english trees in my garden

Stepping off the plane at Manchester after a month in Scandinavia felt like we had entered the tropics! It was only about 10 degrees but it was a warm welcoming change from the minuses we had been experiencing for the past month. Mind you in Australia, I would usually consider anything below 20 to be winter and reach for my jacket.

We took the train to Skipton in North Yorkshire where my old housemate, Lucy lived. Lucy and I met back in 2007 (I think?) and lived together for several months in Perth. She herself had been backpacking around Australia and we shared a lot in common! Before she left we went on a road trip in a wicked van down south to Margaret River and Yallingup. Many great memories!

Skipton was as I imagined the true English countryside to be like; rolling green hills and lots of sheep. Lucy’s house was lovely and quaint with its own little bridge and ducks out front. With quite literally nothing to do in the area, it was perfect for us to wind down and relax, as well as come up with a plan of attack for London.  I went for a few long runs through the countryside and I also went into the Skipton College, where Lucy teaches and talked to her students about careers in Marine Science (and my pretty cool career so far of course). 

Mai and I had home-cooked hearty meals ready so by the time Lucy finished work we were ready to down a bottle of wine, watch a movie and fill each other in on the last five years of our lives. Down time in the country was well needed!