August 2016 Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire
House Sitting in Pateley Bridge for four and a half months gave us plenty of time to integrate into the local community, especially once Liz began working at The Pancake House. Soon after arriving in Pateley Bridge we did the usual rounds to check out the local cafes to see if we could find ourselves a decent cup of coffee (which is not as easy as in NZ). The Pateley Pancake House is on the corner of High Street, at the bottom end of town, in a lovely sunny spot. As we stepped through the front door we were greeted with a very cherry welcome and found ourselves a cosy table for two near the front window. The atmosphere, presentation of food and the customer service was excellent though the coffee wasn’t as good as we serve up in NZ (sorry Jane)! Liz instantly fell in love with the place so a few days later, when we were passing by, Liz popped in to ask if they would need extra staff over the busy summer season.
I am sure you know what it’s like when ‘they’ say give me your phone number and we’ll let you know if anything comes along. You are pretty sure that means you will never hear from ‘them’ at all. Well, you know what, just two days later Liz got a call asking if she could start work the next day as the owner had to urgently go out of town. Not only was Liz going to a new job the boss wasn’t even going to be there. New job, new people, new routines that fit like a glove. A very busy, fun filled and satisfying summer job which has also led to amazing lifelong friendships.
This wasn’t just a new routine for Liz. It was the beginning of Peter’s upskilling in home management duties of cooking, washing and cleaning along with lawn mowing and walking the dog which of course he already knew how to do. It was pretty much a role reversal from our known NZ life which we both embraced enthusiastically.
August 2017 Risplith, North Yorkshire
Walking with Tess the Yorkie the first year was a superb way to explore the countryside. Tess was almost always on lead and quite content to trot along in front of me for an hour or three, at a decent pace. Good for 9-10 miles her owners had said, & they were right. Those little legs just kept going. The Gouthwaite Reservoir loop, around Brimham Rocks, across heather-covered moors. If I stopped too long anywhere for a photo (or to catch my breath…) she soon gently let me know it was time we were moving again. This year with two Labs to walk it was a different ballgame. Just as much fun, but in a different way.
As Ash & Cassie were used to running off lead they moved at a rather faster pace than me… Result being that the best places to go with them were woods with few other people or dogs, lots of room to roam, and the scent of rabbits, deer etc to get them going. Fortunately there are plenty of those places around Ripon. One favourite spot was Hackfall Woods, a gorgeous woodland with its follies and waterfalls on the banks of the River Ure near Grewelthorpe. The river provided a cooling off spot (Labs + water = wet dogs!) and on one visit Ash decided that she was going to swim over to the fly fisherman on the far bank – fortunately discretion won the day & she turned back. Things didn’t always go to plan on our walks though.
On a visit to another local woodland, which shall remain nameless, there were large numbers of pheasants (early August, just before shooting season). Unfortunately one of the pheasants wasn’t quite quick enough & Cassie proudly brought me a present. (ooops, sorry Mr Gamekeeper…). Walking in the great outdoors of the Dales was something I had always looked forward to doing, and to do it with such great companions as Tess, Ash & Cassie brought that dream alive. There’s more places still to walk – I want to go back!
August 2018 – Toft, Cambridgeshire
Our early morning, or in the cool of the evening, walks around the village and through the nearby fields in Toft are very pleasant. It almost feels as if time is standing still as we amble along keeping pace with Hershey who is not in any hurry whatsoever. During the heat of the day we happily relax under the shade of the large trees in the backyard and feast on the fast ripening delicious figs (well, maybe not Pete but Liz does for sure!)
House sitting duties always take precedence over sightseeing when planning our days. We are careful to work out suitable time slots to go off exploring the local area. With it being so hot it wasn’t suitable to take Hershey on outings with us as we so often do which was a pity.
Every place where we stay has a myriad of things to do and places to visit so Peter spends our downtime, which is usually in the evenings, researching what will be of the most interest to us. A house sitting life doesn’t lend itself to frequent paid outings unless you have a job on the side with a regular income (which we don’t), so we look for low cost or no cost things to do as often as possible.
We are members of Heritage New Zealand which is recognised and accepted in the same way as National Trust and English Heritage cards are in England. National Trust and English Heritage sites are renowned for their fabulously restored buildings and immaculately kept gardens and grounds so while in Toft we visited Anglesey Abbey, Wimpole Hall and Audley End. Our visit to Audley End was particularly interesting and enjoyable as it was on a “Bringing Audley End To Life” day where you step back in time to experience a day in and around the grounds as it was in the 17th century. It was a fabulous day as we wandered through the magnificent big old house watching cooks baking and preparing food and chatting with stable hands while they worked with horses in the yard. It was great to see crowds of local folk and tourists supporting and thoroughly enjoying this well run annual summer event.
Speaking of locals getting out and enjoying the countryside……we joined a long line of cafe going, picnicking bunch of people at ‘The Orchard Tea Garden’ in Grantchester. We had been told of its popularity so really weren’t surprised at having to search high and low for a spare seat to sit in the shade while we ate our very rapidly melting ice-cream.
While in Grantchester we had time for a walk along the banks of the river Cam where we came across a popular swimming spot and local punting tours coming and going along the river with their passengers. Everyone lapping up the perfect summer weather.
Liz was very interested to learn that Grantchester is home to author Jeffrey Archer (one of her favourite authors), Rupert Brooke an English poet and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd). It was also the inspiration behind Roger Waters’ (Pink Floyd) song called Grantchester Meadows and David Gilmour’s song Fat old Son.
