With not a small bit of sadness, we had to say goodbye to Hebden Bridge this morning. While the weather leaves a lot to be desired (I promise I will try not to go on about the weather any more. Much.) I have enjoyed our time in the Calerdale immensely. There was so much to do and see, and so much we didn't get to do.

On Sunday we explored Heptonstall, a small hamlet up the hill from Hebden Bridge. We drove up in the morning, and explored its wonderful old churches and architecture (including the ruins of a church dating back to the 12th century), and then in the afternoon, after we had deposited Ralph back at the apartment and was snoozing happily, we went back! Only this time, we walked! We climbed up the Butress - a steep, cobbled pathway - and then ascended a steep set of steps. It took us about 25 mins to climb up, with breaks along the way to regain our breath and dignity. After another quick scout around the village, an ice cream, we walked back down, scrambling down the hillside goat track. It's about as close to mountaineering as I'm likely to get in my current state of fitness.

On Monday we drove out to York. It was about 90 mins north of Hebden. We parked the car at the Park and Ride and got a shuttle bus into the city centre - a simple, elegant solution to the problem of congestion in the city, and it worked well. We spent almost all our time at the York Minster, which wasn't any way near long enough to cover that immense structure. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai was impressive, but it was positively bland compared to the York Minster, which had not only height and size, but also the weight of history and unbelievably intricate detail that takes it way beyond what any modern marvel could conjure up. I took hundreds of photos, but I don't think any of them can do it justice. The thing is just mind blowing! We also did the tower walk, walking all the way up the narrow passageway to the top of the tallest tower, which had incredible views in all directions.

So we said goodbye to Haden Bridge today and began the trek down south. We set off at 8.45am, and had pretty easy traffic for the duration of the trip. We touched down in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, where my dad was born in 1941. As you would expect, Ross is quite different from Hebden - the landscape, to start with, but also the village feel. Ross felt much more middle class compared with the working class feel of Hebden and Yorkshire. We found the house where we think my dad spent the first few months of his life. My grandmother was evacuated to Ross-on-Wye during the war on account of the bombing in London, and while here she gave birth to my dad and his twin sister (who we are visiting in a few weeks). They moved back to London shortly afterwards, and by all accounts they never went back to Ross. Even though there's no particular family history here, it was nice to find the house, and realize that this is where my dad started...

We've only got a short time in Cardiff - its just a short stop on our way into the south of England, but already I've seen lots that would be cool to do, but I don't think we'll have time to do it all. I think we're going to try and see Cardiff Castle tomorrow, and maybe the National Museum Cardiff, and that should take most of the day. It's going to be busy, but at least the weather forecast is for sunshine (okay, seriously, that was the last weather comment...)