Blog Archives

Food, produce, books, cards, pictures and pots – there’s an amazing array of produce and gifts right on our doorstep here in Askrigg. None of them need cost a fortune and there’s no question of going ‘down market’  by going local. Our authors, artists and producers hold their own on the national – and sometimes international – stage: not just for Christmas, but throughout the year.
Visitors can take home a lasting memento of Askrigg: Andrew Hague the potter at the Old School House, West End (650548) has a great range of unique items to choose from; lamps, bowls, plates, mugs to name a few. For nearby friends, when posting heavy stuff might be an issue, a voucher from one of the local pubs and restaurants will go down well, or a beauty treatment voucher from Ginger Tree Holistic Health and Beauty now based at Simonstone Hall. Call Kathy Scott on 07530 602209. Yorebridge Sport and Fitness also have vouchers for those in your life who want to keep fit. Contact Jan Hale on 07530 602209.
Try Piers Browne (650434) and Judith Bromley and Robert Nicholls for paintings, prints, gorgeous cards and books. Judith will be signing copies of her latest book, Climb up to the Moor – Moorland Life through the Seasons of the Year (£20) at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes on Saturday 3 December. Signed books are also available at her home and studio, Beech House in Main Street, Askrigg on Wednesdays. For something completely different there’s Dulcie Lewis’s hilarious and horribly informative Casting off the Corsets – a Brief History of Underwear. At £4.95 it’s a perfect – well, stocking-filler. Ramblers Rewards: Cooking from Coast-to-Coast, by Askrigg’s Elizabeth Guy and friend Pat Kirkbride, remains a favourite cookery book. Its stories of local producers, and illustrations by Derry Brabbs, are as much to be savoured as the recipes. All these books, plus a host of other items, many locally-made, you can get at Next Door.
For a wide range of groceries, newspapers, magazines and greeting cards, you can’t do better than Sykes House, the village shop run by Lisa and Keith in the main street. They also keep a good stock of moderately-priced wines, delicious biscuits, and fancy chocolates. And if you really want to make a difference to people’s lives, contact Amanda Killip about the Ayries Society, the charity she helped found in South India for children and adults living with disabilities and in extreme poverty. She sells a range of Fair Trade goods and lovely crafts throughout the year. If you want to make a donation to the charity £100 will provide a wheelchair, a trike or callipers; but you can buy just a wheel or contribute to other vital equipment. Amanda will tell you how (650781).