Christmas Greeting and Noelle's update

Noelle and Tim would like to wish you a Very Happy Christmas. We are looking forward to a crisp Festive Season and recall the knee deep snow we were experiencing last year. We are enjoying the clear morning skies and this morning we have a good frost on the ground and in the trees. We have made a few lovely walks lately and have added one to the cottage blog with photos of the route. We hope to make a collection of walks that we have enjoyed so that visitors can have a good idea of what to look forward to. We had a really interesting visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park just outside Wakefield. It is very close to the motorway - a good hours drive away from here. More photos to be posted over the next days. We saw wonderful alabaster carved heads which were strangely unreal yet very beautiful. Hailstones and cold winds added to the experience and we were glad to find the excellent cafe, warm and open for business. After a brief pause we met friends and spent the evening at the Shed - an amazing tiny music venue that punches way above its weight. Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys amused us till late. We are busy putting trees in front of the Hall and preparing for Christmas. The cottages are slowly taking on a festive look and the Hall gradually looking as if it might be ready for the celebrations. If all works well we will have a traditional Christmas day with all the children except Eddie, who has returned to Patagonia. If you are not of a nervous disposition you can read about his amazing exploits and dramas along with some excellent photos. We are looking forward to our eldest - Alex - getting married in February. Eddie is enjoying his late gapyear finding freedom and excitement on a remote ranch in Argentina Kristina is now qualified and has enjoyed her first experiences working on a children's ward in London. The pace has increased as she now is busy with orthopaedics and the elderly. Ollie is becoming an expert in something esoteric in his consultancy work in London while Rachel thrives on her children's nursing course, also in London. They all live quite close to each other so we can visit them from time to time and enjoy a visit to the city. Tim has recently returned from a further visit to Namibia where he set up a small group of village health workers and is negotiating to return to extend the project in the Spring where he will continue taking far too many photos!. Noelle visited Namibia and enjoyed the sights and also sitting under a tree teaching about babies and nutrition. She visited Plum Village in France to a Buddhist retreat where the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh is based. Well into his 80's he remains thoughtful, youthful and inspiring. Millie our black lab benefitted from prolonged training when Eddie was home to recharge and gather up some money for the next adventure. Max the black and white cat is our only other pet, she loves to curl up on Millie's bed and the two of them sleep contentedly in the warmth of our kitchen. Our black and white wildlife at the top of the garden are very active and have made elaborate tunnel entrances, almost like flyovers. We seem to have fewer birds this year and butterflies are remarkable for their scarcity. We will plant plenty of buddleia in the paddock to tempt them back. The New Year has many challenges and excitements, the greatest of which is the prospect of becoming Bunia and Dziadzius (jadyush) thanks to Alex's Kasia, a lovely Polish girl who will bless us with a small person in the Summer. We hope you will have a Happy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you again sometime. Noelle and Tim

A short walk from Noelle's Cottages

Tim slipped away with Millie to allow Noelle to enjoy her birthday celebration coffee morning with a group of her girlfriends. A yearly event in the Dutch tradition that is best left undisturbed by a male intruder. The day started sunny and mild and the walk past the Coach House garden showed the efforts we have made to put the garden to bed. Our landscape adviser loves to crown lift everything in sight and I have avoided a short back and sides only on account of having no crown myself. The huge sycamore has duly been trimmed to let more light into the garden.

There are still plenty of leaves and quite a few apples yet to come down. The bendy house has been woven tightly so that it behaves well in the spring.

At the top of the garden next to the road is a nature watching hide. I don't like to use the B word in case men with spades come. A present from my medical partners when I left the local practice last year. Two or three can sit quietly and watch through the glazed window at dusk. The wildlife has been very busy digging elaborate tunnel entrances and has an elongated latrine area down the cottage access road.

North Yorkshire is huge and sparsely populated which makes it an interesting place to visit. It is said that there are more sheep than people in the county.

Rusty farm machinery is often attractive and the blue sky with clouds is a lovely background. Its amazing how the horizon always seem to sport a row of trees...

The sky over the neighbouring farm looked amazing today complete with wheeling rooks.

The winter barley has sprouted and makes a carpet of green, the trick is to make an interesting composition which I have yet to manage.

Just to prove I really did take Millie. Here she is obediently sitting at the end of the road that runs north of the main road. The old Saxon layout of the village was to have the main street with its

farm buildings, some land adjacent to the farm, a road running beyond that and then more fields further away. Thus we should have High Back Side and Low Back Side. Infill executive housing on the south side of the village is now inhabited by those of a vintage where the address low back side might be appropriate but also offensive. Sadly the matching road was renamed Back Lane South. An opportunity missed I feel, perhaps a pressure group should be established..... Nearly opposite the road end is Londis, handy for fuel and for groceries and a surprising range of other items, thick walking socks, fly papers and remarkably good cakes as well as the magical Glave's pork pies.

