White Rose county

Typically not a great nights sleep, always the way when you know you have to be up early!

We left clear blue skies just after 9 and headed to North Yorkshire for a day out with my oldest friend and her partner. By the time we got to Ripon the sky was leaden and the temperature had dropped 5 degrees :-/ but we were expecting that!

We met up at the Himalayan Gardens just after 11. Such a beautiful place, the azaleas and rhododendrons were a blaze of colour, although some were past their best, probably been better 2 weeks earlier! We enjoyed a coffee and a light snack, before walking the circuitous route around the lake, up and down, back and forth. Two images in extras.

Once we had seen all the garden, we paid a quick visit to the plan nursery, my friend bought a blue meconopsis poppy, I resisted!

We decided to head to Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey, which was an unexpected bonus for us, especially as it is a National Trust property. A fab place and somewhere we will definitely go back to and spend a whole day there. Hub and Imhad a quick walk through to see thr Abbey as it was our first visit.....the light and sky wasnt the best for photographing it, but I did like this particular shot :-)

Later the four of us drove into Ripon to grab a bite to eat, before saying our goodbyes u til next time. All in all a rather splendid day out :-)