Flying Visit Up North and Yarndale

This year we decided we would go to Yorkshire and visit places we like visiting and me going to Yarndale in Skipton.  We stayed at a Premier Inn near Bradford (although it was further away from Skipton than I thought).  The weather for most of the weekend was pretty bad although the it stayed fine the Saturday until late afternoon.

David and I like a Northern fish and chip 'tea' and our favourite fish restaurant where we used to live near Wakefield is the Wetherby Whaler.  This local chippy took over the old Harry Ramsden's restaurant in Guiseley a few years ago and its a very grand looking place with ornate windows, mirrors and crystal chandeliers.  On a Friday night there is even a piano player to serenade the diners. We could not resist going there for our evening meal before going to our hotel.  It didn't disappoint even though it was a really busy Friday evening.

Before making our way to Skipton we went via Ilkley and breakfast at the really lovely Betty's tea room.  The rain had just stopped and the weather was to remain really lovely until the late afternoon.

David dropped me off at Skipton station, where vintage London Buses from the Keighley Bus Museum were taking Yarndale goers to the exhibition, which was at the Livestock Auction Market on the outskirts of the town.  It was lovely to have the bus ride, but unfortunately not walking through the park meant I didn't see the crocheted Mandala hoops or any yarnbombing (though you can see this on Lucy - Attic 24's blog).

I'd bought the ticket online in advance which was safely stored on my phone but nonetheless it was busy getting in as the show had not long opened.  I didn't take part in any workshops, though I wish I had but as it was the first time I visited I wanted to see as many of the yarn suppliers that I could.

I did get to meet the some people - I met with Lucy Locket and bought one of her fingerless mitten kits, Katherine of Crafternoon Treats (whose podcast I follow) though I visited her stall several times as she always had a customer with her! At Katherine's stall I also got to meet Helen of Flora Honeypot on Instagram, who gave me a hug and a crochet sheep (called Philmena) with an extra little gift of a pomander set.  I also met with Lucy too and had a selfie photo with her.  I have really enjoyed her blog for years and it was lovely to meet her.

As this is place deals with livestock, there were sheep from different breeds in the pens and even an alpaca

And workshops, and a place to sit and eat lunch or take a break was in one of the auction halls.  Below the teachers were setting up for the afternoon workshops.

In the opposite entrance to the halls there were all these teddies!!

 I took a selfie photo in front of them, not imagining that I would see...

 ...Look! There was one of mine!!

Mandalas from a previous year were displayed

A knitted river

 Knitting, crochet and embroidery groups also exhibited

 And more sheep

There were a lot of vendors to visit too and it was soooo difficult to know what to buy that I was overwhelmed a didn't buy a lot!

So this was my modest purchases and other bits from the show

One full skein of 4 ply yarn and a pack of minis, a book of knitted birds and a bird kit, a pack of cotton yarn minis, a Fair Isle fingerless mitten kit, 2.25mm circular needles, a knitting project record book, some knitting markers and a cowl pattern. So not a lot, but good to see what the traders sell so I could make note and purchase later.  It was a good, if busy show and well worth going for the experience.

David was lucky enough to find that there is a heritage railway not far from Skipton, the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, where he enjoyed a ride in the brake van on one of the train services.