Walking along the A170 for a couple of hundred yards is no great hardship although other dogs had clearly passed this way before. Slow progress with Millie inspecting every calling card left in the grass. Looking back towards the village gives a tranquil impression suggestive of another age.

Just round the corner is Keld Head House. This was a time capsule inhabited by old ladies who kept all their family possessions and never altered the structure. When they finally gave up the property there was a fascinating collection of items, narwhale tusk bed and walking sticks, Victorian writing practice books with elegant copperplate script, georgian clothing and many other personal artefacts. Downstairs the floors appeared to be of some burr walnut material. In fact it was polished beaten earth while upstairs there was a circular hole in the panelling which would have opened into a cupboard. This was for a servant to powder the wig while its wearer put their head through the hole. I think this was to reduce the population of lice rather than to enhance its colour. Much was lost when the subsequent owner made substantial 'improvements'.

Across the road is Keld Head pond which is fed from below by a huge volume of spring water. This is said to make the bottom of the pond into quicksand. The water is very pure and at a steady temperature, ideal for fish. It was a shame that Pickering sited its sewage farm 100 yards away and then led storm water into the outflow some half a mile downstream. Firstly we cannot drink the water for fear of contamination and then within weeks of completion the storm drain its poured mahogany coloured contents into the beck and all the trout, pike, grayling and others were killed off. The outflow from the pond itself however remains a magical sight with brilliant green clumps of weed against a chalky floor. The pond has been recently landscaped and we all hope for a sensitive return of wildlife.

Walking down the side of the pond leads to a series of bridges and the backside path. First though is the chance to see the swans which traditionally nest on a tiny island and then the weir which controls the flow of water into the beck.

The beck meanders gently past what probably had been water meadows while the somewhat muddy path crosses and recrosses the beck offering enjoyable views into the crystal clear water and also back to Middleton.

At this point I had hoped to amaze you with photos of pike grayling and brown trout and perhaps a few escapee rainbow trout. You will have to make do with the weed, and more views of the beck.

From the third bridge you can look into the trout farm with its aerating water paddles before plunging down a narrow dark tunnel in the hawthorn bushes. This is always atmospheric and a little unsettling though perfectly safe.

After a few yards you emerge onto a small lane, turn right and pass the millennium woods. A small cross roads allows you to deviate left to extend the walk, or right to buy fresh, often outsized double yolker, free range eggs from an honesty sales point - an old fridge.

The direct way back is to go straight across and along Middleton Carr Lane. A carr is a field and often a boggy one at that. The word may come from Norse origins. The Vikings often came to these parts and when they left there was a small community with strong Norse language links who remained. Stape is a scattered community above Newton who have an almost unintelligible dialect when they choose with many words of Danish. Nearer Middleton is the Aislaby United Football Club ground. This continues to be active but changed in style from 50 years ago when every village would have its own cricket and football team. Wrelton Middleton and Aislaby united to form this club.

Next to Carr House is this pile which is perhaps the northern extension of the Tate Modern...or not.

Back to the A170 and the Middleton Village Hall with its newly cleared village pond. Here Millie's predecessor and daughter had their inglorious moment of fame. They systematical cleared the entire flock of ducks to the indignation of the assembled village. Neatly laid out were rows of dead ducks and ducklings and two black labs with silly grins on their faces. I am not sure why I was the one to slink away so shamed.

The western approach to Middleton is marked by this giant suppository on the roadside. The wise men of the village are a little vague as to its origins, perhaps one of the shells fired into Scarborough, possibly a bomb dumped after a raid on Hull, maybe a wild apprentice pharmacist - who knows?

A little further along High Back Side is a view up 'The Dale' which is a glacial valley heading south to 'Lake Pickering' on the other side of the A170. This was the site of a cricket pitch some decades ago when the spectators would arrange themselves on the banks and look down onto the (surely Lilliputian) game below.

Millioe and I bumped into a wise historian and sole supporter of Aislaby United. A quintessentially Ryedale character complete with Wellies, bailer band in the pocket just in case and a dog on a string. He gives a regular rendering of Jake the Peg complete with an extra leg.

To complete the walk I dived into Middleton Church and surrounds. Viking, Saxon and later influences make this a fascinating place to visit. The original owners of Middleton Hall are to be found to the right of the entrance. His wife died giving birth to her eighth child, all the previous one had died at birth or infancy. Understandably perhaps he chose to move away and rent the Hall out before finding a new wife.

So then back to greet Noelle and enjoy some Dutch Apple cake. The whole walk should take no more than 45 minutes and is all on the flat other than for the bridges. A delightful wander whatever the weather. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes - so says the owner of Trailblazers who of course sell fabulous all weather clothing! Lots to see and think about and plenty of opportunities to take a half decent photograph.

