Somewhere in Yorkshire
May. 31st, 2026 08:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shewhomustThe latest iteration of the occasional gathering which took us to Ironbridge two years ago has brought us to Bolton Abbey.
There was a small excitement just as we were ready to set out.durham_rambler took the first of the luggage across the road, and returned to report that the battery was completely dead, so dead that he could not even unlock the doors. This was unexpected. We had been philosophical about whoever it was (and we think it was a neighbour) who had parked in front of our house on Wednesday, and not returned since: we would have liked to top up the chrge on the car, but no matter, we had - we thought - enough to reach our destination. So we called out the AA and instead of lunching en route, ate while we waited for them to arrive. Which they did, and diagnosed a flat battery, not the main one but a lesser battery which powers such fripperies as locks. This was easily (for a fee) replaced, and we set off.
We paused to visit the Coldstones Cut, whichdurham_rambler had spotted was very near our destination. This is a massive piece of land art built on top of a hill which has been substantially quarried away, so that you overlook the quarry from within the monumental walls of the cut. Visit the website for impressive views of the artwork itself, because from within you can't see the whole thing:
Parallel walls of huge stone blocks lead from the entrance to a platform looking over the quarry. On either side a passage coils up and into a circular enclosure; the lower one has a central plate illustrating the variety of local wildlife, but the higher one is much more fun - a metal strip all around the permeter gives distances to such noteworth locations as the Orkney islands, Durham cathedral, Mt Erebus and Andrew Sabin's studio. It was a long climb up, and (because I don't like descents) an even longer climb down, but I think it was worth it.
We are now at the Fell Hotel. We have met with the other early arrivers of the group, we have dined, with a view of a beautiful landscape enlivened by the intervention of all the emergency services (including an air ambulance). Clearly something unpleasant had happened, and we weren't exactly grateful for our ringside seat - but this isn't about us.
And that's enough excitement for one day.
There was a small excitement just as we were ready to set out.
durham_rambler took the first of the luggage across the road, and returned to report that the battery was completely dead, so dead that he could not even unlock the doors. This was unexpected. We had been philosophical about whoever it was (and we think it was a neighbour) who had parked in front of our house on Wednesday, and not returned since: we would have liked to top up the chrge on the car, but no matter, we had - we thought - enough to reach our destination. So we called out the AA and instead of lunching en route, ate while we waited for them to arrive. Which they did, and diagnosed a flat battery, not the main one but a lesser battery which powers such fripperies as locks. This was easily (for a fee) replaced, and we set off.We paused to visit the Coldstones Cut, which
durham_rambler had spotted was very near our destination. This is a massive piece of land art built on top of a hill which has been substantially quarried away, so that you overlook the quarry from within the monumental walls of the cut. Visit the website for impressive views of the artwork itself, because from within you can't see the whole thing:Parallel walls of huge stone blocks lead from the entrance to a platform looking over the quarry. On either side a passage coils up and into a circular enclosure; the lower one has a central plate illustrating the variety of local wildlife, but the higher one is much more fun - a metal strip all around the permeter gives distances to such noteworth locations as the Orkney islands, Durham cathedral, Mt Erebus and Andrew Sabin's studio. It was a long climb up, and (because I don't like descents) an even longer climb down, but I think it was worth it.
We are now at the Fell Hotel. We have met with the other early arrivers of the group, we have dined, with a view of a beautiful landscape enlivened by the intervention of all the emergency services (including an air ambulance). Clearly something unpleasant had happened, and we weren't exactly grateful for our ringside seat - but this isn't about us.
And that's enough excitement for one day.
