Scooting away from the city life, we landed in the beautiful town of Ilkley. Less than 3 hours train from London, we were excited to escape to Yorkshire and visit some long lost friends aka our local guides.
The town of Ilkley is about 30 minutes from Leeds, but the small town is a well known tourist destination with lots of fine wine, food and boutiques.
For our first day we visited Harewood House, the home of the Lascelles family since 1759. Princess Mary married Henry Lascelles and they resided there from 1929.
Himalayan Garden at Harewood House
Harewood House
The house itself is immaculate, but the highlight for me was the extensive gardens. You can easily take the whole day to explore and enjoy the grounds, by walking through the various gardens, browsing through the sizeable vegetable patch and taking a boat ride in the lake. It is also contains a bird park which include penguins!
The largest veggie patch I’ve ever seen, complete with 5 types of Kale – who knew that even existed??
The sunflower house. They had music playing for the sunflowers…. weird.
And of course the house needed penguins in their bird park!
View from the terrace of Harewood House
Bed worth over £1m, Queen Victoria apparently slept in it when she made a visit in her youth
Getting design inspiration for when we own a palace, and Chris trying to figure out how many books he can read to get a collection like this.
Next up, we did a hike on Ilkley Moor. The view from the top overlooks all of Ilkley and was a common spot for a few afternoon drinks to take in the surroundings. Popular with visitors, dogs and mountain bikers, you can easily explore the paths for hours.
The “Cow and the Calf” rocks on Ilkley Moor. Those people climbed up on the boulder without ropes etc. Goodluck getting down….
Navigate and find a path, Percy (the sausage dog) wasn’t coping
We went a little off track
Near the top of the Mopor, there is a “Spa” house where there is basically a natural plunge pool inside a hut. On New Years Day each year the Spa allows the public to take a dip in the pool if they are brave enough (middle of winter in icy water). Our hosts took part last year but I don’t think they are keen on it again…
After a big day exploring, our friends took us out to an amazing tapas restaurant and to several bars in the town, all to test out the best espresso martinis of course! There are no shortage of restaurants, with many fine dining and casual options available, in addition to the regular oversupply of pubs.
Day 2 started with a hike to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales and I’m told was featured in a Harry Potter film. Dogs, sheep and humans all enjoy this place together, with the untouched nature showing it’s true beauty in the stunning views from the top.
Malham Cove
To finish our trip to Yorkshire, we enjoyed a Sunday roast from a pub in a tiny little village with the best views of the rolling hills. I can’t tell you the name as I can’t remember it, but every turn we took there were quaint villages where you could easily stop for a meal, beverage or simply to enjoy the view.
Things to do in Yorkshire:
Eat a Yorkshire pudding. These lovely doughy puddings mop up all of the gravy from your roast, and I now cannot imagine a roast without one.
Eat a Yorkshire Teacake. The fruit is steeped in Yorkshire Tea prior to baking to create a dense but delicious fruit cake which originated from the area. Betty’s is a tea room which is famous in England for its cakes and has a shop located conveniently in the town of Ilkley.
Explore the Dales. Rolling hills, stone fences and roaming sheep. Hiking through it is a beautiful way to enjoy the countryside.
Visit the Bronte sisters home in West Yorkshire. We didn’t get to do this, but we have saved it for next time!
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