I’d say don’t come to Pontefract for a touristy visit? It’s not a place for that… It’s just a small market town without a lot going on. I am mostly here because I am visiting the in-laws for Christmas for the week and having some chill out time. There’s not a great deal to do but I found a few places to visit on a morning stroll…
I thought, why not make the effort for the folk of Pontefract, eh? and threw on some leather trousers and some make-up and set off for the castle. We only spent about 15-20 minutes in there and we thoroughly scoured the place for information, but it was a lovely start to the day to see the view of the… power station.
You may think I am being grumpy or mean, but I am not! It genuinely was just really relaxing to be in a place without tourists or students. It’s something I don’t do enough really – going out just for the sake of having a little walk and finding a little town to wander around. If I go out, it’s always for a purpose, so it was nice to have a change of scenery and pace.
We then toddled past this church which was really cool! Because it was built within the ruins of another church! I’d never seen anything like it before. Most ruins stand as some kind of monument to the past (just look at Coventry building it’s new cathedral next to the old one) but, this was like Pontefract had decided that function and space was more important, and I kind of admire that.
After a quick stop at Gregg’s (you’ve got to when you’re up north really) we finally ended up at the Haribo factory outlet, where I bought some of my absolute favourite sweets that are usually only available imported for an extortionate price. Plus some classic Haribo for the bargain price of 89p a bag. Worth a trip just for that to be fair!
I then came back and enjoyed a bath in my in-laws most excellent bath and had a little mess about with this friendly octopus soap who I named Nigel and an alien bath bomb. It’s now only 3pm and I might have a little nap before dinner. I can feel the stress of this whole bloody year washing off me and I can’t wait to start 2022 off hopefully with a bit of positivity.
