Bilton Beach

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Whilst you were watching the mens final from Wimbledon, we had a day by (and in) the River Nidd near Harrogate. There's a spot known by a few as 'Bilton Beach' about half way along the path that takes you from Bilton in Harrogate to Knaresborough (map link). Armed with a picnic, a couple of beers and some friends we walked Milners Path after leaving our car near The Gardeners Arms on Bilton Lane then hung a right - about 1 km down stream to 'Bilton Beach'.

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I think one of the good things about having several not so good summers in a row is that you totally appreciate and make the most out of the good days. We've had a hat trick of them, as today was a peach. Blue sky, mid 20 degree Celsius, and calm as you like. It's years since I've hung out at the spot, but it's got fond memories from BC (before kids) of summer camping and fun. A fantastic spot for bathing of the river and sun verities. Given that the sun's been out for a few days, I guessed (correctly) that the sun had successfully warmed up the river for a few days up dale and that it would be just right for being in.

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I was lucky enough to notice that I was in the moment - that moment when you think "There's nowhere else in the world that I'd prefer to be right now". Beautiful spot - the odd passing walker but generally (thanks to Murray's antics on center court)  quiet. We had a suprise visit from Matty J & J who hung out with us and chatted for a while. Elsie (my dog) honed her stick and water obsessions even more and we all had a great time.

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Aprez swim, we headed back to DragonDrop HQ to cook up a storm on my brick barbecue and managed to catch the thrilling grand finale of the tennis on the radio. What a fantastic day.

Here's some slow mo footage of people throwing sticks in the river for my dog, whilst I lounged in the shallows with my waterproof camera.

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There's a few more pics on my flickr stream from today. Happy days.