Where are the bees?

Down to breakfast, we were directed to a table at the back of the dining room furthest away from natural light. Only two tables were occupied but all had name tags! We protested and returned to one by the window (the name tags were swopped). In all the hotels we have stayed in over the years, we don't ever remember encountering such prescriptive seating arrangements and we can't think why they would bother - at breakfast! This place has the potential to be a really attractive hotel but seems to be moving towards modern times at a snail's pace.

It was to be hot today. We checked out and headed round to bid a final farewell to the family, who were planning a lunchtime BBQ. We dallied for a coffee and chatted more, admired the garden and played with the kids. We really fancied staying but had to get on our way. Next stop was Barnsdale with its 38 gardens, just a few miles along the road - we'd been meaning to visit before and were not disappointed. We bumped into a cousin here (en route to the BBQ) - more chat! Took lots of shots to provide inspiration for our own plot. By midday it was 24C. The empty beehive seemed symptomatic - we have seen only one solitary honey bee so far this year and continue to hear stories of devastated swarms. Will the warmer weather make a difference, or is it too late?!

And so, on up the road to Scotch Corner, left over the A66 and north to home - we watched the temperature drop all the way down to 11C by evening! But it was good to be back again!