Sights and Sounds Ninety-Eight

Day 2. The Witch and Raven.
Today got off to an early start. After a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage we chilled out and chatted with my parents for most of the morning catching up. It's been over two years since I've been home so it's really nice to be here. Around noon we decided to walk in to town. It was quite bright out but the forecast was for rain around 2pm.

It only takes 10 minutes to walk down to the river. We always wander into town when come but never ceases to amaze me how pretty it is. It's the perfect English town and in the summertime it comes to life even more. We usually visit in the winter and everything looks very different. I took quite a few photos many from similar vantage points over the past trips but i find its quite a good challenge to see if i am improving in my composition and i have a much better quality camera this trip too.

Whilst walking down the street towards the river the scent from all the flowers in the gardens threw me back to my childhood. So many aromas. Like i mentioned, visiting in the summer is so different and it's been many years since i have done so. The traffic was very busy and there was quite a lot of people walking down towards the river. We walked past The World's End Pub and turn onto Waterside we left the busy traffic behind us. The trees were all so green and there ere several folks navigating the tranquil waters of the River Nidd on rowing boats.

It was pleasantly mild but cool enough for us to wear a couple of layers. However, most people we saw were in shorts and t-shirts! We wandered down along the river under the viaduct.

There are some really cool houses along the water and the gardens were spectacular. We approached several cafes and more boat rentals. The locals were sitting out eating and drinking.

As the sky began to darken we decided to head up to the castle and head back. We meandered through the Bebra Gardens and back up.

 

We were greeted at the top by this guy.

This is the witch's raven. This things was massive and the picture doesn't do it justice. We are pretty sure it was swearing at us. We asked mum and dad about it and apparently this bird belongs to a strange old lady who often walks around with it perched on her shoulder. We did see her dressed in medieval clothing but just thought she was hired by the castle to entertain the tourists. And apparently she has taught the bird to talk. We walked round the castle grounds and took the obligatory shot down towards the river once again.

I didn't take any photos of the castle yet. I am hoping to go back later in the week when the sky is a little  more dramatic and shoot some long exposures.

Walked briskly back through town and managed to beat rain. We enjoyed a sunday roast dinner of lamb and Yorkshire Puddings.

An early night was in store as the day before was finally catching up. Hopefully we will feel pretty rested tomorrow and start to get out a bit more.