Burnby Hall Gardens and Museum and Hull

Burnby Hall Gardens are situated in Pocklington and are described as "a jewel in Yorkshire's crown". They have been awarded the Yorkshire in Bloom Gold Award for 5 consecutive years since 2010 so we assumed they were worth a visit particularly as it is the time of year when the waterlilies (the main feature of the gardens) are in bloom. It is a really lovely place to visit.

The gardens are set around two man-made lakes - the Upper and Lower lakes - and are really pleasant to walk around. And it was a lovely day!

One of the main attractions are the fish which are very tame, used to being fed (fish food for them sold in the shop) and which emerge at the water's edge mouths wide open! Children just love them, even big children like us. They were so fat that I had a vision of a little lad feeding one and the food being that bit too much that it caused the fish to explode! I'm not sure if that would have upset the children or delighted them!!

Tread softly because you tread on my ... lily pads!

The Stewart Museum within the gardens is dedicated to the extraordinary life of Major Percy Marlborough Stewart who made eight round the world tours between 1916 and 1926. It contains the artefacts and photos that he brought back to Pocklington from his tours. It was Major Stewart who was the inspiration behind Burnby Hall Gardens.

Mairead?

These little gardens were created by Primary School Children from the local area. They are gardens that attract insects. They were very pretty and well thought out.

We returned home for lunch and then set off for Hull which is in a great state of dissarray as it prepares to be the UK's capital of Culture for 2017. The square where we visited the Maritime Museum looks like it will be very nice when all the work is completed and all the hoardings are gone. There are some very nice buildings there

Hull doesn't seem to do Sundays as all the museums, if open at all, close around 4pm. Both going there and coming back we saw the Humber Bridge which is quite impressive but we have no proper photo of it.

Dinner (at home) was good - I cooked it!

Barmby Moor, Yorkshire

Friday June 24th 2016. My morning started at 4.45 am with a horrified text from Carol that Britain had voted to leave the EU. The following phonecall revealed how distraught she is about the situation and its likely outcomes for her and for the many many immigrants from the EU and elsewhere.

After an early departure from Raphoe we boarded the Stena Line ferry for Liverpool/Birkenhead. By 9.30 am we were on board and enjoying a slightly late breakfast. We had a very calm crossing and were delighted to see dolphins which were alongside the ship for a short while. The whole journey was accompanied by an interminable commentary on TV about the likely consequences of Britain's exit from the EU. The ferry docked at 18.30 and by 7pm we were en route for Yorkshire. Slightly after 9pm we were unloaded into our new temporary home - a much extended rambling house with plenty of room.

On Saturday Brian and Mairead were due into York train station in the afternoon so we had time to suss out nearby Pocklington, a pretty market town, gateway to the Wolds. There we found a Sainsbury's where we stocked up for the first few days. Despite being advised not to drive into York as parking there is difficult, we chanced it and were lucky to get the last space in a small parking lot near the station. We took an hour or so around York for a quick look, a visit to Waterstones for a decent map of the area and a coffee and we were back to the station in time for the train.

Dinner that evening was in the Boot and Slipper in Barmby Moor, walking distance from the house which is on the main road before the left turn to the village. I will not be recommending it to anyone nor will I be giving it glowing reviews on Trip Advisor! The rain had started before we left the pub so we splashed our way quickly home.

John F. Kennedy Arboretum

We spent a couple of days in Wexford with Mary before being returned home by Philip. We had 2 lovely walks - one in and the other in the John F. Kennedy Arboretum. The trees were really beautiful and good for the soul!

Riom, Beaumont-Pied-de-Boeuf, Morlaix, Roscoff

When planning our trip to France, I had deliberately chosen a different route back to Roscoff rather than returning the way we had come. I had read that the A75 is the most scenic motorway in France so wanted to experience that. I also wanted to see the Millau viaduct, the world's highest multi-span bridge over the Tarn Valley. And we did see it and we crossed it but (after our  near-death experience on Monday) we did not have the heart to linger below it at the interpretive centre. And the A75 is indeed scenic!

The A 75 is also known as La Meridienne. It cuts through the Massif Central and it is entirely free (a very unusual thing in France) from Beziers to Clermont Ferrand. Because it is at an altitude of in excess of 800m there are some wonderful views.

Coming towards the Millau viaduct

On the Millau Viaduct.

After a reasonably relaxed journey in lovely countryside we reached Riom where I had booked into B&B Hotel Clermont Ferrand Nord. This was another new experience for us as the hotel reception is manned for only a few hours a day. At other times, and including when we arrived, entrance into the hotel involves a combination of key pads and touch screens. First I had to press the buzzer where I was connected via intercom to a person who acknowledged my reason to be there by giving me a code that I had to put into the touch screen which then printed out the number of our room and the code to be used via the keypad to open the main door and also open the bedroom door. It worked perfectly!

As is very common nowadays, budget hotels are usually on the outskirts of big towns and cities and eateries spring up around them. Often these are establishments that I would need to be in dire need to enter but this time we were very fortunate as just a stroll away was Le Zinc (I think) and we had a really nice meal there.

The following morning we set off early for Beaumont-Pied-de-Boeuf where I had booked a well-thought of Auberge with 6 bedrooms and a good restaurant - Auberge Relais du Cheval Blanc. The Madame welcomed us in a very friendly manner and Jim finally found a parking place on quite a slope. He is now (understandably) quite paranoid about slopes so made sure the handbrake was fully up and found some stones to put in front of the wheels! Our room was very nice.

There was a paved area outside with a picnic table so I repaired to that to read my book. Jim went exploring and found the church so interesting that he persuaded me to have a look. It's a really old church

A woman was in the Church hanging tapestries from some tapestry group in the south of France. They were very nice too.

While we were there the bell in the bell tower struck the hour , twice like in Calvisson. I took advantage of the woman's presence to ask her why. Her explanation was much more satisfying that the one I had got in Calvisson. The clocks strike once to remind people to adopt a position of prayer and the second time to suggest resumimg work!








We had a lovely meal in the restaurant and it turns out the chef is quite well known.

Earlier in the day we had stopped in a town called Chateau du Loir (I think) where we had a delicious lunch - roast vegetables couscous topped with a piece of cod.

Next morning early breakfast and on to Morlaix where we left the hired car and got a taxi to Roscoff where we were 4 and a half hours early for the ferry. Jim takes punctuality to the extreme!