The highs...

Had a weekend of highs and lows... The highs were here - Dentdale, one of the smaller and less well-known Yorkshire Dales, up to the northeast of Saltaire (almost in the Lake District). My journey started on the glorious Settle to Carlisle railway line, known as one of the best railway journeys in England. On the way to Dent, the train soars over the Ribblehead Viaduct among some wild and beautiful scenery. Dent Station is actually about 4 miles outside Dent village, up a steep hill - so I was glad that there is a special bus connection on Saturdays for visitors. I walked a circular walk around Dentdale, up onto the edge of the moors and then back along the riverside. At one point I found this wonderful viewpoint over the Dale. There was a plaque showing the main points of interest and this verse (from: 'Smiling Along' by Kathleen Partridge), which pretty much summed up how I felt:

Roaming the byways outside the great city
The sky seems too large for my little concerns;
Worries are lost in the green of the landscape
A sense of wellbeing and wonder returns.
A good wholesome breeze sweeps the frown from my forehead,
Here is simplicity, fragrant and free.
It is enough to be living this minute;
To feel and to hear, to think and to see.

The lows?... Unfortunately my worries didn't stay lost for long. My washer-dryer broke down, necessitating a great deal of rewashing, by hand, to try and get the oily marks out of the clothes (!) - not to mention the expense of a new machine. Ah well, luckily Saltaire has a launderette until I can sort out a replacement.