What a truely immense weekend with sunshine and some VIP free bar abuse. This festival is really…read morethe muts nuts. Get it in your diaries for next year, along with some super fine fizz, hideous porto loos and trench foot. Well maybe not the last two. Seriously beer, music and sunshine win win win!

It only took me 4 trains to get here from York, but the trek was all worth it. I can die now that…read moreI've finally made a pilgrimage to the Brontë house! I am a huge Brontë fan. Jane Eyre is one of my absolute favorite books and I've enjoyed rereading it over the years. I'm also a fan of Emily and Anne's works. You can see why I needed to make this trip to the U.K. It was such a treat to see where the Brontë sisters lived and wrote. I'm glad I went on a weekday, as I was able to get into the house right away. The corridors in the Parsonage are quite narrow and you can only view the rooms from the corridors, so they may time entry on busy days. They also had on exhibit costumes from the recent production of the biopic To Walk Invisible in various rooms of the house. All the rooms and exhibits are worth seeing so take your time! The museum shop is fantastic! They sell books, totes, scarves, tea towels, jewelry, postcards, local jam and honey, and many more stuff for Brontë fans. I spent $50+ buying stuff for myself and my sisters who are also Brontë enthusiasts. I could have bought more stuff, but I only brought a carry-on for my trip, so I did not have a lot of room for stuff. If you're coming by train, there will be a sign directing you where to walk. It's a pretty steep walk if you go via the high street. If you're coming by car, there is a car park next to the Parsonage. The WC is located at the car park. I hope to be back someday and make another pilgrimage with the hubby! I didn't get to the explore the West Yorkshire Moors (only the North Yorkshire Moors), but I hope to be back in mid-August again so that I can enjoy the heather in full bloom!

My friends I am almost spent. I'm taking life to the extreme and trying lots of new and wonderful…read morethings. Now I'm going to have to share with you one little joy that is closer to home, the Bronte Parsonage Museum. Now lovers of all things literal should flock here. No doubt about it. It's a little insight into the minds of the Brontes and is surrounded by luscious fields and situated at the top of that famous cobbled Main Street. What you'll find is the house where they grew and find out more about the sisters and family. It's also next to the quite wonderful church which is definitely a place to have a quick stroll around. Then pretend you are in that bread advert and saunter down the cobbles in this quaint village. If you are feeling especially active then head up to the moors and walk past Wuthering Heights. It is a true inspiration. This is culture and more all rolled into one. Ladies and gentleman I give you the delectable Haworth.

I go here every week. The books sold here are not too…read moreexpensive either compared to other clubs i have been to. The caller is just at the right speed and calls clearly. The food isnt great and there is rarely anything left, but there is usually a plate of chips left. The tea/coffee isnt too good either, but they serve alcohol so half a lager goes down a treat. I havent had any big wins so far but usually win £10, better than nothing!

Saw Jack and the Beanstalk over the Holidays. I first my opportunity but not my last. From the…read morebeing to the end, I was laughing, and enjoying myself. If you need a great night with your family/friends.. I will return as soon as possible. Thank You for a Great Night......

Well, Leeds certainly knows how to throw a festival closing party!…read more The annual Indie Food Fest provides a whole raft of events that you can get involved with, supported by a 'passport' which holds a tonne of offers and deals across the city. It's an excellent system which I would totally consider taking time off work to take full advantage of. Not having that option, we decided to spend our Bank Holiday Sunday/Monday here instead, coinciding with Leeds Feast. Hosted across three venues (North Brewing Co, Headrow House and Belgrave Music Hall) the event took place on both Saturday & Sunday, and you could easily split your time across these days, there's so much to see (and eat!) We started at North Brewing Co - a short walk out of town to an industrial estate, as with most brewtaps - with a brisket grilled cheese from the Meltworks and a pint or three of NBC's own raspberry saison. It was the perfect atmosphere with plenty of families, live acoustic music, and of course some gorgeous canine companions. The guys behind NBC are so passionate about what they do, I could've easily stayed here all day! It was onto Belgrave Music Hall next for chorizo mac & cheese from the Mac Shac and a pint of the aforementioned saison on the sun soaked roof terrace. What was obvious at this point is that Belgrave is a well known destination, so was much busier than NBC. This is no bad thing for Leeds Indie Food Fest organisers but it was actually a bit of a shock to the system after such a relaxing time at the brewery! Headrow House provided the final stop; it was busy on the roof terrace but food traders had started packing away (around 6pm) so we got a table downstairs and played a few rounds of cards. The food of the evening was finished off by a delicious fried chicken sandwich from Rita's Dining Room. All in all, an excellent event - loved the fact we could explore a few different locations and it still gave us a great taste of Leeds, despite sticking with one event and not venturing too far away from where we knew. Looking forward to 2017!

