Long time no move!!
It’s been about 6 weeks since they took me out, and there was I thinking they were getting keen. Still, I suppose they have other things to do as well…what with Christmas and everything.
Anyway, it’s New Year’s Eve, they pack me up and at 11.00 they turn my key but, if they ignore me for so long it’s only right that I should take the huff and so I refuse to start. They try again and I’m still refusing to play ball, so they disappear and, about an hour later a cool looking yellow chick sporting AA tattoos pulls into view, and instantly gets me fired up. Worth waiting for, as far as I was concerned, even though they were cussing a bit and worried that things were worse than just a little flat battery.
So, off we set, heading down the A1 again….back to Ripon? The Lakes? Who knows….but we turn right at Scotch Corner onto the A66 so I’m betting the Lakes. A few miles along the A66 they notice that I’m trying to tell them something… It’s been ages since they filled me up and it is only be persistently flashing my petrol light at them I get them to realise my tank is almost empty. Funny thing, though, nowhere to fill up on the A66 after Scotch Corner and it is only by careful free-wheeling and a following wind that they manage to get to an open garage in Kirby Stephen and we can all avoid the embarrassment of getting the AA chick out again…I wouldn’t have minded that, though ;-)
A few more miles after filling up, along some twisty, narrow lanes and we arrive in Dent, a Cumbrian village which is inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The site, High Laning Caravan Park, is ok, but the hard-standing they promised me didn’t materialise. A quick shufty around the site revealed only one of these, right next to toilet block and the farmyard with all it’s tractors and so it was just as well I didn’t get it.
Having settled me down they went off to explore the village and came back full of it…cobbled streets, 3 pubs (good grub was eaten, and several pints of mucky beer drunk in one of them), a brewery, good local shop and lots of houses with Advent Day tableaux in their windows and the path up to the church all nicely decorated.
They also commented on how many houses had outdoor Christmas trees lit up and how lovely it all looked - but he didn't manage to get any decent pics of these - too much mucky beer methinks!!
That evening they settled down to do a bit of jigsaw and then fired up Tomtutor to watch the Jimmy Stewart classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” and drink champagne before having a Happy New Year kiss and falling asleep. Happy New Year everyone.
That night the outside temperature fell to -11C but I made sure that they were kept warm all night.
New Year’s Day and they are up bright and early, well 9.00, and after breakfast (boy does she make a good breakfast) they wrap up warm and set off for a walk.
Apparently it turned out to be one of the best walks they’ve done… about 9 miles along frozen tracks, past many a frozen and icicled waterfall and views of all three of the Yorkshire Peaks (Whernside, Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough). On getting back well after the sun had set, and checking that I was ok, it was a quick supper and off to bed.
January 2nd and this time they decided to go for a low-level, shorter walk along the River Dee and saw a very colourful sheep
...and after about 5 miles returned to Dent for a lovely hot chocolate in one of the cafes and then, after changing tea in one of the other pubs. And what a tea it was… giant Cumberland sausage – a foot long - and chips. Also in the pub were four men, one with an arm in a sling and one with a dressing over one ear. Turns out that, a very slippy, steep road that Him’n’Her had had trouble walking down the day before because of all the ice on it had proved too much for these guys and their car and it had slid off the road and rolled over about 8 or 9 times into a gully. It ended up on it’s roof but they were able to still open the doors and get out with just a badly cut ear, a broken collar bone and bruising between them. Lucky devils everyone agreed and everyone wondered whether or not their car would have stood up to such an incident.
The following day it was up early, pack everything away and, so I thought, off home. But Him’n’Her just keep on surprising me… instead of home of we went to the Lake District where they parked me up for free with a lovely view of a small river whilst they went to visit one of their favourite places…Lily Tarn. Apparently it was completely iced over, but as beautiful as ever. 
On their way up they saw a helicopter landing on a rugby field.
This was followed by a look around Ambleside before they came back to collect me and we all went back to Dent where they cooked supper, having failed to find a pizza place on the way back, even in Kendal where, due to the poor road signage, they went round the one-way system twice before they got on the right road.
The fourth of January was spent taking it easy in the morning and then packing up and returning home – this time without any trouble getting me going and no drama about fuel.
You can see more photos of our New Year trip here
When they came back they were raving about the lunch they had at a small eatery called 
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