Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country with Candy & Lorraine

  Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country   

At the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes we had the opportunity to taste many different cheeses and see the cheese making process. References were made to Wallace and Grommit and we had great fun having our photos taken with the characters. 

We went to the Woolpack Inn for Sunday lunch, with Yorkshire puddings all round! The Woolpack is the pub featured in the popular TV soap Emmerdale. Everyone had a chance to pull a pint behind the bar and we all thought we would make great bar staff!

Our first stop was The Carding Shed at Jackson Bridge. Here we saw a collection of car related memorabilia before stopping in the café for tea and coffee which was served in vintage cups and we tried their homemade cakes. The waitresses were fabulous in their 50's dresses. 

A short drive and we were amongst the film locations for The Last of the Summer Wine. We visited a museum which is in Nora Batty's Cottage with lots of memorabilia. We had our lunch in Sid's with cardboard cut outs of Nora with her broom! 

We also took a tour in a vintage bus around the area, with great commentary from the driver.

In Pickering we caught the train to Goathland. After a journey through some stunning countryside we stopped at another old station which was used as Hogsmeade Station in the first Harry Potter film. Goathland is known as Aidensfield in the TV series Heartbeat. We had a cream tea in the café where the police car from the series is parked.

In York we caught the open-top bus and had a tour of the city which took us into the suburbs as well as pointing out all the places of interest inside the city. We learnt that in York, streets are called gates. Gates are called bars and bars are called pubs! All very confusing! We saw the fantastic York Minster and walked through the tiny street.

The Wonders of the Isle of Wight with Darren & Marguerite

  The Wonders of the Isle of Wight  

Our evenings was spent enjoying music and dancing from comedy show, bands and tribute singer. We also participated in some line dancing. Great nights was enjoyed by all.

At the bowling alley we took part in a friendly competition; boys vs girls. After a very close game with some great scores, the boys were victorious!

We spent an afternoon on the steam railway at Ryde; one of Britain’s heritage railways and a registered educational charity. We sat in restored Victorian and Edwardian carriages where we were able to take in the views of the islands unspoilt countryside. Everyone really enjoyed this trip which was rounded off by visiting the railway museum.

We went to the famous Needles landmark at Alum bay. This is a point of natural outstanding beauty overlooking the 3 stacks of chalk in a row that rise about 30m out of the sea off the western side of the Isle of Wight.

We were lucky to enjoy demonstrations of glass blowing, sweet making and we got to try filling ornaments with colourful sands. We watched it being sealed to keep as a souvenir. 

Austria, Sound of Music Tour with Midi, Colin & Lesley

  Austria, Sound of Music Tour  

Arriving at our breathtakingly beautiful hotel, we couldn't believe how picturesque it was. 

We strolled into the village to look at some of the shops and check out the really unusual architecture before making our way to the cable car lift. everyone absolutely loved it and the views were just the best! We were over 2000 feet high and saw horses grazing, hikers, hand gliders, natural lakes and mountainous views to take your breath away. 

Off we went to the National Park, Hohe Tauern and the spectacular water fall. The breathtaking waterfall is the biggest one in Europe and the mountainous views and the surrounding National Park was fantastic. The noise of the waterfall was very loud and the closer we went the more we were sprayed. 

Today we made our way to Salzburg, ready for our Sound of Music tour! We visited Mirabell Gardens where we relieved Maria and the Von Trapp Family, singing on the steps by the fountain.

We visited the gazebo where Leizl and Ralph sang 16 going on 17!  We saw Leopoldskron Palace where the children fell into the lake from their boat and we learnt that Gretel almost drowned when filming that scene. We then passed the abbey in Nonnberg where the Captain and Maria were married in real life.

A small train ride transported us to the stunning Cathedral where the wedding scene in the movie was filmed. It’s truly spectacular and extremely ornate.

In Zell am See we took a boat across the Zell Lake into a shopping paradise with lovely narrow lanes full of a variety of great shops, all very traditional. We had lunch in a traditional Austrian pastry shop where we sampled apple strudels, yummm!

In the village of Bad Gastein we saw the amazing water fall over the bridge, cascading down under the bridge and into the valley. It was really impressive!