Returning from an escape- Part I…

Well, I’m back from my break in York and Sheffield. As per normal, I’ll split this into two posts, otherwise a single post will be way too long and complicated.

Mum and I left home at 05:55 on Monday, with the rain hammering down. The idea was to get through the bottleneck at Derby, as I refused to use the M1. Not because I am afraid of motorways, far from it. It’s more a case of preserving my driving license and helping the fuel economy on the car (and given the weather conditions, the spray on the motorway would have been horrendous to drive in).

So, it wasn’t a bad run and we were through Derby and well en-route when we decided to stop for breakfast (think we were near Alfreton). So, we stopped at the Little Chef. Ok – not a problem there, but Mum and I were the only ones in the restaurant. Considering it was attached to a Travel Lodge, the guests didn’t seem to be showing any inclination to eat there.

Mind you, I guess that I can see the reason why. A breakfast at the Premier Inn group that I tend to stay in will cost £7.95 for the Premier Breakfast, which is everything that is on offer, from croissants to a full cooked breakfast and everything in between, with drinks included in the price. However, a breakfast at the Little Chef would be about £10 (or more), as you would have to buy the breakfast and drinks of your choice individually.

Aside from that, I appreciated the break as driving in the rain wasn’t pleasant – mainly because it was dark until about 07:30 (I loathe the switch back to GMT – the only benefit that I can see is the fact that I get an extra hour in bed the day or rather night that the clocks go back).

Then it was back on track, again avoiding the motorway, and to be honest, there wasn’t much to look at (or stop off for) on the way up to York…  Or at least not until I spotted a sign that said “York Designer Village"

That was it. The perfect place to stop and have a break from driving, as I was getting bored with driving, and Mum was starting to suffer from “numb bum” syndrome. So, we parked and headed into the outlet.

To call it a designer outlet was somewhat misleading. Yes, there were a few designer outlets there (think one of them was Armani, and another was L K Bennett) but most of them were the usual run of the mill high street shops – places like Next and Marks & Spencer spring to mind immediately, with a few others mixed in with them.

Lunch was nothing too special – it was a jacket potato (ok – mine had chicken tikka as the filling) but it did the job, and allowed us to get back on the road to the Premier Inn that I had booked for the first part of our trip.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we managed to locate the Premier Inn without much hassle.

The approach to the hotel was somewhat disconcerting, but once I’d gotten over the fact that it was almost a single track road to get past the pub that the hotel was behind, it was nice and easy to park.

The hotel itself was very well appointed – just what I’ve come to expect from Premier inn, and although the bathroom was a slightly odd layout, (the bathroom door was placed so that the toilet area could be closed off from the main bathroom) it was just what I wanted. Apart from the fact that there was a shower cubical instead of a bath.

Ok – that did take some getting used to, as it didn’t allow as much movement space as I am accustomed to, but once I was used it, it was nice and easy to use, with plenty of hot water.

Dinner was at the Dormouse, which was part of the Vintage Inn group – not one that I know much about (although I think there is a pub that I’ve been to with my beloved that is part of the same group – I’ll have to ask him) and to say that I was spoilt for choice was an understatement.

Good beer (think things like Black Sheep and Sharps Doombar on draught) and the food menu was very good as well. To say that I was stuffed after my choice was an understatement (but I think that the pint of Doombar helped as well!)

The following morning, after breakfast Mum and I headed into York, using the Park and Ride (think it was the Rawston Lane one – I can recall that it was the Green line though) The weather was vile, and I have to admit, York is rather reminiscent of a rabbit warren – and is hardly compact when it comes to shopping. It’s ok I guess if you know your way around the city, but as I haven’t been to York for about 20 years or so, things have changed an awful lot.

As the weather was so vile (think heavy rain and very cold wind) Mum and I spent most of our time dodging in and out of the various shops. The one I was pleased to find was Culppeper – there was one in Leamington many years ago, but it closed and has been replaced by some perfume shop or other…

Aside from that, there were quite a few individual shops, that ranged from really interesting (things like the Whisky Shop on Coppergate) to the run of the mill (like Marks and Spencer)

As the weather was so vile, I skipped my trip to see York Minster, as I was cold and tired – I think the early start on Monday had knocked the living daylights out of me, so it was a cold walk back to the bus stop. Thankfully, we didn’t have too long to wait, and we were soon back in the room at the hotel (and I have to admit that I was soon asleep!)

The following day (Wednesday) we headed back into York, as I was determined to go around the Minster. Again, it wasn’t very pleasant weather, but at least it wasn’t raining – just blasted cold. As Mum didn’t fancy going around the Minster, we agreed to meet in the Costa coffee shop that was near (ok – opposite) the park and ride bus stop.

So, off I scampered to the Minster- only to discover the entrance had been changed, and was in a different location. But that was soon overcome, and I entered the Minster. The memories came flooding back, as the last time I was there was with Dad, and I remember being awestruck even then.

I spent a shorter time there than I would have really liked, but as I was supposed to be heading to our next stop, it meant I couldn’t spend as long as I would have liked (plus I didn’t have my camera with me – something for which I am kicking myself for) but as I was going to be going to Sheffield Meadowhall I didn’t really want to have to leave the camera in the car…

Ah well, time to call this quits – I’m supposed to be unpacking – not blogging.

Back later with the details about the Sheffield leg of the trip…


Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most