Views from Namibia

While Tim has been busy in the Kalahari attempting to set up a village health care system, Noelle has been looking after the cottages and our Autumn guests. She slipped away for 2 weeks, confident that her team were able to manage the cottages and support the guests. It's always hard to leave your carefully nurtured business but we have made sure everyone knows what is expected of them, perhaps they get on with it better when we are not there! We have had an interesting time at the Lifeline Clinic run by the Naan Kuse Foundation and our weekends were filled with visits to remarkable places. The pictures seem a little cat dominated but we hope you enjoy them.

The Team who are there to help you.

We have a great team who support our guests at Noelle’s Cottages but it was not until we started to list them that we realised the just how many people are there to help you have a very special holiday. Our longest serving help is also our key person - Alice Thompson. Years ago when the Hall was in different ownership she looked after the household and the family. She has returned to help us in the house but also supervise the running and cleaning of the 3 extra cottages she now oversees. It is Alice who ensures such a high standard of presentation of the cottages and also produces mouth watering scones when Noelle's are not available. She lives next door on the farm and greets the guests if Tim and Noelle are away. Her team consists of Janet and Angela who are also from Middleton, Caroline and Shelagh. 

Our children help at times when they are local although Alex, our eldest is the only one usually in the area. He lives in Pickering so can help if there are breakdowns of any sort. 

We have very loyal, skilled and responsive trades people - our near resident, highly skilled joiner Keith, Nigel our excellent plumber and our ever willing electrician Alex, who we frequently confuse with our unusual lighting needs!

Our latest arrival is Sarah our assistant who helps with the organisational, clerical and IT issues. She has been working with Noelle to bring in the new booking calendar and online payment system. She ensures we have the right number of sausages, sheets and Shiraz on Saturday mornings. She does the final presentation and flowers for the cottages in our abscence and has an excellent eye for fabrics, colours and so on. 

In the garden Stephen Bean guides us with design and keeps us engaged in the development of the various parts of the garden. He designed the cottage gardens as well as the willow house and the yoga garden. He also directs Paul who does much of the hard work when we all meet up on  Wednesday mornings. Our youngest supporter is Alice’s grandson, Brad, who arrives on Saturday mornings astride a huge orange mower which does a much better and quicker job than I ever managed to, in under half the time. He also is responsible for replenishing the bird feeders and gathering logs for all the hungry hearths. 

A key element of the team is the website design by Design-Farm. Gary and Cheryl have been central to the marketing and presentation of the cottages and continue to encourage evolution of the website. 

There will be plenty of others we could mention but this gives an impression of the depth and breadth of people who are on hand to help you if you should need their support. 

We wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that Noelle and Tim are redundant but perhaps reassure you that should we be away, you have a great team to ensure you have a memorable and happy stay at Noelle’s Cottages. 

Eating your way round Ryedale

We are always amazed at the variety and quality of the eating places within striking distance of Noelle's Cottages. You can see our recommendations soon on a set of itineraries we are launching.  We have just been inspected again by the Sawday's lady who made all the right noises about the developments we have made and the emergence of the gardens and paddock. We exchanged enthusiasms for eating places and quality restaurants and discovered that she has a really useful and friendly website with reviews and links to many of our favourite places and plenty more. Plan your holiday around the '10 best' or 'cheap eats'!
We now have a deli back in town. In Pickering's shopping street, the Market Place, a new cafe and deli linked to the White Swan has opened for business. Feast is sourcing produce locally and also doing delicious meals and teas. Another excellent place to add to your must do list.
For those who want a luxury evening 'at home' how about a visiting chef to cook for you in your cottage? Michael Pern (of The Star family) will soon be available for bookings... but we would like to try him out first!

Dalby and Pickering, the World Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship 2011.

It was a dramatic contrast to return from a few days walking in peaceful countryside in Arkengarthdale and then be amongst the Mountain Bike race round Pickering and next day in Dalby. My camera certainly enjoyed the outing. Dalby Forest host the event that was voted the most popular by the riders last year, for the course and the venue. In Pickering residents line the streets to watch the best riders in the world hurl themselves down the Church steps, slither off on new laid tarmac or just stretch their muscles in preparation for the next days racing. It was a good opportunity to collect money for the local mountain bike facility

in Pickering we are trying to build.
Saturday was exciting when I could get away from my role in anti-doping control. I will not elaborate....The juniors and under 23's raced in dry conditions. Sunday will be damp and so perhaps more dramatic.
If you are looking for the best mountain biking with perhaps the longest trails then come to Dalby and ride the world cup route.
More photos appear on Noelle's Cottages Flickr.