Fun in the sun... in Yorkshire?!!!

The need for a new car brought us back to the UK at the beginning of our holiday rather than the end this year. Expecting a brief week in the rain catching up with friends and family, our visit actually coincided with a prolonged heatwave leading to a glorious extended stay enjoying the English sunshine and some impromptu family holidays!

We started "oooop north" with Ali's family, fitting in some good walks, BBQs and a garden festival as well as a lovely family wedding. We now have a bling new camera so Ali has been honing his skills, even developing a new-found interest in flowers and insects... I know I'm biased but I think it was money well spent :-)

Starting the trip with some walks around Emley...

One of Ali's first flower shots! Beautiful pansies in Mary's garden...

Ali gets another year older and the Guardian's "ultimate chocolate cake". Unfortunately for him he was made to share it!

Buttercups in the Peak...

Heading up to Stanage Edge - the camera's first long walk!

Classic millstones on the Edge...

Some well-earned pints of tea in the world's quirkiest and rudest cafe... as the signs say they are not mind readers so if you want your coffee then say so! And whatever you do don't wait at the serving hatch - it's a not a viewing platform!

Ali's new favourite flower...

Another walk in the Peak District, this time Mam Tor.

More flowers from Mary's garden

The happy couple! Congratulations to Heather and Ben :-)

The amazing wedding breakfast -  scrumptious BBQ and hog roast! 

Exploring the gardens of the wedding venue...

We even found this little chap!

Ali gets arty with depth of field... 

And arty around the fields of Emley...

The foxglove obsession continues...

Strolling off the hog roast with a walk to Bretton...

Strange artwork at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park...

Relaxing in the garden - yes this really was England! 

A whole day of flower photography and generally nosiness at Shelley Garden Festival.

Amazing peacocks in one of the gardens!

A juicy wild strawberry in the garden.

Picking more strawberries for a trifle!

Another walk in the Dark Peak...

Cotton grass on Kinder Scout - the most abundant for 30 years apparently! 

Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales 

Walking down the fell to Arncliffe...

The ultimate flower and bee photo?! 

Or perhaps with proboscis?

L'Ametlla del Mar

After four days climbing we felt like taking things a little easier! As the sky was blue and temperatures high we headed to the coast, spending the afternoon in Ametlla del Mar, a small pretty fishing town that we'd heard good things about...

Walking around the Port...

Surprisingly quiet beaches!

Touring the Big Boy's part of the harbour - home to an active tuna fishing fleet

Some serious sized nets!

...then back to the more modest and quaint end of the harbour

Tres Ponts

With the academic year finally over we headed north to cooler temperatures and a few days climbing! Our original destination was the Aiguestortes in the Pyrenees, but severe flooding which had washed away roads and gutted villages, along with significant amounts of snow still in the area put pay to that idea. Still, Tres Ponts in the Pre-Pyrenees was a pretty good substitute, offering shady climbing in a very windy gorge! 

A pleasant camping spot by the river. No fish for tea though. 

The climbing went into the shade in the afternoon, forcing us to spend the morning drinking tea and reading. Hard life. 

Could almost be a car add if the car wasn't so filthy and a bird hadn't blessed it! 

One of the "Ponts" (that's bridge in Catalan btw!)with the climbing sectors behind...

Walking into the crag along the smaller ponts...

Margalef again...

Same place, though different car as ours is currently in the garage with potentially terminal problems :-( Another sunny weekend up at Espadelles, getting "pumped" (tiring ourselves out!) on Margalef's amazing conglomerate cliffs...

Our shiny Seat Leon - nice car but the steering wheel is on the wrong side! 

The imposing Espadelles Sector