Annual tour of the "North"

A Northern sunset – at 3:30pm in Yorkshire…

(My sincerest apologies if you’ve already seen this post. I accidentally published an early draft of it while recovering from the Christmas indulgence and 10 hour driving days…)

Happy New Year everyone! How were your holiday breaks?

As usual, Mr Man and I were with his family up in the North of England, land of bacon butties, builders’ tea, toast covered with lots of butter, pies, fish and chips, roast everything and plenty of Quality Streets – perhaps this is most of the UK? We did our annual “tour of the North” (by North we mean the rest of England outside London as we stopped in the Cotswolds).

Over four days we covered: Shropshire, the Cotswolds, Stratford upon Avon, York, the Yorkshire Moors, Whitby and a tiny place in North Wales called Llangollen. I think the highlights for me were Ironbridge in Shropshire, a random Victorian folly in the Cotswolds, the charity shops in Chipping Norton (one of the UK’s wealthiest areas), beautiful Whitby and its excellent fish and chips along with a surprisingly cool steam railway in Llangollen. Here’s some pics:

Ironbridge, Shropshire

Really good sausage rolls, Ironbridge, Shropshire

Lovely old manor in Bibury, Cotswolds

Broadway Tower, a Victorian folly in the Cotswolds

Whitby Abbey

The freshest and best fish n chips I have ever had – Russell’s of Whitby

Dusk in wonderful Whitby

Tea shop in Llangollen, where we had fantastic tea and cakes for just £3 each.

The Mince Pie Special steam train in Llangollen, surprisingly really cool!

I’m now doing my annual post-Northern exposure recovery of basically staying as far away from all forms of stodge and sugar as possible and drinking a truck load of green tea. It was great to escape London, but as always, there’s no place like home, our little East End abode where we got back for New Year’s Eve, just in time for a spot of super fabulous Bombay Vintage Glam with the band Cornershop (you know you loved Brimful of Asher!) who we’re not actually sure we heard, at Dishoom, Shoreditch, probably because we left an hour after bringing in the New Year having danced “the night away” then being old fuddy duddies went home to bed… Either way, it was a cracking way to finish what really had been the most brilliant year, and pardon me for being a bit gushy here, with the most brilliant Mr Man sharing it every step of the way. Ain’t life grand?

Oh Hai 2013!

Did you enjoy the holiday break?

P.S. Due to that error where I accidentally posted a draft of this, most of you already know the news, but I’ve also set up another blog on the side – my thoughts on a new adventure about to take place in the lives of Mr Man and myself… Don’t worry, I have no intention of deserting Lady loves Cake come April! Further details here: http://pleasedontgetmysingingvoice.wordpress.com/

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