We are simply delighted to see our latest travel article featured on the home page of the prestigious travel website of The International Ecotourism Society: http://www.yourtravelchoice.org/2012/10/experiencing-mauritius-conservation-stories-through-ecotourism-adventures/
If you’re looking for a warm welcome this autumn or winter, you’d have to go a long way to beat the reception you’ll get at The Moors Inn at Appleton-le- Moors in North Yorkshire. Whether you’re a couple looking for a romantic getaway, a small group of friends celebrating a special occasion – this friendly pub can certainly cater for your needs.
Located in a picturesque village, the inn offers peace and tranquillity in this rural idyll. Appleton-le-Moors isn’t what you’d recognise as a ‘destination’ village (like neighbouring destination towns of Helmsley or Pickering for example) but it’s all the better for that if you know the area well and are looking for somewhere different to try and there are great walks which start from the pub so you can leave your car in the car park and get walking. As well as the attraction of the footpaths, in the village, alongside the pub, there’s a spa, a ceramic artist, a pottery.
City folk will find charm in seeing sheep grazing on the common land – although, I’d hazard a guess that villagers may tire of the sheep’s relentless eating which makes it impossible to have prettily planted verges or low growing window boxes. For visitors, there’s also the excitement of seeing the local hare population at play, which is not something many town or city-dwellers get to do. For the adventurous foodies amongst you, occasionally, there’s the chance to sample hare on the menu – along with other game which comes into season in the autumn.
With the coal fire lit in the range and wholesome, warming dishes on offer, who could resist dropping into the Moors Inn? In addition to the extensive menu, which features ultra-local produce – from the inn’s own allotment and villagers’ gardens no less – there’s also a surprisingly good wine list (which is something which is sometimes overlooked by small country pubs which are more used to catering for real ale fans). The Malbec we were recommended to accompany the Lamb Shank, was exceptionally good.
The regular menu features such treasures as Pea and parmesan risotto and Mussels in home-made dill and cream sauce - served with a hunk of warm, farmhouse loaf – and, this type of treat is complimented by a regularly refreshed specials board. There are traditional meals such as gammon or steak and chips – but there is far more on offer here than ‘pub food’. This is a place for real home cooking and the pub owners pride themselves of the quality of the food they serve. Their full English breakfasts are also a testament to this. The portions are generous too so, make sure you pack your appetite along with your walking boots!
We enjoyed a mid-week break in September, taking in local attractions such as Helmsley, Thornton- le-Dale, Scarborough and the Ryedale Folk Museum at Hutton-le-Hole. We were particularly seeking dog-friendly activities as this was our first holiday with our rescue dog, Tilly. We found the Ryedale Folk Museum to be excellent in this regard and it made for a great wet weather destination too as you can pop in and out of each of the cottages and houses, taking you from the Iron Age, through a Victorian Cottage and some fabulous 1940s shops. As professional photographers, we especially enjoyed the exhibition celebrating the life and times of veteran Yorkshire photographer T Geoffrey Willey (who is now 101). There was even his home-made underwater camera housing which is a fascinating exhibit for any modern day underwater photographers to see.
The recently opened Harrison collection is a fabulous new addition to the museum: it’s an incredible collection of English antiques and rare curiosities put together by local brothers Edward and Richard Harrison. Spanning five centuries of history, the collection includes artefacts relating to food preparation, heating, lighting and family life.
At the museum, there’s also an exhibition garden and some farm animals to visit. Some of the craft shops in Hutton-le-Hole also welcomed dogs and there’s a local cafe with a garden, where dogs are welcome too.
Another great attraction for autumn/winter visitors is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. (Dogs are welcome on all trains (except dining trains) provided they are kept off the seats, tables and not in first class. Dog tickets are £2.50 each and have the same validity as the owner’s ticket.) Whatever the weather, this is a great day out. Wherever you start your journey – Pickering, Whitby or somewhere in between, hopping off at Grosmont is highly recommended: not only can you visit the engine shed but you can also pay a visit to the studio of our favourite local artist Chris Geall, which is handily located in a superb artisan café!
And after all that excitement, you’ll be glad to wend your weary way back to the Moors Inn for a sit by the fire and a glass of something soothing.
Accommodation: http://www.moorsinn.co.uk/
Dining at The Moors Inn: http://www.moorsinn.co.uk/dining.php (Advance bookings recommended)
Village: http://www.appletonlemoors.co.uk/
Local visitor attractions: http://www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/ and http://www.nymr.co.uk/
I think this says it all… #Yorkshirehour was the number one trending topic in the UK from 8.30pm onwards and still going strong in the number one spot after 10pm!
