Train ride to Heartbeat country

Local History outing today. We caught a steam train from Pickering to Goathland where they film Heartbeat and then on into Whitby for fish and chips. Luck was in and they were filming an episode of Heartbeat while were in Goathland so got a couple of photos. Apparently we weren't supposed to take photos but as were weren't told until after we had taken them here's a couple for you.

Really need to get down to some sewing, haven't done much since we came back from holiday. It seems life gets in the way and the joys of having elderly relatives. Hope to get pick up Mum's pension, sort her various needs out, sort out council and social services issues all before lunch tomorrow then I can sit down and Play..... some hope but I'll give it a go.

I have some swaps for a couple of fabric postcard groups, a couple of mini quilts, also for groups and some embellishment challenges to catch up with. I'm all set mentally to get on with them tomorrow so lets see what life brings.

Open garden Day

Once a year local people open their gardens for the public to view, walk round and ask the owner questions. Sunday was this years Open Garden day and my dh and I went with the U3A to Thornton Hall and Clow Beck House to view their gardens. Although these houses are less than 4 miles away I'd never seen them before.

Thornton Hall is a Grade 1 listed building and working farm. The hall was built in 1550 and is rumoured to have an underground tunnel leading to the nearby Walworth Castle. However the family fortunes deteriorated over the years the house to avoid paying the window tax, which was introduced in 1692 the house had had several windows blocked up. The grounds also went to ruins the family are now trying to recreate the Tudor elegance of the original 16th century gardens. The house will stay with it's blocked up windows for a while longer.

Clow Beck on the other hand is a modern garden but again reclaimed from the ravages of time.