But hey! This post's not about now, it's about then, the Thursday of the holiday, when in the morning, I cast off my socks and tried to get artistic shots...this was meant to take in the panoramic view of the hills (we had a fab view from the front), a fair amount of gymnastics ensued and it wasn't exactly good but you can certainly use your imagination as to where I was positioned to photograph them!
Then around 11ish we headed out on our great adventure, Tom-tom doing its usual trick taking us along access only roads, steep gradients and across moor roads that were narrow and winding to the Forbidden Corner. It was a somewhat weird scenario, the day before I'd picked up the leaflet (which tells you pretty much nothing except what seems a high price for something you know nothing about AND the fact you have to pre-book); it sparked a want that I'd had for four or five years to go despite knowing very little about it. It was that type of holiday whan you go "to hell with it" and just go for it, we were as close as we were ever going to be in location (under an hour's drive) and out of season, there was no problem ringing and reserving places. We arrived a little early (12pm start) with a fair amount of trepidation....Here's what we found....
...A little odd, but this was the entrance to the place, hidden behind a stout stone wall. It had a giant tonsil (all rubbery and punchbaggy) hanging down in the centre of the mouth and as you passed, it gave a giant belch, it made Bro jump which was really funny 'cos it takes a lot to shake him but he was surprised a few times that day! 
We were given a leaflet with things to find (so you didn't miss anything), this was amongst them, one of the saner exhibits...
We happened across these cute figures halfway thru a deceptively difficult maze...
...look who else was getting in on the act!
We found this towards the way out though we couldn't find the real way through...for a while. It was that sort of place, sometimes you had to tread the same path numerous times to find everything but I'm leaping ahead here. Not long after this, I stopped to read a poem near to an exit and got an unpleasant surprise...
...A statue of pan came to life and squirted me (quite thoroughly) with water! The air was blue!
A little further on, we found this giant chappie...
...With oak treetrunks for legs, it towered over the scene.
There were quirky things..
...Like this...or
...this, Caliban from that Shakespearian classic "The Tempest", the water bubbled as you got near, but after a while, we got wise to the less savoury aspects, as soon as there was water trails on the ground (it was a sunny day), we were wary, looking for the culprit! Considering that here was a peeing boy, a malevolent crow, and gobstones to look out for, we were on our guard a lot!
We went up stone steps; (not as many as last Monday!) and found this spectacle, a glass pyramid...and around the corner from there...
...Truly evil stepping stones! No, really, step on the wrong one and a curtain of water shoots up, catching you mid stride, wetting you where you really don't want to be wet!To lead you here via a grecian columned; greek soldier statue guarded entrance and inside that...
...The doors of DOOM!!!! It was funny actually, 'cos there was a loo in amongst the winding passageways; for anyone who got a bit scared along the way!
It led to a circular room with an imposing statue in the centre...
...Seven doors leading in different directions, some of which started music and the fountains in the centre. Some were dummy doors with painted scenes behind, but two were real, one led to a weirdly opulent red-carpeted stairway with bizarre poirtraits that led into an outside courtyard of a tower. then it was round again to explore a different route...those evil stepping stones again, this time me getting an unfortunate soaking (thanks to hubby's footwork), to explore the other door...
...The giant door led to both a fake and genuine passageway but what you see in the distance is a double passageway choice...leading to a teensy circular chamber with a revolving floor and seven doors! Again, some were fakes but there were still two choices, one of them led this way...
....down the mousehole! There was an exceptional tableau (really quite gruesome) with a HUGE cat head, I still can't get the rhyme out of my head " The cat...the cat...the cat is coming...the cat". It had a weird backlit display hence no pic's, back around again to the other choice, this time heading up into the tower to a bizarre crowded "forest", it was well creepy, I'm telling you! That time, bro got a second soaking so to save further moistness, we retraced our steps and found the other exit, through another curtain of water! If you waited, the centre water jets parted but we were so hopped that some of us got it...again!
This was the other entrance that we didn't have the heart to do...those stepping stones had claimed too many victims! There was another weird entrance/exit that we never saw the other side of...it was so narrow that only kids could have got out of it but the other end was meant to be normal! We spent hours but at the end, it beat us, we needed to beat a retreat homeward...via the ice-cream farm, of course!
In a twist of fate, we arrived back to Grassington with just 30 minutes to use the internet services of a local cafe before they closed and squirt my photo to flickr back in the days when I gave a damn about competitions. That last photo was just for me, just for laughs. Still, it was a fab time, and a wonderful day that exceeded expectations in every concievable way. Let's face it, when you have no idea of what's going to happen, you don't really have expectations, do you?
Tune in tomorrow when I'll wrap up this enterprise and (thank god!) I can get back to once or twice weekly, and get back to crafting!
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