Hot Tubs on cold winter evenings!
Saving money, we decided to skip the annual overseas weekend and just spend a weekend in a cosy log cabin in North Yorkshire.
The cabin was lovely! In the middle of a forest, fully equipped with a kitchen, a log fire (actually this was just a small log burner) and a hot tub!
First though, we needed to get food. So we went to a friendly nearby pub. They were full. Unsurprising just before Christmas. Decided to try somewhere else and ring first. Turned out to be a little more upmarket than we planned for. The Star Inn is a "top 50 gastropub". with a delicious food selection. It was also a little pricey but not horrendously so, and we're both foodies so definitely worth trying.
Flickums ordered beef with swede puree and charred leek with an "Oxo sauce" (which I guess is a posh way of saying gravy". I ordered pheasant with a bacon carbonara. We received a complementary appetizer ,which was a sort of cheese tart, and then some turkey broth while waiting for food to arrive. For each item, including the main, the waiter kindly pointed to all the components explaining what they were. Finished off with a selection of cheeses and a glass of port.
So that was absolutely delicious of a bit of an impulse gourmet purchase. We finished off the evening watching Bernard and the Genie then chilling in the hot tub.
Next day we set off to Scarborough. There was a Victorian market in the market hall. It was a little disappointing, although the hall itself is was quite nice. Decided to freeze our butts off at the beach because I like the sea. There was a nice geeky shop by the sea, selling swords, fantasy tat and airsoft guns.
Visited York and fought through the Christmas market crowds. Flickums had the worlds best ever burger. Squeezed onto the [park and ride bus back to the car park and then returned to the cabin for and indoor picnic, the 1984 TV version of Scrooge (we'd visited the graveyard they used in Shrewsbury last year - the Ebeneezer Scrooge grave is still there). Had some tasty beef in honey stew that we'd picked up in a nearby farm shop as part of the picnic. Then jumped in the hot tub!
Sunday it snowed!
The forest really looked nice covered in snow.
Zipped up to Whitby, where there was a Bavarian market, allegedly with an Oompah band. We was conned. It was a pretty crummy small group of stalls and not an Oompah to be seen. Went into town and had fish and chips because it's obligatory in Whitby. Then found the Dracula experience. It was uhm... brief. Strolled onto the beach and along the harbour arm. Considered going to Whitby Abbey but parking was a distance away and it was too bloody cold.
However, I did see the smoke of a steam train zipping through the hills. And we caught a glimpse of the actual train on the way back. Then went to Pickering to see it set off again.
Returned to the cabin, picked up some dinner, watched Home Alone 2, and soaked in the hot tub. It was still icy and pretty cold out there but that makes the hot tub all the more welcoming.
So, that was the break. I saw trains and got to see the sea, and spent lots of time in hot tubs. Flickums had a good time despite disappointments but I think next time we'll need to spend more time doing nothing.
This entry was originally posted at https://luckykaa.dreamwidth.org/640403.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
The cabin was lovely! In the middle of a forest, fully equipped with a kitchen, a log fire (actually this was just a small log burner) and a hot tub!
First though, we needed to get food. So we went to a friendly nearby pub. They were full. Unsurprising just before Christmas. Decided to try somewhere else and ring first. Turned out to be a little more upmarket than we planned for. The Star Inn is a "top 50 gastropub". with a delicious food selection. It was also a little pricey but not horrendously so, and we're both foodies so definitely worth trying.
Flickums ordered beef with swede puree and charred leek with an "Oxo sauce" (which I guess is a posh way of saying gravy". I ordered pheasant with a bacon carbonara. We received a complementary appetizer ,which was a sort of cheese tart, and then some turkey broth while waiting for food to arrive. For each item, including the main, the waiter kindly pointed to all the components explaining what they were. Finished off with a selection of cheeses and a glass of port.
So that was absolutely delicious of a bit of an impulse gourmet purchase. We finished off the evening watching Bernard and the Genie then chilling in the hot tub.
Next day we set off to Scarborough. There was a Victorian market in the market hall. It was a little disappointing, although the hall itself is was quite nice. Decided to freeze our butts off at the beach because I like the sea. There was a nice geeky shop by the sea, selling swords, fantasy tat and airsoft guns.
Visited York and fought through the Christmas market crowds. Flickums had the worlds best ever burger. Squeezed onto the [park and ride bus back to the car park and then returned to the cabin for and indoor picnic, the 1984 TV version of Scrooge (we'd visited the graveyard they used in Shrewsbury last year - the Ebeneezer Scrooge grave is still there). Had some tasty beef in honey stew that we'd picked up in a nearby farm shop as part of the picnic. Then jumped in the hot tub!
Sunday it snowed!
The forest really looked nice covered in snow.
Zipped up to Whitby, where there was a Bavarian market, allegedly with an Oompah band. We was conned. It was a pretty crummy small group of stalls and not an Oompah to be seen. Went into town and had fish and chips because it's obligatory in Whitby. Then found the Dracula experience. It was uhm... brief. Strolled onto the beach and along the harbour arm. Considered going to Whitby Abbey but parking was a distance away and it was too bloody cold.
However, I did see the smoke of a steam train zipping through the hills. And we caught a glimpse of the actual train on the way back. Then went to Pickering to see it set off again.
Returned to the cabin, picked up some dinner, watched Home Alone 2, and soaked in the hot tub. It was still icy and pretty cold out there but that makes the hot tub all the more welcoming.
So, that was the break. I saw trains and got to see the sea, and spent lots of time in hot tubs. Flickums had a good time despite disappointments but I think next time we'll need to spend more time doing nothing.
This entry was originally posted at https://luckykaa.dreamwidth.org/640403.html. Please comment there using OpenID.