Weekend in Harrogate

K and I travelled up to Yorkshire this weekend to meet up with Richard, Jen and Ross at Richard's house in Harrogate.

K had meetings organised in Wakefield on Friday morning so I travelled up by train to meet her. I started the day with a full EB at Wetherspoon's in Lincoln before catching my train. My journey took me from Lincoln, change at Doncaster, change at Wakefield Westgate, change at Wakefield Kirkgate, to Normanton where Keren met me.

Our first stop was Nostell Priory which is a National Trust property near Normanton. It's a beautiful country house (which was formerly a priory, hence the name) and we enjoyed looking around and then going for a walk around the grounds. Of course we also felt obliged to have a cuppa and sample the delicious cakes that NT properties always seem to have on offer. When we got back to the car there was a note on it from someone who had witnessed another car hit ours. They had scraped and cracked the paint on the rear bumper. K rang the kind person who had left the note and they told us that after our car had been hit, the culprit drove to the other end of the car park before getting out to check their own car - so they knew they'd done it. W@nk3r.

After Nostell we nipped up the A1 and arrived at Richard and Jen's at about 6:30pm. Rich had prepared a delicious Mexican meal full of chilis and other spices. After filling our bellies we headed off to their local pub to sample the ales on offer. Ross had arrived by this time so we were quickly forming a mini Humberside reunion. How many do you need for a reunion?

We got up late on Saturday and took the train from Harrogate to Bradford (change at Leeds just in case you're taking notes). There was a continental market on in the shopping area and a classic car show in front of the town hall. The sun was shining and it was a very pleasant place to be. Bradford doesn't have a great reputation as a tourist destination but I enjoyed my first experience of it. After we'd looked round the cars we went to the National Media Museum (formerly the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television). I'd recommend a visit for kids and adults alike. It's a very interesting place to look around. I particularly like their photo galleries - there were some great atmospheric shots of some classic Hollywood movie stars.

Of course, you can't visit Bradford without having a curry and so, after a couple of pints, we headed off to a restuarant that Richard recommended. It was unlicensed so you had to take your own beer and wine in with you. That's great as far as I'm concerned as it makes it super cheap. We had loads of good food (more than even I could manage) and it was only £10 each. Bargain!

We got the train back to Harrogate at about 10pm. When we got back to the house it was time for some SingStar action. I was almost falling asleep but SingStar always perks me up and we all had a go. Ross, you are a terrible singer!

Sunday morning and Rich prepared some bacon and egg butties for breakfast - they went down very well too. There was just time for him to show me his model railway layout before we nipped to Jen's Dad's house to see his new kittens and then home.

A great weekend. Thanks for the invite and look forward to seeing you all in Lincoln in September.