Roving Reporters
Slip Sliding Away
Friday 26th February 2010
Slip sliding away!
It was a particularly sunny frosty post Christmas Monday as four of us met up for a traditional lunch of "bangers and mash". Well what else is one supposed to have after stuffing themselves with rubbish over the festive period! Then it was out into the icy wilds of the Harewood Estate. Scooping up a shivering pooch on the way. We could see for miles over the picturesque snow covered Lower Warfedale Valley, admiring the shapely form of Almscliffe Crag as we picked our way gingerly around the Northern end of the Estate. (Mental note to self to conquer this one). The castle was waived temptingly in front of us by our brave leader, yet dismissed as an option due to a packed itinerary. (Only teasing Sylvia) We weretreated to a view of the splendid All Saints Church, dating back to the 15th century, which was perfectly lit in the wintry afternoon sun with a magical dusting of snow and ice over the graveyard and roof. We passed close to herds of majestic dear randomly splashed across the sloping fields (not sure whether they were reindeer or not, no sign of Santa) with impressive antlers on the stags. Needless to say we kept a safe distance.
As we rounded the Western side of the estate we were walking on 'thin ice' at times. This is not an uncommon situation for yours truly as you can imagine. We were led bravely through woods, past icy lakes and over ornate bridges, being ushered together for photo shoots at every opportunity. Oh the digital age! We've all gone photo crazy! At one point we were narrowly missed by the estate keeper who was showing off his four wheel drive skills, and prompting me to wish I had the same on my shoes. It was a pretty walk back to the cars over fields littered with breathless sledgers and exasperated parents wondering how little Johny managed not to break both his legs when he crashed into the hedge at the bottom of the hill. We were all invited back to Tony's house to thaw out with a wonderful cup of hot steaming tea and a bath ……….. bun. Got you thinking then didn't I.
Thank you to Sylvia and Tony for their joint efforts at making it a very enjoyable post Christmas lunch, walk and whatever went on at Tony's. I'll leave you, the reader to work that one out. Don't all ring him at once.
This is Nicola Widdicombe reporting from a safe distance.