A Spring Day in Pannal

Started off frosty then it turned into a lovely sunny warm spring day. I decided to walk the Crimple Valley. Enjoyed it took a picnic sat in the sunshine and it was good. Apart from the fact that it was very very wet and muddy in places and my feet got very wet and muddy.  There were so many people out all enjoying a hopefully not a one off day. I took the camera and took some lovely photos. Also met a lot of people I knew but have not seen much of as we are in lockdown but the sunshine brought us all out walking. I do love the Crimple Valley all the way up and under the Crimple Viaduct. It is an imposing structure 1873 feet long crossing the valley at a height of 110 feet and has 31 arches each of 50 feet span. When the new central station in Harrogate opened in 1862 a connection was built at the southern end of the viaduct to permit trains from Leeds to join the York and North Midland line and to cross the viaduct to reach Harrogate's new station.That and the Brunswick Tunnel highlights of the rail journey. One walk I do quite a lot is walking all round The Stray from the bottom of Tewit Well Road towards the hospital and all the way round and up Montpellier Hill and back to where I started. I have walked round Pannal Golf Club a number of times since it closed. I walk all the holes and look forward to when I can golf there once again. I enjoy my walking and have walked over the years the Cleveland Way, all round the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. My lovely husband Bas and I walked every Wednesday and Friday setting off early we covered some ground. All this year I have been rediscovering all the places in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Otley and Ilkley. Dare I say it but I am getting fed up now. I say we as it is not just me but we want to be able to see our children and grandchildren. We want to meet friends for lunch. We want to visit restaurants and pubs.Most of all we want to be able to hug. All I have got to hug at the moment are the cats. Tigs is very affectionate and loves hugs. Marble is I am quite sure not really all there as sometimes she will come up to me and other times she is like who is this stranger I had better run away. My book Pannal and Burn Bridge - Their Stories is at the publishers and Terry my publisher likes it which is praise indeed as he publishes so many books.

All stay safe and hopefully we shall get some life back soon.