Leeds; Monday, 17 January, 2011

Up early and out to the station. I wanted to do visit two towns today so I needed to make an early start.

First off it was up into the Dales on the train to the market town of Skipton. I had a wander through the town and over to their castle. The castle is described as one of the finest examples of a medieval castle, and from the outside it is, it’s just no effort has been taken on the inside to give any idea of what it would have been like, it’s just a series of whitewash walled rooms with occasional information plaques.

I had originally hoped to be able to fill up quite a bit of time at the castle and then catch the bus across the dales to my next destination Harrogate after lunch. Instead the castle took so little time that as I left it the previous bus (and they are only every other hour) was just leaving.

Rather than have a two hour wait in the town, I wandered back to the station and caught the train back to Leeds and then out to Harrogate. I’m glad I did as I wouldn’t have seen the magnificent view of the Crimple Viaduct as we left Pannal station before doing a very tight 90 degree turn and running across it.

I had a long wander around the centre of Harrogate, stopping for a late lunch, before finding myself outside the Royal Pump Room’s museum. I had a quick look round, and took the waters (which are pretty unpleasant, so they must be good for you!), before heading on into the Valley Gardens to have a wander through them.

The gardens climb up onto the edge of the Pennines and the views across the rolling Yorkshire Dale countryside were spectacular. I was heading for the botanical gardens at the back of the park, but by the time I reached them they had already closed the ticket office for the evening as sunset was only just over an hour away.

I walked a short distance back to the main road and caught the bus back into Harrogate where I had a final wander round before heading back into Leeds.

After grabbing a bite to eat I went for a wander around the city centre, and headed over towards the Clarence Dock and Royal Armouries to have a look at them in the dark, and I wasn’t disappointed. The main architectural feature of the Armouries is a tall glass tower which acts as the main staircase. Up the centre are arrays of weaponry and at night the whole tower is brightly lit, looking like a blazing lighthouse marking the end of the Leeds Liverpool Canal and the Aire weir.

Having taken that all in I wandered back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.