Bolton Abbey

Welcome to Bolton Abbey, one of the best places in the world. Every man and his dog were there on Sunday (hmmm, is that meant to be 'were' or 'was'?). And wives, and children, and young adventurers.


Watching them cross the stepping-stones was hilarious.


I've crossed several times, in the good old days when there was a stone missing in the middle, which made everything a lot more interesting.


Once you surmount this obstacle, you can go for a stroll in the woods by the river. You can trudge through the Valley of Desolation, onwards and upwards until you hit the dales. And then, you might see this:


Or this:


(Don't know this man, apart from that he helped us with directions on the way and was sitting in a cool spot.) Or this:


It's one of the best walks in the book (round trip around nine miles), and we loved it, even if our bones ached afterwards. And even if, despite my joy at being the one in charge of the map for a change, I took us back the long way round...