Friday, 5th September                    YORK

Robyn writes: We're really pleased we chose Yorkshire for our last week in the UK - we had a great day today. This morning dawned cool and foggy, but the forecast was for an unheard of low risk of rain and 24 degrees, so I recklessly set out without my rain jacket! We headed out to the Park & Ride to go into York again. We got in there at around 10.30, got off at Picadilly and walked in the direction of the Railway Museum, which was across the river and through the city walls. It was free to get in, but we gave them a 10 pound donation and went off to explore the huge array of trains. Lex went off to a talk about the "Duchess of Hamilton" steam train first, and I went off to look at the royal trains - those which were used by Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George VI. We enjoyed looking at all of the trains and watched a display of their turntable, then had a nice lunch (vegetable soup) in their cafe. It's a wonderful museum, with so many different trains from the UK right from the very beginning of the railway era.

Me with one of the first trains built in 1829, just after Stephenson's Rocket

The Mallard, the fastest steam train ever

Can you see Lex dwarfed by this huge steam train made for China just before WWII?

After lunch, I left Lex to the trains and headed off into the city again. The fog had cleared and it was beautifully sunny and warm. Then I walked to the city walls and then up along the closest wall until I got to the building at the gate where the Henry VII museum is - I had an enjoyable time looking at the exhibits there. Then I went into the town to have a wander through the markets and shops until it was time to meet Lex at 3 - we'd arranged to meet up and go on an Ouse river cruise. Well, 3 o'clock came and went, but my husband didn't! The cruise went off upriver, and I got an icecream and a text to say that he was running late. I decided to have a cuppa while waiting at a nearby cafe out on the cobblestones near the boat dock, but everyone else (the sunlight had brought out all of the tourists in droves) had the same idea. After standing in line for fifteen minutes, I realised I wouldn't get served before the next cruise even if I did get a table, so I gave up and went to wait at the boat, which was ready for the 3.30 cruise. Lex then finally turned up, so we bought our tickets and went on board.

The cruise was very relaxing and enjoyable - we went upstream then turned around to go back through the city centre again. It was nice to see York from the river, and to take the weight off our feet for a while!

Cruise boat on the Ouse

Relaxed tourist

Clifford's Tower (lots more spiral stone staircases to climb!)

Me at the top of the tower

After the cruise, we walked around to Clifford's tower, the remaining keep of York Castle, which is on a mound near the river. This is English Heritage, so we got in for free and climbed right to the top of the tower to see the view from there. It's the last remaining part of York Castle and was built by Henry III in the late 1200s. The roof has been gone for centuries, but English Heritage has saved and stabilised the tower. The view was great.

By now it was about half past five, so we walked back to the bus stop and luckily, once again there was a bus waiting there. We hopped on and we were back at the Park & Ride before 6. When we got back to Pocklington, we popped into the Co-op to get some groceries for tea, then came home.

It seemed like a good idea to go for just one drink at "Toddy's", the little pub across the road....that's until we were hijacked by the locals! We were soon chatting to everyone, and I had just finished my glass of wine, when the barmaid topped it up and informed us that Steve, the local school principal, had just bought us another drink each. Some time later I tore myself away, said my goodnights and reeled out, callously abandoning Lex to his fate - I just had to come home and cook some tea and eat. One good square meal later I was recovering but Lex didn't turn up until after 9 - bearing two bottle of "The Hop Studio", a local porter, and a pale ale pressed on him by one of the locals who works in a microbrewery near York. He has since had tea and shows signs of recovery!

Herriot Country - beautiful views in the Yorkshire Dales

Lots of stone fences

It's autumn and the farmers are making hay while the sun shines....

Thursday, 4th September                                                              POCKLINGTON - YORKSHIRE DALES

Robyn writes: Another big day in Yorkshire, and the weather continues to be kind to us - it's been a warm (over 20 degrees!) day with no rain at all. Overcast, of course, for a lot of the day but very pleasant.

