Up hill, down dale

Christmas 2014 was for me a really magical one, in large part as it was in my new house and it was special to be able to host the family all at mine. I got very carried away with pine cones, stuffed reindeer's ( the inedible kind) and home made Christmas pudding vodka. The other big reason that made it special was us all opening an envelope from super brother Paul. In it we were told that our gift was a long weekend in Yorkshire in a gorgeous Eco lodge all together. What a present! 

So 4 months later, I find myself at Kings across station about to board the 8.03am destination Darlington. Less than 3 hours later i arrived, and the taxi service in the form of Dad reliably picked me up ( today is the day that the princess of Cambridge arrived - warning to Prince William, daughters don't stop asking for favours the minute they leave home....). We met up with the rest of the family in the market town of Richmond.

I'm very familiar with Surrey Richmond, but this Yorkshire Richmond was equally impressive. On Saturday's the central market square becomes a car free zone and lots of market stalls selling home made preserves, plants and fruit and veg take over. We stocked up on Yorkshire rhubarb, home made jams and bread for our weekend. When we arrived at our home for the weekend we were all full of smiles, Natural Retreats is a small complex of maybe 20 lodges all set in a stunning location in the Yorkshire Dales about a 20 minute walk from Richmond. It was right on the coast to coast path and our lodge was at the end surrounded by Forrest, rabbit warrens and open fields to the front. Inside it was all Scandinavian grey furnishings, fully opening sliding doors to let nature in and cosy bedrooms. Perfect. It was going to be difficult to leave.

We did leave from time to time, we walked into Richmond along the river most days, spotting kingfishers, failing to spot otters and smelling all of the wild garlic. Tina and I explored Richmond castle. One morning  Paul spotted a male deer about 20 metres ahead in the forest. We made it one evening over to a lovely local pub in Molton. But mostly we stayed in amongst the bunnies, the pheasants and the cheeky little squirrels in our little house. A proper piece of heaven - highly recommended for families young or old or groups of friends.