Angie’s latest article for Limping Chicken: http://limpingchicken.com/2012/06/14/angie-aspinall-out-and-proud/
Angie is now writing for Limping Chicken. You can read her first article here.
What can I say, Yorkshire Tweeters, you did us proud again tonight. Although some of you started a bit early so, I’m not sure exactly how many tweets there were in the hour – there were 2,816 tweets using our hashtag tonight. I can’t believe how this has grown. From small acorns and all that, eh?
My favourite tweets of the night were:
Bernard Midgley I do hope that was true. I so love the idea of it!
Becki Jones Oops!
I’ve exceeded my daily twitter allowance of tweets so I can’t say hello to my new followers. Sorry about that!
Competition
So, have you entered the competition yet? You only have until midnight tonight so, hurry!
To enter, post a comment below last week’s #Yorkshirehour blog post telling us what you like about #Yorkshirehour for a chance to win a ticket to next week’s Ion search – the advanced search marketing conference. Many thanks to Blue Claw media for donating this excellent prize worth £159.
Anyone with a prize to donate for next week, please contact me.
I am loving the new look pages for my WI blog! Please check this out:
http://www.thewi.org.uk/become-a-member/member-profiles-and-blogs/angie-aspinall
Well folks, we had 1,383 tweets by the time I checked the stats on Topsy at around at 9.30pm. (And 1,480 by 10pm) What can I say? Yorkshirefolk are great at tweeting, networking and chatting. We seem to be going from strength to strength. Thank you to everyone who joined in.
We had a few ‘non-Yorkshire’ people politely requesting if they could join in. How nice! (I hope I was especially nice to the Whisky people from Birmingham!)
My favourite tweets of the hour were these:
I did notice a few people using #followback alongside our hashtag: it would be best to avoid that as the Sunday night #followladder #followbus, etc fell foul of lots of spammers and pornbots as a result of having the word ‘follow’ in every tweet. I’ve had some spam during Yorkshirehour - but I’m glad to say, not that much. Could we woprk together to keep it that way, please?
Yorkshirehour is NOT about ‘follow me and I’ll follow back’. I don’t automatically follow everyone back – as I’m looking for people to do business with – or to chat about shared interests. I’m not interested in cars, football or rugby so I’m unlikely to follow people who tweet a lot about those things. Outside of my day job and co-running Aspinall Ink, I like food, cooking, growing food and keeping chickens so, like tweet with others about such things. I also enjoy tweeting with fellow WI members and sharing my WI Blog: http://www.thewi.org.uk/become-a-member/member-profiles-and-blogs/angie-aspinall
I like this comment on the blog last week from Martin from Blueclaw media that said of Yorkshirehour:
”THIS IS THE NEW FORM OF POWER NETWORKING!” That’s the message we need to get out there.
Don’t forget:
#Yorkshirehour is open for business - Wednesdays 8-9pm
A virtual place – but a real time – to promote your Yorkshire business
Please add comments here about any new clients, business links, etc that you’ve made as a result of #Yorkshirehour – we’d love to hear about it!
Thanks – and see you next week?
Angie and Helen
PS – To enter our competiton, post a comment below telling us what you like about #Yorkshirehour before midnight 11th April 2012 to win a free ticket to Ion Search which takes place in Leeds on 18th April 2012. The winner will be announced on April 12th 2012.
Well, that took my breath away! What an hour. The tweets were fast and furious and, according to Topsy, there were 826 tweets featuring our hashtag in the hour (although I know there were also quite a few in the run up to the hour – and just afterwards as well so the total by 10pm was 850 tweets). I noticed that @LuckyDog_Tod tweeted, “STOP! my paws are burning!” at one point. Sorry Tod!
Guest star tweeter this week has to be Denise Howard OBE, who gained quite a few followers, I see. Great stuff! And a special mention to @RipleyCastle (Just in case it was Sir Thomas Ingilby himself doing the tweeting!)
@Yorkshiredays asked people were asked to give three words to sum up Yorkshire. Here are my favourites:
It was great to see people tweeting about the fabulous event organised today by Welcome to Yorkshire at the Barbican in York. We were there and it was great! (Touching standing ovation for the Yorkshire Regiment too.) I’m also pleased many people retweeted my plea for support for Welcome to Yorkshire’s ‘back le bid’ campaign to get the Tour de France to start in our glorious county. As a long time fan of le Tour, I would love to see it come to my home county. How great would it be to see Cav in the Yellow jersey at the end of the first stage?
Thanks to all of you who posted comments last week. Again, I’d love to hear your comments about how #Yorkshirehour is working for you so, please get posting!
See you next week – 8-9pm Wednesdays.
Tony Moss 
Harrogate Preserves 
Skint & Demoralised 