Well, what a lovely few days I've had! Great weather, wonderful company, beautiful scenery and one seriously good antiques centre! We are lucky to have a great array of antiques shops and fairs in and around Yorkshire, and this weeks instalment of my blog is going to be about one of the best. Donkeys Years in Knaresborough is a place dreams are made of! So, get yoursel' a brew, sit back and let me tell you about my dream trip to Knaresborough.
It was a hot and very humid early Friday morning in York. The birds were chirping, Weatherspoons was already full of people drinking pints over breakfast and I was melting in my thick shirt and corduroy trousers! What on earth was I thinking?!
Anyway, I met my friends, Claudia (aka Wren & Rust - instagram @wrenandrust) and Katherine (aka instagram @katherine_of_yorkshire) at the train station to venture outside of York in search of antiques for the first time since lockdown. Masked up and with a brew we couldn't drink because of the masks, we set off to Knaresborough.
We arrived in Knaresborough after a short but beautiful train journey. Now, if you haven't been to Knaresborough before, I highly recommend it. It is beautiful. Claudia was so excited upon arrival that she threw her, now cold, cup of tea all over herself! Mopping Claudia down, we made our way up the steep winding hill from the station. With the blue skies, the blazing sun and the beautiful buildings, we could have easily been in the South of France... ! We went in search of treasures and by gawd, we found them at Donkeys Years!
Now, I don't if it's just me, but when I find a place as good as Donkeys Years, I get very very excited. So much so in fact, I tend to bring up a little bit of sick in my mouth. Should I see a Doctor...? I was overwhelmed with the quality, the variety and the great prices at Donkeys Years.
I did an initial lap, photographing items of interest as I went.
Meanwhile, Claudia didn't mess around. She was straight in with her first purchase within minutes of arriving!
After several laps and having put a few items behind the sales desk, unfortunately "corduroy crotch" had well and truly set in, so I needed some fresh air, a good drying out and some well earned lunch! We hit a bakery and headed to Knaresbrough Castle for a picnic. Check out this view!
If you're interested, I had a pork, pea and mint pie followed by a raspberry tart and it was mega! Please see photos for just how much I enjoyed it. It's not important what the others had, this is my blog...
With my "corduroy crotch" now fully aired and dried, we headed straight back to Donkeys Years for "Round 2".
Claudia was about to make her 120th purchase of the day!
A couple of my favourite buys of the day were probably this unusual corked bottle with an etched boxing scene around it. I'm still researching this one, but it will be up on my website soon. You'll have to fight over it...! Nice lil' boxing joke there for you...
And this beautifully ornate Victorian papier-mache blotter with mother of pearl inlay.
Meanwhile, Claudia's favourite finds of the day were these two...
And Katherine's was this Victorian ale glass!
Having spent a good 4 hours in Donkeys Years, it was time to go. So, we picked Claudia up and carried her out before she could make her 121st purchase of the day, and went to get an ice cold pint or two.
I'd like to say a massive thank you to the lady working in Donkeys Years last Friday. It was very hot and sticky that day, it got very busy in the shop and there were a lot of people wanting assistance, not to mention her having to put up with us three for four hours! Despite all of this, she remained calm, helpful and utterly charming. So thank you again! I just wish I could remember your name... Sorry.
So, that's it folks! I hope you've enjoyed this day out in Knaresborough. If you haven't been, then do so as soon as you can. And if you are a lover of antiques, do yourself a favour and pay Donkeys Years a visit, you won't regret it... unless of course you buy as much as Claudia did and you have to carry it all home!
Also, go and have a look at Claudia's Etsy shop, '@WrenAndRust', and be sure to give her a follow on Instagram, @wrenandrust. She has some beautiful pieces for sale. And whilst you're at it, check out Katherine's Etsy shop, '@forbiddenbykatherine', and go follow her on Instagram, @katherine_of_yorkshire. She takes a bloomin' good black and white photo and sales them on her page. She has a very good, artistic eye... well, she has two, but you know what I mean...!
Well, that's your lot for this week. Keep buying antiques and supporting those small independents. But most importantly, stay safe out there! Until next week, cheerio!
Stephen
Owner Source Vintage
Shop from Source Vintage here
Hi Simon and Julie. Thanks so much for commenting and I’m pleased you liked my post. I very much recommend starting a blog. It’s a big commitment because of the time it takes, but it’s very much worthwhile. I hope to see you in the not too distant future at your fantastic shop! Stay safe. All the best, Stephen
Forgive us for not responding sooner, we are now in lockdown mark III and at last we have the time to sit down an practice “mindfulness” . Also we are just getting our head round social media and blogs etc. One of the great things in life is continually learning and gathering information, hence why we became antique dealers- no two days are ever the same. We thank you for your wonderful report and your inspirational blog- itching to have a go ourselves, so perhaps that is our new positive of this hopefully final lockdown #staysafe and many thanks Simon and Julie Ogley owners of Donkeys Years
Forgive us for not responding sooner, we are now in lockdown mark III and at last we have the time to sit down an practice “mindfulness” . Also we are just getting our head round social media and blogs etc. One of the great things in life is continually learning and gathering information, hence why we became antique dealers- no two days are ever the same. We thank you for your wonderful report and your inspirational blog- itching to have a go ourselves, so perhaps that is our new positive of this hopefully final lockdown #staysafe and many thanks Simon and Julie Ogley owners of Donkeys Years