Scones, a Creamery Tour, a Fancy Dinner Out, and Tea

Out and about in the countryside around Silsden

Fresh scones greet every visitor at North End Cottages.

On a damp and cool Monday morning, we picked up friends Allison and Janet and drove to Bolton Abbey's grounds, where the River Wharfe can be crossed by a bridge or a series of stepping stones. We started at the Tea Cottage and walked gravel paths lined with foxgloves and buttercups. Along the way are climbing areas for children and one remarkable downed tree studded over time with coins.

Monastery ruins at Bolton Abby with hiking trails, a coin tree, a quick duck under an umbrella during a shower, and the Bolton Priory, an Anglican Church interior. Ancient stones in the cemetery.

Liz made scones for new visitors checking in to the Curlew Cottage that afternoon. Her scones are light but with gentle heft, studded with dried fruit and citrus peel. Served with her Damson plum jam, they are a delicious breakfast or tea-time treat. Tea is constantly flowing in England, bracing and energizing, and may explain the drive of the populace. They are often served with milk, sugar optional, and never iced.

Freshly made scones are a welcome treat for incoming visitors.

Family dinners at the North End Farm are healthy and tasty. We enjoyed a vegetable lasagna and bean salad on Monday to balance the slabs of roast beef from the Sunday roast. Tuesday’s supper was pork cutlets cooked in a tasty sauce with apple and coarse mustard and Wednesday we were out and about in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and took advantage of a gift certificate that their son Ben had given them to a chic restaurant. Thursday’s dinner was one I had heard about in our monthly video chats. Turkey Escalopes with Damsons had been a dinner party entrée and Liz had frozen the remainders.

Always, the sign that a recipe is good is that the page is splattered.

Family dinners at the farm, a stop at an interesting cafe in Settle with Cream Meringues and a happy worker, and condiments for sale at a shop in Settle include a line by Heinz unique to the British Isles.

Carrot and Coriander Soup at the cafe at Cliffe Castle where we met fortune hunter Jeff Walbank and his wife Jill.

Lunches at the farm were salad-centric with assorted optional meats and cheeses. The two days that we went out for lunch we enjoyed Carrot-Coriander Soup, a menu mainstay in the region. We especially appreciated the crusty bread served at the Cliffe Castle Museum restaurant in the airy renovated greenhouse. Liz knew many people in the restaurant and was pleased to introduce Jeff Walbank, a local treasure hunter who found 27 gold coins on her farm in 1998. The state owns the rights to antiquities but purchases the loot from the property owner, who splits the proceeds with the finder. After lunch, we toured the museum and saw the awe-inspiring coins exhibit from the first century AD.

The coins found at North End Farm date to the first century AD

Wednesday was our touring day, traveling through villages within the national park. We stopped in Settle for a coffee at aYe Olde Naked Man café and visited The Folly, a historic house built in 1679. The Wensleydale Creamery was our afternoon destination, where we went for a tour of the facility and a tasting of many cheeses. The cheesemaking demo was interesting, and the facility was busy with tour groups but well-organized for travelers. Small bits of cheese for tasting just made you hungry for more, and the adjacent restaurant provided many options.

The Wensleydale Creamery offers tastings and tours in the Yorkshire Dales. Our dinner at Wensleydale Heifer was a memorable one, with a mini-stuffed scone, Salmon and Scallops, Lamb, and Fish and Chips. Desserts were artistically presented and enjoyed.

We saved our appetite for the Wensleydale Heifer experience, which did not disappoint. The tiny village of West Witton is overrun with traffic from the popular and justly famous dining destination. At 6:30, we were seated in a nearly empty dining room that was soon filled.  We opted for no appetizers to enjoy our mains and were delivered an amuse bouche of mini-Mediterranean scones. The morsel was perfect.

The main courses included Tom’s upscale version of Fish and Chips, Liz’s Lamb Trio with sirloin, stuffed breast, lamb kidneys, and my Salmon and Scallop dish. I had no room for dessert, but Tom opted for a deconstructed Affogato with a shot of Amaretto. Liz asked for a scoop of chocolate flake ice cream that manifested most dramatically.

No better place to spend the last day than at the farm. My cheater latte--hot milk with instant coffee and a touch of local honey. Liz was busy making Mint Sauce for her son Ben in Colorado, and a Baked Pineapple Shortbread for our final pudding after our Turkey Escalopes dinner. Leaving chicken coop, soccer net, and sheep while the sun sets on the longest day of the year.

The next day, we had planned to take a train to York, but I begged off the night before, asking to just stay on the farm for my last day. With incoming guests arriving, Liz was happy to agree. I spent the morning enjoying the garden, and in the afternoon, we had tea with her friend Ruth, who lives at the end of Silsden village. At 83, Ruth is a dynamo who does pilates and cares for her own perfectly tidy yard. It was a delightful way to end the day and the trip.

Tea with Liz and Ruth, at Ruth’s bungalow at the edge of the village of Silsden.

Tom drove me to the airport in Manchester the following day, explaining the traffic rules along the way. Maybe next time, I will have the courage to rent a car and drive on my own. I’ll need to drink plenty of tea. Thank you, Lady Marmalade!

Liz Pratt’s Scone Recipe

One pound of self-rising flour (3 and 2/3 cups). See note below

4 ounces margarine

4 ounces caster sugar (superfine sugar)

4 ounces dried fruit

4 ounces milk

1 egg

Vanilla to taste

Rub the margarine into the flour. Add sugar and fruit. Beat the egg, add the milk and vanilla and pour into the dry ingredients. Make sure the mixture is not too dry. Cut into 12 scones. Bake at 180 C (350 F) for around 15 minutes.

Note: To make your own self-rising flour, add 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt for each cup of AP flour.

And even more notably, Liz and Tom’s North End Cottages each have a digital scale and a rolling pin. That would make my French friend Pascale very happy!