Although we were calling it a trip to the Lake District, Augill Castle is actually located between the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park, so we decided to explore the Dales a little bit too. The landscape does feel a little different, with lower hills and more rolling and rocky terrain.
Our destination on this day was the town of Hawes, home of the Wensleydale Creamery. Because it was winter and not tourist season, we weren’t able to have the full cheese tour experience. However, we did get a peek at some cheese being made.
More importantly, we got to visit the cheese tasting room. If you know of Wensleydale you probably associate it with cranberry or blueberry flavors, but there are many other different varieties. And of course, it was important to taste them all before deciding on a purchase.
After extensive research, everybody got to pick a favorite flavor and we picked up some crackers to go with them.
On the way home we decided to drive through the Buttertubs Pass. This is a high and winding road with sheer drops on either side in some places. It’s also known as a challenging cycling road and we did see several cyclists who I thought were rather crazy. Apparently it was part of the 2014 Tour de France route, although I still don’t understand how Yorkshire is in France.
The sun came out on our way home and we had a nice end to our day in the Yorkshire Dales.
I would have loved to sample the cheese!!