Day 27 York, UK

Today more than made up for the average day yesterday. The morning was fine with the ground fog and sunlight creating a lovely scene from the back door. We left mid morning to collect some groceries from the nearby M&S Food Hall, before detouring 20 minutes to Castle Howard. Castle Howard is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. We paid to enter the property and view the surrounds, and it truly was beautiful, especially as it was such a clear still morning. The reflections on the large ponds were stunning as was the building itself. We left there to return our groceries before running up to the road to catch the bus which kindly waited for us. Town was completely different today as everything was open and lots of people were out, many with their dogs. We had a lovely coffee in a cafe above a bookshop before splitting up for some shopping. Alanna found a beautiful coat which was on sale and is now heading back to London with her. After two hours we met up with David and walked a short distance to the museum gardens for some serious squirrel spotting. Within 30 metres we had found three of them and they were so tame they took the nuts we had brought with us, from our hands. Further down the path there were several more and we spent ages trying to get the ultimate photo. The grounds of the museum were themselves beautiful as they are set against the stunning backdrop of the medieval ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. We wandered back into town for our final drink in York at the The Punch Bowl that had its own very interesting history. We caught the bus home and settled in for yet another delicious ‘hunters and gatherers’ dinner. It was the end of a perfect day and we are now ready to leave tomorrow for Nottingham.Read more