What do you do when you turn 40? Rent a farmhouse with your best friends and explore North Yorkshire
Okay, I'm not one of the ones in our group turning forty but I mostly certainly made the most of the celebrations. My husband was one of the unlucky ones but I keep telling him that he's only as young as the woman he feels.
We haven't been on vacation in a year. Which might not seem that long but when you work full time and write in all your spare time, it means we have few days off together. I promised to leave the work behind (apart from writing my 1000 words a day which is a goal of mine in 2023).
With fifteen of us, a couple of toddlers and a three month old it was hard to find accommodation but my amazing firefighting friend, she found us an amazing party house. With two hot tubs, a games room and plenty of space for us all.
Here are some pictures of our adventures. I hope you enjoy!
Author paddleboarding with ducks! Ruswarp to Sleights
I've not been paddleboarding long but manage to get out with one of my friends at least every month. This time we managed to find a launch opposite the soft play in Ruswarp. It was £5 for the landing fee and a fairly small area but we managed to park right next to it and inflate our boards.
We were with a newbie this time, one of our friends from the cottage who fancied his chances. After a few splashes he managed to get the hang of it and we set off toward Sleights.
It was a beautiful day (apart from one quick shower of rain but what do you expect in England?) and the River Esk was sheltered on this section so we had a great time. Made some friends with the local wild life and waved to a few people having afternoon tea.
We even saw the famous steam train on its way back from Whitby toward Pickering.
We visited the station at Goathland a few days later and enjoyed a journey on the steam train. Does anyone recognize the station? This is featured in the Harry Potter movies as Hogsmeade. We had a quick stop in Grosmont where we discovered a charity run cage in a small church. I have to say it is the first time we've ever had tea and sandwiches on the pews in a church. It was quite cozy!
We visited Goathland a few times, eating an amazing meal at the Mallyan Spout named after the walk to the waterfall pictured above. We may have got soaked to the bone in torrential rain but it was warm and we had good company.
We spent some time in Whitby, climbing the 199 steps up to the Abby which we sadly didn't get to see that day as there was filming. Never mind. The brewery was open!
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