Today we took Dan over to one of our fav places; Farndale. It’s such a naturally beautiful place, full of wildlife, rolling fields, babbling stream and of course the pinnacle, the North York Moors.

Merry Christmas!

We’re fortunate enough here in Hambleton District (North Yorkshire) to have lots of great heritage properties near us, the nearest being Benningborough Hall. We rarely visit, but have done more so in recent months, i suppose we’ve realised how handy it is and ultimately has lots of space for Dan to run about and enjoy the outdoors in such a beautiful setting. Of course it helps that it has a great cafe and a farmshop just outside that sell amazing cakes!

So anyway, here are some photos i took from last Sunday in some beautiful winter sun.

Across the rooftops - Riva Del Garda, Lake Garda, Italy, 2007

A beautiful spot taken on our amazing honeymoon, good times

Photo taken with my new Samsung Galaxy S2 - Work mates: Sam, Pam & James

So got myself an Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy S2 to be precise, it’s a real shift change for me having lived in Blackberry world for so long, but felt a change was necessary plus my screen had died and it was free upgrade time with Vodafone.

The verdict thus far, I love it! Some great features include:

- The screen is huge!
- The screen quality is amazing!
- It’s incredibly quick
- It has loads if great apps
- It’s cheaper than the iPhone
- The camera is excellent – 8 megapixels with HD video recording at 1080p.

So all in all an excellent phone, i’m still getting use to a very different way of using a smartphone and there’s loads more to explore but so far so very good.

One of our favourite NT places in Yorkshire, Fountains Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage site no less.

Being a big fan of history, heritage & gardens and particularly in Yorkshire (hey, it forms part of my job!), I think knowing exactly what National Trust properties exist in Yorkshire is rather handy! So here they are:

1. Beningbrough Hall & Gardens
2. Brimham Rocks
3. East Riddlesden Hall
4. Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal
5. Goddards Garden
6. Hardcastle Crags
7. Malham Tarn
8. Marsden Moor
9. North Yorkshire Moors National Park
10. Nostell Priory & Parkland
11. Nunnington Hall
12. Old Coastguards Visitor Centre at Robin Hoods Bay
13. Rievaulx Terrace
14. Treasurer’s House
15. Upper Wharfedale

I have to be honest, some I didn’t even know were National Trust, but definetely worth knowing about.