Wednesday 8th May 2024
We managed to set off by 10.30, and wonder how the hell we are taking so much stuff!
Downtown services are quieter than we often find them. We stop for coffee at 11.15, and eat Maureen’s scones from Monday. The range of EV charging points has increased now.
The toilets are clean and for once, you don’t have to walk through rows of shops and fast food outlets to reach them.
it is actually warm enough to hang around in the open without huddling in windproof clothing.
Onwards and northwards, and we decide to make use of our English Heritage membership to visit Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster. We had stopped here once or twice before - the first time we ate lunch in their cafe, but didn’t explore the grounds. The second time the hall was closed and we used the car park on a very chilly damp day to eat lunch in the car. On our third attempt, earlier this year, we couldn’t access the grounds at all, so found an alternative place.
Today we ate our own lunch, and then walked around their lovely, well-tended gardens. We hadn’t realised either the extent or the beauty of them. It’s not a famous place like Chatsworth or Belton House.
High points - the bed of tulips in softish colours; the people playing croquet; The viewpoint on an artificial mound; the ‘target house for archery, with the ‘eye catcher at the end to help with target practice; and of course the sunny courtyard.
There’s also the church, but we couldn’t find a way in - nearby there was a wooded area with wild garlic and bluebells.
The woman in the cafe where we bought an ice-cream had something of a retired primary school teacher air!
We left Brodsworth just after 3pm.
The next stretch involved a congested section of the A1 - bridge repairs near Darrington. Not quite as bad as we feared, so we simply stayed on the road and crawled along for a short time.
At almost 5pm we stopped in Barnard Castle - cue for the odd joke as ever, and after failing to get a coffee in the coffee shop, we went into a pub - quite old fashioned and male oriented, where the barman made us a decent coffee, and we chatted to a couple who were viewing a house in the area, and a little nervous about having to make a rapid decision.
The final stretch over the moors to Carrshield, where we settled in and ate the frozen stew we’d brought with us.
We had a quiet comfortable night.
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