3 August 2012 – West Witton
Yesterday was the grand tour of the
dales in circuit that took in Swaledale, Wharfedale, Coverdale,
Wensleydale and Arkengarthdate. We had a suggested route from our hosts which
took us over the moors and through the dales with stops at Askrigg
and Hawes to visit locations used for the TV series All Creatures
Great & Small. Once again the gentle valleys, dry stone walls,
small market towns and mellow stone buildings created a gentle image
of farming in a bygone age. The cows can be weird too...
A pub in Askrigg used in the TV series
 |
| The market square in Hawes, also used in the series |
A view over Wharfedale
A local
I thoroughly enjoyed the roads, but Gillian has worn her fingernails to the bone hanging on in terror. I should mention that we stopped in Hawes and wandered round finishing up up gthe Wensleydale Creamery. Here they have over 25 cheeses available for free tasting. After the first dozen it is hard to remember the order of preference and to find room for lunch afterwards.
Today we spent time in Bolton Castle,
principally famous as the prison for Mary Queen of Scots, but had to
rush the visit as it was closing for the afternoon for a wedding.
The exterior of the castle is impressive as it is still the full
height in most ares and once inside it is larger than it looked. The
Parliamentary forces tried to destroy it in the 1600's, but a
reasonable amount still remains including the shell of the guest
tower & great hall, the family rooms where Mary was kept, 2 major
reception rooms and most of the ground floor rooms. The castle was
built in the 1300's and reflects the wealth and status of the Scrope
family with lavish proportions and facilities – even the dungeon
has an en-suite garde-robe (loo).
Bolton Castle
Looking down into the courtyard from the battlements
This is at a 6th floor level !
While we were there we watched a demonstration of hawk handling in the courtyard. Apparently the family makeup involves one female with 2 or more males to keep her company...
A hawk landed on his handler.
We then wandered around the market town
of Richmond which is centred around a large cobbled marketplace and
has the obligatory large castle overlooking it.
Marketplace at Richmond
Richmond Castle
A road sign seen on the moors
And I thought the idea for the military was to catch the world by surprise.....
Your own castle! How neat.
ReplyDeleteWe had a stunning weekend, balmy temperatures and only a sprinkling of rain once, late afternoon. Does not feel like winter at all.
Evryone is good at work, just very busy. I have been away for a few days break, driving to Whanganui and Wellington to visit the kids. Was nice to get away, just too short.
Looking forward to catching up when you are back home. Surely you will have much to tell.
Take care and look after yourself.