The Bobster visits The Balloon Tree, Yorkshire

Down on the Farm

I love to eat,
so it's a treat,
to have a photo at Balloon Tree Farm.
And I'll say "cheese",
if you give me some please.
and, sure, a sausage wouldn't do any harm.
I could spend all day,
take a roll in the hay,
while the little humans laugh and play.
This day has been good,
I've had lots of fresh food.
Which we bought here at Balloon Tree farm.

The Balloon Tree  is in Gate Helmsley which is around 7 miles from York. The farm provides fresh produce and has a lovely farm shop, which is open to the public. You and your little ones can even spend the day picking your own fruit. What better way to teach them about food, how it grows, and where it's sourced.

Alongside the farm there is a childrens play area, and a large outdoor dining area where you can watch the little ones play while you enjoy a drink or two. Dogs are welcome here (woof!) 5 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾so the whole family can spend the day, or a lovely lunch here. There's also a small section where children can view the animals.

Meals are prepared from produce mostly from the farm, so is obviously fresh, in season, and environmentally friendly. The farm shop has much to offer, all freshly picked, so why not take a bagful or two home. 

And if you're looking to cheer up the garden, you can buy fresh flowers here too.
All in all, it is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have little humans to entertain. Check it out for yourself.

The Bobster visits Helmsley, again

Here I am at the iconic ruins of Helmsley Castle

Dear reader, my apologies for the lack of blog posts recently. My laptop screen has been shattered and is still broken so it makes it very difficult to see what I am typing. I really must remind the human to get this sorted!! Anyway, I will have to persevere with things as they are so please excuse any typos. It is difficult for a dog to keep a blog in the first place (woof!)

Helmsley is a picturesque town in north Yorkshire and very dog-friendly. In fact, a human would almost feel lacking without a fur-friend as an accessory while strolling along its charming streets, eating in the local pubs and cafes or browsing the many gift shops.

We visited the town in October and the shops were geared towards Halloween.

But the town is always well dressed with an abundance of flowers on display and is really quite quaint.

This time on my morning walks I discovered a new shopping area, up an alleyway next to the Edinburgh Wool shop. The Pet shop is really great and has all sorts of goodies like Pawsecco (woof!) Yes Please!!! The Human got me a tartan bow-tie for my upcoming visit to Glasgow (more on that later)

We stayed at the Feversham Arms hotel and Spa, in the centre of town. Our room was a suite near the pool and had a lovely log burning fire, ready to light each night. Though the weather was quite mild, light it we did, as we lack the glow of a real fire at home and there's just something so wonderful and relaxing about it.

The Feversham Arms really makes us dogs feel welcome, they even had a statue of me to greet me on arrival.  And I was welcome in the bar area to eat with the humans, and drink, and eat some more. The Hotel has a spa, and provides guests with  Temple spa products in the hotel bathrooms. As you can see, there is an outdoor heated pool which people were enjoying in October. This photo was prior to my morning walk so no skinny-dipping for me. There wasn't anything provided for me during my stay here, no treats, no dog bowl, or blanket but then again, the human doesn't recall there being any extra charge. 4 🐾🐾🐾🐾 the staff on the other hand get my first ever 6 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 amazeballs!

Here are a bunch of photos of me looking cute outside the cute shops in the town,  taken during those early morning walks while the rest of the town slept, mostly. The local deli, which sells VERY good cuts of locally sourced meat and produce opens really early, so the human treated me to some roast beef. Well, I was on holiday!

I also recommend the dog-friendly Black Swan hotel. I've stayed there before and had lunch here during this visit and it really is very good indeed.

Places of interest nearby are Reivaulx Abbey and The National Centre for Birds of Prey

the Walled Gardens in Helmsley are also worth a visit

The Bobster visits Filey, Yorkshire

Filey is in just over an hour's drive from York and is a small seaside town in North Yorkshire, with all that one would expect to find: great fish and chips, donkey rides, and miles and miles of sand. Dogs are allowed on certain parts of the beach, beyond the promenade mostly but that doesn't feel like a restriction as the beach literally does go on for miles.  I LOVED it 5 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