There are few things in life which are better than a big walk, good company and a pub lunch in a country pub.  Taking a day off is as good as a holiday or so they say and I'm inclined to agree, sometimes you just need a day away from the world, a day to be with nature, a day to stand and stare as long as sheep and cows as WH Davies reminds us we need to in his poem (one of my personal favourites) leisure.

Fountains Abbey isn't too far away if you live in the North East of England, a mere sneak over the border into North Yorkshire and a prettier alternative to Lightwater Valley which you'll find in mostly the same direction but you'll more of a contented sigh than a scream at the former of the two.

Fountains Abbey consists of a cistern abbey, a Georgian water garden and a deer park, steeped in history, beauty, peace, and tranquility, it's the perfect place to take time off away from the hustle and bustle of real life for a few hours and with very little in the way of phone signal you'll be able to justify not answering calls or checking messages, well just for a little while anyway.

I find sometimes I miss my big girl, I see her nearly every day but I don't often get to spend quality time with her, especially without Looby also being there but Looby, infested with cold germs had decided to spend the day at home with Iain and so off we went.

Abigail is perpetually hungry as most teenagers are so we just kind of stumbled upon the Galphay Inn near Ripon.  I'm so happy we did because we were welcomed by an open fire and a gastro pub which is both dog friendly and child friendly.  If you're ever on your way to Fountains Abbey and you see the board at the side of the road gesturing you down to the Galphay Inn take a chance and do it, don't eat at Fountains Abbey, whilst Fountains Abbey is lovely and dog friendly you can't take your dog into the cafe so why not have good hearty food at very reasonable prices where your dogs would be welcomed with open arms, the staff fussed over Holly and Petunia and to me that's dog friendly.  I have to say that one of my problems with the National Trust is that they set themselves out there as dog friendly but not one of their properties has space in any of their cafes for people with dogs, this is fine in summer, I don't at all have a problem with sitting out in sunshine but what are you supposed to do in the rain or mid-winter, I'd say the National Trust are more dog tolerant than dog friendly but that's just my personal opinion.

One thing the National Trust does excel at is beauty, tranquility and history all within reach of most peoples doorsteps, I pay just over £9 a month for a family membership so that Looby and I can have days out, Paul and Abigail can have days out and if we're all having a family day we can use it together.  Fountains Abbey has all of the above qualities, you can almost feel the history seeping through your skin like osmosis and when you leave you feel enriched and full (possibly from all the cakes the NT are so good at making).

And so we come to the photos of quite a lovely day out.

Mandy Charlton

Photographer, Blogger, Writer

mandycharlton.com

Bradford, City 14/69 in the UK Cityscape's Project

On Saturday I spent 6 hours wandering the streets of Bradford, all in the name of the UK Cityscape's project, that's my quest to photograph and document all 69 cities of the UK.

What can I tell you about Bradford?  Well it's had a bad press of late but it's got a thriving university, a population of over 500,000 and one of it's claims to fame is that it's home to the best curry in the UK.

In the 19th century it had a thriving wool trade and you can still see the remains of some of the mills which were built during the time when Bradford was at it's booming best, at one time it was actually the wool capital of the world, that's a whole lot of sheep!!

Bradford is home to one of my favourite UK museums, the National Media Museum, in fact I visited Bradford a few years ago to go to the Henri Cartier - Bresson exhibition, the Godfather of street photography, amazing exhibition about a truly astonishing photographer, did you know he only cropped 2 photos in his entire life?  It's something I've tried always to be true to, frame the photo as you want it when you take it, don't crop it afterwards, you're changing your vision, the vision which inspired you!

I digress, back to Bradford, in all honesty I have to admit that Bradford was not my favourite city, there does seem to be a lot of regeneration going on which of course makes for a large building site, apparently the Westfield shopping centre has been in the planning for 10 years but for most of that period there was a large hole in the ground and not very much else, while I was there I could see signs of workmen actively working so maybe this will change the fates of the city.  The foundations of somewhere really interesting seem to be there, for instance, Bradford is home to an area called Little Germany, an area of outstanding architectural importance containing 85 buildings built between 1855 and 1890.

Bradford also has thriving markets which sell everything from origami to many herbs and spices from around the world, I really recommend that if you are in Bradford you pop in and have a look.

lets get on with the photos - 

Although the Tour de France didn't go through Bradford they were certainly trying to get into the mood.

I love fountains and water features and Bradford does this exceedingly well which made me think, why can't we have a huge fountain or water feature in Newcastle, someone should suggest that!

Can you imagine just how much fun this would be?  Yes I realise on a Friday night when the Geordie's are tipsy there may be dancing in the fountains but surely in Bradford they have this issue too and they're dealing with it?

I really hope when this is built it brings the crowds flooding back to Bradford but at the same time I also hope that it doesn't kill the local independent city centre shops

This is probably my favourite cityscape from Bradford, it's a really interesting skyline and there's a real mish-mash of architecture from the very old to the newly built.

I really hope that people do visit Bradford, spend a half a day exploring the markets, city centre and little Germany and you can spend the other half of the day in the National Media Museum, it's only by encouraging people to visit and give it a second chance that you'll see a better regeneration and increase in tourism and retail.

In my next UK Cityscapes post join me on a journey as I explore the magnificent city of Leeds, that's City 15/69 in the UK Cityscape's project.