In one sentence, this was a marvelous day! Katie, Flora and I spent most of the day in Ilkley, a town technically in Bradford but 15 miles north. Our initial destination was the “Cow and Calf” rock outcropping and Ilkley Moor. Volunteer and friend Terry drove us to the Cow and Calf where we all enjoyed a flat white and conversation before Terry left us. The English countryside is stunning and the view from Cow and Calf was incredible. Somehow I didn’t get a picture of the Cow and Calf itself but Google offers many photos and of course its history. We followed a trail into town, coming upon a beautiful pond as we descended down.

Within Ilkley there are many shops, cafes and restaurants. By happenstance a friend of Katie’s happened to be in town that morning. We met her and her husband for …you know it, another coffee! I had water because I can’t keep up with them but it was nice to sit and visit. We enjoyed meandering in and out of shops and both found items we just couldn’t pass up. For lunch we were turned away by a not so dog friendly cafe (falsely advertised as being friendly) and found a church cafe. We made a bee line for a corner table and enjoyed a small English breakfast. Flora remained undiscovered under our table. She is so well behaved—more so than most children. She may have had sausage and buttered toast for lunch, discreetly passed from our plates.

Ilkley sits on the River Wharfe, a powerful fast moving river. We walked the peaceful path along the river which offered fantastic views. All in all we walked four miles. I have done so many things on this trip that I thoroughly enjoyed but I would say this was my favorite day so far.