News & Features

The days are getting longer, so summer is on the way... And at West Winds, we�re busy planning for it already. In particular we�ve now fixed our opening dates and times for the rest of the year. In March the tearooms are open for weekends � Saturday and Sunday � from 13 & 14 March, between 12.30pm and 5pm. On 1 April we switch into summer opening proper, with our doors open daily (except Mondays and Tuesdays)from 12.30pm to 6pm, right until the end of October.

Three special events will take place during the year in the tearooms, so please make a note in your diaries now...

31 July to 15 August Yorkshire Dialect Fortnight, with a menu written completely in dialect.

23-31 October Apple Tasting Week, with fresh, crisp apples from Yorkshire Orchards at York and a menu with a distinct taste of apple to it.

18 December to 2 January Taste of Christmas Tradition Fortnight, with yummy seasonal food and traditional decorations

We have now joined 10:10, a growing movement of people, organisations and businesses across the UK trying to cut their carbon emissions by 10% during 2010. As you probably suspect, we run a fairly green ship, but we realise that we could fairly easily do more. We�re hoping to cut our electricity consumption by a tenth by playing what we call the Switch Off game.

When we go round the house now, if there�s something turned on but not being used, we turn it off. It�s that simple. It�s surprising how many things get left on for no good reason: computers left chugging, TVs left on standby, lights blazing in rooms when nobody�s there, and so on. The game element comes because Lynn turns off things Steve has left on, and Steve turns off things Lynn has left on! If you want to join the movement, visit www.1010uk.org

New local produce & old Yorkshire recipes lined up for 2010 menu
Our Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Tea has proved very popular over the past year and we�re also very pleased because we haven�t broken a single cake stand while doing the washing up! But we�re always on the hunt for new ideas, so long as they taste nice, of course. We�re now trying out additional recipes � and eating an awful lot of cake in the process... Among things we�re investigating are fat rascals, Yorkshire brack, Yorkshire slab cake, West Riding pudding,Yorkshire pepper cake, Wilfra tarts,lavender teabread and Ripon spicecake. If you�ve made these at home yourself and have a tried and trusted recipe that you�re willing to pass on to us, you could win this newsletter�s prize (see below) We are also hoping to secure a regular supply of Yorkshire clotted cream to go with our Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Tea. Clotted cream is obviously big in the West Country but there is a farm near Northallerton that makes it, and it is delicious! Other new items on the menu include fruit juices from Yorkshire Orchards at York. They produce apple, apple and raspberry, and apple and bramble, all using fruit grown on their own farm. www.yorkshireorchards.co.uk

Best of Yorkshire Special Break now even better -
If you want to stay at West Winds for two nights in our double room, why not consider our Best of Yorkshire Special Break? It includes tea and cake on arrival, a Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Tea for two on your second day, a bedroom �mini bar� of fruit juices from Yorkshire orchards, a help yourself bowl of organic fruit in your room and pillow chocolates supplied by Skipton chocolatier Whitaker�s and, of course, there�s a choice of cooked and �Dales continental� breakfasts to look forward to in the morning. The price, for two people, all inclusive, is £112. Details -
http://www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk/specialoffers.asp

Green Reward Special Break includes a tree planted in your name. There is an excellent bus service up Wharfedale and it stops around 200 metres from our front door. We�ve put together a special package to reward you if you travel to Buckden all the way from your home town by public transport or bicycle. Our Green Reward Special Break offers an attractive discount and the chance to have a tree planted in the Dales in your name. Through the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, we�ll donate £10 to have a tree planted in the Dales and dedicated to you. It will be a native broadleaved tree and will form part of one of the new woods being established by the Millennium Trust all the time in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. When you arrive at West Winds on a Green Reward Special Break, you�ll find a certificate in your room giving details of this scheme � and your tree. It costs just £84 for two people for two nights or £44 for one person for two nights. The package includes tea & cake on arrival and a full choice of breakfast options. For details visit
http://www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk/specialoffers.asp

You can find a comprehensive diary of events for the Dales area and further afield for the whole year on our website. Also listed are school holidays, equinoxes and solstices, and national commemorative days of note.

Highlights for 2010 include:
Sunday 28 March Start of British Summer Time!
Saturday 24 April Three Peaks Race
Saturday 1 to Monday 3 May Dales Festival of Food and Drink
Saturday 8 to Saturday 15 May National Doughnut Week
Saturday 5 June World Environment Day
Saturday 19 June Buckden Gala and Fell Race
Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 July Skipton Castle Clog Festival
Sunday 1 August Yorkshire Day and Hannah Hauxwell�s 180th birthday
Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 August Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival
Tuesday 31 August Kilnsey Show
Sunday 12 September Hardraw Brass Band Festival
Wednesday 22 September World Car Free Day
Friday 1 October World Smile Day (see left)
The full list is given at
http://www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk/daleseventsdiary.asp

Win a free stay or a Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Tea for two -
As we said, we�re on the lookout for traditional but delicious Yorkshire recipes. If you�ve tried one of the cakes we mentioned and can pass on a recipe and tips, please get in touch. Alternatively, if you�ve got a suggestion for something else you think we should try, please drop us a line. We�ll put the names of everyone who responds into a hat and draw out one lucky person who will receive a free night�s stay at West Winds for two or one of those Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Teas for two.

Send your ideas, recipes and tips to [email protected] or to West Winds, Buckden, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 5JA with your name, address and phone number to arrive no later than 12 noon on Thursday 25 February 2010.

Terms and conditions
1. The draw will be made on Thursday 25 February 2010.
2. There will be one winner.
3. The winner will be chosen at random from all people who respond with ideas, recipes and hints by the closing time.
4. The winner will be notified by email or phone on Thursday 25 February 2010.
5. The prize must be used during March 2010 and there is no cash or other alternative.
6. The winner�s name will be available on application after Thursday 25 February 2010.
7. The judges� decision is final and no discussion will be entered into.