Wolds Diary: Roadside wildlife show proves most invigorating

Choir practices, for both the Pocklington Singers and for the Sorcerer, which is getting ever closer, have been combined with a Deanery Synod meeting at Holme upon Spalding Moor and then a Parochial Church council meeting here in Pocklington the next day.

It has meant that I had one evening at home this week. Then of course there were the normal dog walks and trips to shops. I also had the pleasure of being able to spend a morning at a friends’ to help her by looking after her husband who is poorly while she went for a hair appointment.

On the way to the Synod meeting I drove through Nunburnholme and up the hill overlooking Londesborough. From there you can see for miles and I had time to stop and pause for a few minutes taking in the wonderful view.

The evening sky was a warm pink and golden colour with clear blue overhead and there was a slight mist hovering over the low lying land in the Vale of York. The cooling towers of Drax emerged rather majestically from this mist and in the very far distance I could see the hills of the Pennines almost as a faint shadow.

The whole panorama was so vast and impressive it made me feel quite insignificant, and as I took it all in I was rudely alerted to the fact that the local wildlife was not so enthralled.

A deer crossed the road just ahead of where I had pulled over and moments later several more followed. Then a pair of red kites swooped low over my car and as I pulled away I saw a fox slinking into the nearby copse.

I maybe spent 15 minutes in this time lapse of delight and it seemed to restore my soul.

My friends from Harrogate returned and took away quite a lot of furniture that I’d no further use for. It meant that I actually cleaned my living room.

That evening I had the pleasure of going to the stunningly beautiful village of Thornton Dale near Pickering, where I had been asked to speak to the ladies group there, at their very fine Methodist Church.

I arrived very early as I often do but it gave me time, and the light, to explore a bit and look round this gem of Yorkshire. The entrancing stream that runs beside the road seemed to gurgle happily as I walked around the village, and I ended up in a pub where I paused for a coffee and got chatting to a couple with a beautiful dog called Ayesha. The couple were surprised that I knew the literary reference of the dog’s name. Whilst in the pub, I spotted the most wonderful wooden carved panels of sheep in the bar before heading off to give my talk to what turned out to be a great bunch of ladies who were most welcoming.

Two evenings later I was giving another talk and was the guest at a harvest supper in the little village of Brawby, in a neat village hall. I’d driven there across the Howardian Hills close to Castle Howard, and had admired the stunning countryside along the way.

I managed to explore a bit of the area before I got there and found a free house for a coffee in the next village. Having worked in a pub for many years I appreciated the sparkling cleanliness and décor of this inn, and the gracious welcome I received when all I wanted was a coffee.

At Brawby village hall the meal was delicious. My diet went out of the window; the trifle was exquisite. I was sitting between two charming farmers and had a very pleasant meal.

I gave my talk and then set off home. By this time it was dark and the journey back, on unfamiliar roads, needed careful concentration.

Before I got home I had to pop in to put a friend’s chickens to bed as she was away. The next morning I let them out and the two house cats demanded feeding. I duly obliged.

There have been some very pleasant days this week and being out in them has made me appreciate how lovely the countryside is here.

There has also been a bit of night fog, not unexpected, that makes some views almost mystical, even if the driving is slightly more hazardous.