North I also enjoyed a splendid drive through the dales with Granny. I loved the dry stone walls, heather-covered hills and farmers' barns. It surprised me how remote and empty the countryside looked: I'd forgotten there could be large open spaces in the UK too, despite the population density.
After the restorative calm of the countryside, I spent a couple of crazy days partying with the fam in Leeds. Pippa was my hostess with the mostess, and it was fab catching up with the larger and louder side of the family.
It felt far too brief, but so good to see everyone again and explore a bit of the Old Country. Three years is definitely too long between visits, so I'll aim to come back for Christmas 2010, and have about 18 months between trips to the Northern Hemisphere from now on. Coming up: blogs on my whistle-stop tour of Europe, and London Town.
In the meantime I've been uploading my photos from the trip to flickr, so check them out here.
cx
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