rivers2cross

I made my final trip of the year to see my brother in Leeds in November. We always try to get out to do some exploring and this time we set out for the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors. Our destination was Goathland. I must admit that I must admit that I had no idea that that Goathland Railway Station on the Yorkshire Moors Railway was used as Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter films. A stunning location and a great place for a railway enthusiastic like my brother to visit, who probably knows even less about the Harry Potter movies than me! Also a great place to take some photos with my fundraising cuddly animals.

However, Goathland is also the location for the filming of the classic television series, Heartbeat. Much more to the liking to us than the Harry Potter films I have to confess. It’s been some years since the series ended, but the village remains pretty much unchanged. It is still geared up for visitors and fans of Heartbeat. Cripps Garage is unchanged on the outside, but is now a souvenir shop. An excellent photo opportunity not to be missed! We walked past the Aidensfield Arms, now back to being the village pub The Goathland Arms, and we enjoyed afternoon tea and cake in a tea shop. Very middle-aged!

November saw my final gig of 2022, and a an opportunity to see Carol Hodge and her band play in Abingdon, which was nice and local for me. I’ve been a fan of Carol for a few years now, and for those of you who bought the Goodbye Farewell EP a couple of years ago, you will know the quite stunning version that she so kindly recorded for me. Her set with her band was off the scale and Carol as a fantastic live artist taking her amazing songs to another level. She was supporting American artist Sarah Borges. After two years of the pandemic it was brilliant to not just see Carol perform live, but also have a catch up with her at the merchandise stand and pick up an advanced copy of her brilliant new album, Vertiginous Drops, due out in March.