I heart Yorkshire.
It’s so stupidly pretty, and everyone’s so friendly, and the food is so great, and the tea is (of course) the best.
So yeah.
I’ve been oop North a few times now, and it’s fair to say I love it.
I’m determined to live in York one day in the future, but for now I’ll content myself with visiting occasionally and taking insane amounts of photos.
Gary and I visited North Yorkshire over the bank holiday weekend, partly to have a break from London, and partly to catch up with his family.
Now, I totally hadn’t realised beforehand that it was still heather season on the moors.
I’d heard amazing things about it, and was dyiiing to see it.
So when Saturday dawned bright and clear and blue-skied, we all hopped into the car and drove up towards Blakey Ridge.
AND IT. WAS. AWESOME.
Isn’t it amazing?
Even my big lens couldn’t quite capture the massive distance you can see from the top of the moors. And you can’t quite understand how beautiful the colours are until you’ve seen it in person.
I was completely and utterly mesmerised by it all.
Gary and his mum kept having to stop and wait for me cos I’d be trailing about 300m behind them with my jaw on the ground…
So yeah. If you ever get the chance to visit when the heather’s in season: GO. GO IMMEDIATELY.
(And then make sure to stop off at the old Lion’s Inn pub for hot beef sandwiches and a restorative cup of tea. So delicious!)
On the Sunday we’d booked tickets for The Forbidden Corner.
Gary and his family had never been and I LOVED the look of the trailer for it, so off we went!
The Forbidden Corner is a unique labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, follies and surprises created within a four-acre garden in the heart of Tupgill Park and the Yorkshire Dales.
It originally started as a little project on a private estate, and slowly grew into a massive woodland area of over 4 acres, split into pathways and labyrinths, and scattered with crazy statues, hidden gems and secret caves.
Eventually it opened to the public and now it’s a super popular tourist attraction for the area. (Though it wasn’t actually as busy as I was expecting it to be, even on a sunny bank holiday weekend!)
When we arrived, we were handed a visual guide of everything there was to find in the maze.
And then we were set loose to explore!
^ Slightly worried cos I think Goldilocks is about to get eaten by the hungry poker-playing bears…
I think that it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re ever in the area. It doesn’t take longer than 2h to get round the whole thing but it’s SO GOOD.
We had an incredibly fun time looking for all the items, and the views of the Dales were absolutely fantastic.
It’s obviously perfect for families, but we’re all adults and we still loved it. There’s so much humor and mystery involved, that you can’t help but get caught up in it all.
I really, really enjoyed it!
Have you ever visited the North Yorkshire Moors in heather season?
Do you think The Forbidden Corner sounds awesome?
Let me know what you think! :D