Running around Knaresborough

 When I came across pictures of Knaresborough, I needed to visit it. I wanted to witness the views in person. 

The station itself was so cute! We walked through the town to the castle and see the views of the River Nidd and the viaduct. The views were amazing! It's hard to describe but there were stunning. You can't go inside the castle, it was more ruins but great nonethless.

Our next stop was England's oldest attraction, Mother Shipton's cave. It is set in a woodland and so a great place to have a stroll and enjoy the views of the river. The cave is not really a cave and was underwhelming but the Petrifying Well was creepy but still beautiful! We loved reading all about the place and this history of Mother Shipton. I will recommend going to Mother Shipton's when they are events as they will be more to do. As we went during Easter, we did the Easter trail and they were cute little touches around the park. We wanted to visit the Chapel of our Lady of the Crag but it was unfortunately closed so we did a nice walk along the river.

We then headed to Fountains Abbey in Ripon  which was further out. We went through Harrogate which is famous for its spas. There are many things to do in Ripon such as museums but we visited similar museums in other places so the kids didn't want to do the museum. When we visited the Fountains Abbey, we didn't expect to spend so much time in there. A whole day can be easily spent in there with so much to see. It is a National Trust site so free if you are a member. I'm in love with the ruins. It is stunning. With a river running through it, it was easy to spend an hour just looking though the ruins. We also visited the water gardens which wasn't all that but if you want to get your steps in then do visit them.

Yes, it was a quick stop but well worth it! Do visit this beautiful place in North Yorkshire!

A day trip to Cheddar

 Cheddar was on my radar for a couple of years now but never got round to it for some reason. So this half-term, I took the leap and planned our day. The journey there was so scenic and green everywhere. The main reason I always wanted to go is because I love cheese so naturally, our first stop was the cheese factory, 'The Cheese Company &Co', the only place where cheddar is made in Cheddar. This was actually so good. We spent more time in the factory than anywhere else. The entry fee was £2.50 for adults and free for kids. It was great to see the processes in cheese making and the workers in there for so friendly and showing us how to do certain things! We then went to the shop and did a bit of cheese-tasting before investing in some differently flavoured cheddar. A must-do when you are there.

The next stop was walking up to Gough's Caves. With a river flowing through the village and walking through the gorge was beautiful.  Tickets for caves and other attractions were booked online. In the price of the ticket, you can visit 5 attractions. The Gough's Caves were magnificient. It was short but it was so stunning to walk through and look around.

The next stop was the Prehistoric Museum which was a short and sweet museum. It was a museum to understand how and who lived in Cheddar in the prehistory times. The outdoor setup outside the museum was cute too.

Our lost stop was walking on the Mendip Hills. This was a circular route and takes about 2-3 hours but the views were gorgeous (shame it doesn't translate on photos). Some of the paths were filled with pebbles which could get slippery. We also came across wild goats. When we walked to the most highest point, we could see all of Cheddar including Cheddar Reservoir. It was well worth the walk-up and the many near-falls we encountered! If you don't want to the walk but want the views, you can always go up the Watch Tower and see the scenic views.

Overall, we loved Cheddar and we will definetely go back!