I nipped into Dalesway Gallery, situated in the lovely little market town of Ilkley, just to…read morepurchase some birthday cards actually. I work in an office with a great deal of people and as a rule we generally make an effort to buy birthday cards for people's birthdays. I'm usually pretty useless at this sort of thing, and I've little excuse, but I am forever forgetting to give cards. In a surprising moment of preparedness I made the move towards Dalesway in order to stock up. Although cash-wise this was a bad idea (it wouldn't have worked out to bulk buy according to my wallet ... ) it was a great idea art wise to pop in! I hadn't actually noticed that they sold art works as well as cards, I was being that one track minded! Inside there were a number of lovely special arty cards, some funny ones with animals, some beautiful landscape photography ones, some vintage style ones and so on. They also had a number of prints and art works on sale too. There were these huge framed prints in the window, one of a vase of flowers (a proper above-the-fireplace type of picture) and another two of these purple field scenes. As well as those they had some interesting 'fashion' prints of men and women dressed in lovely clothing only none of those images included the person's face. I realise as I write that it sounds macabre, but it wasn't really! Anyway, an interesting bimble worth the visit.

If only this were annual instead of biennial! Every odd-numbered year, puppets of the world descend…read moreon the little town of Skipton, and it's absolutely worth the journey around the globe. With the programme growing every time in proportion to the festival's reputation, there really is something for everyone - even (and perhaps especially) for people who profess to dislike puppetry. There's such a huge range of artistry and style that it's my personal opinion that not liking puppets is like not liking food; what - ALL food? ALL puppets? That's why this festival is so important: it introduces people to puppetry as an art form, as something beyond seaside Punch & Judy. There are shows for children, shows for all ages, shows you wouldn't dream of taking children to, shadow puppets, glove puppets, rod puppets, foot puppets, hand puppets, puppets that aren't even puppets until someone picks them up and moves them in a certain way... Every single show this year was a total sell-out, but the free side shows and walkabouts in the hub area at the canal basin are worth a look even if you can't get to a show. A real highlight of the weekend is the giant puppet parade. Anyone is welcome to create a puppet at one the workshops before the festival, and the whole community and all the visiting performers march down the High Street, all colours and ribbons and extraordinary movements. The time of year also means that, for the last two festivals, everything has taken place in bright, warm sunshine. There could perhaps be more happening in the hub area once the sun sets - unless you're in the beer tent or one of the marquee venues, you could be forgiven for thinking everything had finished for the day. Some live outdoor music and a couple of after-dark walkabouts would just top everything off perfectly. They're constantly striving to improve on an already majestic weekend, with feedback and suggestion forms handed out to anyone who will take them, so I can't wait to see what they'll accomplish on the back of this year's success. Again, if only this were every year. If only it lasted for longer than a weekend. The organisers manage to pull together a world-class programme every time; roll on 2015, I say!

Skipton beer festival is held in the hall of a local school. It's quite a small festival which is…read morequite different to the ones i'm used to. Most of the festivals in Manchester arequite large and filled with hipsters, this is mostly full of old men and a few families. This is what people who don't go to beer festivals think all beer festivals are like. That being said, i quite like Skipton beer festival. There is a variety of good beer on offer, my personal favourite this year was a milk stout which I never thought I would say... There was a selection of food on offer including pork pies, meat and potato pie, a cheese and onion pie (if memory serves me right...) bacon and sausage sandwiches, burgers, beef chilli and veg chilli. I opted for the meat and potato pie then some beef chilli a few pints later. Both were tasty enough and came in the right size portion for a beer festival (enough to keep you going without stuffing you beyond capacity to drink more beer). I tasted the veg chilli which really was quite tasty. Some of the other food (the sandwiches and burgers) looked less appealing to me. The reason why i'm giving it 4 stars is because there is no music and not enough seating. These issues plus small nature of the festival and it being so close to the lovely centre of Skipton means it's likely you'll get bored a little quicker than you would at other beer festivals and move onto other things. Not that getting to visit Bizzie Lizzie's is a bad thing... p.s the prizes in the raffle are sh#t but not as hilariously so as Saltaire beer festival...go one way or the other!

A great little beer festival in the lovely town of Skipton. It's set in a school hall which is…read moregreat because you feel quite rebellious for boozing at school. Both years I've been there's been plenty of nice beers on, decent food, and a great atmosphere. This year there were a few beers dedicated to a local CAMRA member who had passed away, which I thought was lovely. Losing a star because: - No music whatsoever. My ideal beer festival music would be a brass band that do covers of pop songs (eg 'Don't You Want Me' by the Human League). - There's some ridiculous rules around which chairs are allowed into the hall. I don't quite understand it and I think it's been put in place by the school not the festival organisers but still it was truly ridiculous. I went to ask for a chair so my dad could sit down and was told there was none, while I was standing a few feet away from maybe 100 chairs all stacked up. But apparently only the black chairs were allowed in the hall. Those chairs were orange...! In defence of the festival staff, one guy went on a mission to get a chair, brought it to my dad and then spent some time chatting to him about the best pubs in Skipton. So that made it somewhat better