Reflective Newmillerdam

The morning after visiting Whitby it was time to return to London in time for Red to start his Contiki Tour (lucky him would be returning to York in a few days time) but we were not heading directly down to London on the Express train......No, we were stopping off in Wakefield which is very close to where my family comes from. Time for Red to learn some family history.

the absolutely ginormous clock at York Station

The reason I decided to get off the train in Wakefield is that it is the closest station to Newmillerdam and the best place I could find to hire a car (i.e. easy to get to and a direct road out to Newmillerdam).

The car hire was a little nerve-wracking.  I have never driven in the UK before and even though I mentioned it was a direct route from the car hire to Newmillerdam, I didn't account for the fact that we took a wrong turn at the start of our journey which had us going in the wrong direction right into the centre of town.....something I was keen to avoid! Eventually we got ourselves going in the right direction and once we got our bearings, it was just a 20 minute drive to our destination.

The reason that Newmillerdam is so important to me is that my dad was born here and we now visit him here in spirit.  I came here with my daughter back in 2011 so she now knows where to find her Granddads spirit and this time it was Red's turn.

We were quite hungry by this time and decided to park the car and head accross the road to have lunch at one of the local pubs, the Fox and the Hound.  I have eaten here before and the food is really special. There was a moment of frustration when we struggled to lock the car. It was a very basic model so no central locking and for the 'love of mike', we could not find the door locks on the back doors so in the end we locked up the front doors, put our luggage in the boot and locked that then left the car with unlocked back doors and hoped for the best.

There are heaps of waterbirds here...Various Ducks, Moorhens, Swans and Geese.  These are Canadian Geese

After lunch and a quick check on the car, we set off for our walk around the lake.  The lake is set in a wooded park that many years ago belonged to the estate of a local Manor house but it was gifted to the village some time ago.  It is a lovely place and was a great favourite with my dad. He was born around  here and I seem to remember years ago, when I was a young child, and visiting here with my grandmother, being shown the location of the house where he was born but maybe I dreamt that, I have no idea now.

 

 I found the spot where his spirit is strongest to us and we had a moments reflection under the leafy canopy before continuing on our walk

Red became quiet for a awhile after visiting this spot and I knew he was remembering his Granddad

After spending a hour here strolling around the lake we returned to the car, and everything was how we left it. Next stop, the house where I was born.

Red was my navigator and what a great navigator he was.  We did have a GPS  but it would not stick to the windowscreen so he was watching it and directing me.

I knew exactly where I was when we turned into the street and drove straight up to the house.  It is a little odd parking in the street and taking photos of houses. Last time I did this, someone stopped to ask if we were lost and when I explained why I was taking photos they knew exactly who we were and we ended up having a cup of tea with an old neighbour who still lived there after 40 odd years while she and my mum reminisced about old days. Most specifically, the day I was born.

Red was quite surprised to learn that I was born in the upstairs front bedroom of this house and not in a hospital.  It was quite the done thing back then.  Oh, that makes me sound old!

So, onwards to find some more special spots. Namely, the house where my mum was born and raised till she married my dad.  This house actually has a very special story. I am keeping that to myself and for my family but I will tell you that it was lived in by three generations of the same family. It is for sale at the moment so we were able to peek through the front window like perspective buyers.

A short walk away we visited the local Parish Church where my parents were married and I was Christened.  The churchyard is often mentioned when my mum tells tales of her youth so it is a special place to visit

There is a photo of my mum with her dad and bridesmaids in this very spot just before she entered the church to marry my dad.

What a lovely day, but we had to get the car back to Wakefield and back onto the train to London. I said expressly that I did not want to find myself on the motorway but the GPS had different ideas and, yep, you got it, I ended up on the motorway. Doing a steady speed I stuck to outside lane till I found the offramp.  Was not as bad as I thought and not surprisingly we survived the motorway and got ourselves back to the car rental without any ordeals.