Tag: Thorncliffe

Rainshadow

Rainshadow
OS 10 inch rainfall map, 1881-1915, Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, maps.nls.uk

You wouldn’t think it this morning but we live in a rainshadow area. This OS Rainfall Map from 1915 records over 60 inches average rainfall on the crest of the Pennines above Holmfirth and less than half that amount, around 24 inches down in Wakefield just 18 miles away.

So that’s about 5 feet of rain per year on the moors, 2 feet in Wakefield and getting on for 3 feet in between around Emley, where we’re heading this morning.

Thorncliffe

A rainy day proved a good opportunity to catch up with my Wild Yorkshire nature diary for The Dalesman but a trip to the Thorncliffe Farm Shop at Emley, gave us the excuse to see the outside world.

I drew these sycamores, almost devoid of leaves now, from the cafe.

Thorncliffe

I put the Chicken Superheroes artwork this morning but there were some familiar looking characters in the farm shop cafe . . .

chicken draft excluder
It’s those Chickens again . . .
(It’s a draft excluder, would go well with any chicken-themed interior design scheme)

Clouds in my Coffee

cauliflower

“Who sings this one?”

“I can hardly hear it,” the waitress replies.

“You’re So Vain.”

“Oh … Carly Simon.”

“That’s it! Brilliant.”

“Shows my age.”

“I’m not surprised she knew,” chips in the other waitress, “She’s always singing. Every day is karaoke here.”

The date and apricot flapjack was good too. It had a hint of bonfire night about it, made with dark brown sugar and, I’m guessing, black treacle.

It’s the one with the line ‘I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee’, which is appropriate because I’m on to my second latté at the Thorncliffe Tasting Room, Emley, while Barbara does a round of the adjoining farm shop for a bag of shopping, including this cauliflower.

This was our first visit to the Tasting Room, although we’d often called at the farm shop but we’ll soon go back there. It’s only six miles from home but it’s another 150 metres in altitude. The panorama included Drax Power Station (currently burning wood pellets sourced from old growth forests in Canada according a recent BBC investigation).

Link

Thorncliffe Tasting Room