Today we set out to explore 'Herriot Country' - the Yorkshire Dales area made famous by James Herriot's books and TV series "All Creatures Great and Small". It was about an hour's drive to the north-west from here. James Herriot was the pen-name of vetinary surgeon Alf Wight, and we travelled to Thirsk to visit "James Herriot's World", the museum which has been set up in the original house and surgery where he worked and lived for so long. It's all set up just as it was in the 1950s when it was their family home as well as the surgery. Lex wasn't keen on seeing it, so he set off for a walk around the town while I enjoyed myself immensely looking through the house. Having read all of his books, it was wonderful to be able to see where it all happened in real life. They also had a movie about Alf Wight's life and several of the sets from the BBC TV series made in the seventies. I spent a very enjoyable hour and a half there before having a walk around town and meeting up with Lex at one o'clock. We decided to have lunch at the Black Bull pub there before heading out of town again.

The surgery at Skeldale House



The kitchen

Me in the lounge area of the house from the TV series

In front of the surgery

Lex in front of the Black Bull

We wanted to see something of the Yorkshire Dales, so headed west out of Thirsk towards Aysgarth, up in the national park. Unfortunately there was a lot of haze around so our visibility wasn't great, but there were some glorious views as we hurtled along the tiny lanes enclosed by stone walls. Then we went south right through the national park to Skipton and then home again via the ring road around York. Lots of traffic once we got to near York but we finally got here around six. Again a lot of driving but worth it to see so much beautiful countryside.

When we got back to town, we popped into the Co-op to get some groceries for tea tonight (chicken nachos) and headed home, glad to relax. Tomorrow is our last full day in Yorkshire so we will hopefully have a nice day in York.

Wednesday, 3rd September       POCKLINGTON - YORK

Robyn writes: We've had such a big day today! This morning we headed out just after 10 to drive to the outskirts of York, where our nearest Park & Ride is located at Grimston Bar. Here there's a free car park (always good) and there are frequent buses to take you into the city centre for about 5 pounds return for both of us. There was a bus waiting when we got there, so we were quickly on our way. The trip only took about 10 minutes, then we got off at Picadilly, near a lovely Tudor merchant's house.

Me at the start of the Shambles

Lex on the lower roof level, halfway up on our climb

Climbing medieval spiral stone staircases - one of our favourite UK hobbies!

View from the top

A jumble of medieval roofs and streets

We decided that our first destination for the day should be York Minster. This very impressive cathedral dominates the skyline and is absolutely huge and beautiful. We walked through the 'Shambles', a medieval street which is just lovely - lots of tiny little shops in higgledy-piggledy crooked medieval buildings of all shapes and sizes. When we got to the minster, we paid our admission - 10 pounds each plus another 5 each to climb the tower. We figure we've now given a hefty donation to the maintenance and repair of the building! We had about a quarter of an hour to have a quick look around and then our tower tour started. Because there isn't that much room on top, they strictly limit the numbers which are up there at any given time, and ensure that traffic on the tiny medieval stone spiral staircase is one way only. Thank heavens! There were allegedly 271 steps to the top - a nice morning workout! The views from the top were lovely apart from the haze today, which made seeing beyond the city impossible. We survived the trip up and down (surprisingly the trip down is almost even harder than the trip up - it's very hard on the leg muscles!) By the time we got down I was very ready for a cuppa, so we went to the cafe area provided by the church ladies and had a lovely slice of cake and cup of tea each, before continuing around the church. We went into the chapter house, which is absolutely stunning - the most beautiful medieval tiles floor, vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. Then we went down into the undercroft, where we saw a lot of the archaeology from the Roman fort and earlier church on the same site. In the 1960s and 70s, the minster was in grave danger of collapse and required massive work to support it. We could see the huge concrete slabs which now form the foundation, and the displays of their finds while this was being done were very interesting. Just before one, we went back up to join a guided tour which took us around and told us all of the history of the church, which was started in 1080 but the current building was finished in the late 1400s.



Stunning painted ceiling in the chapter house

These are a few of my favourite kings....Richard the Lion-heart and John the bad

Incredible stained glass dating back to the Norman era - around 900 years old.

By the time the tour was finished after two, we were hungry (well, I was!) so we headed out into the streets to look for lunch. We settled on a pub in a medieval building, the House of Trembling Madness. Very evocative name! It was extremely atmospheric with very interesting decor, including a skull and heaps of mounted animal heads (including a kangaroo.) Unfortunately the service wasn't as good as the decor; our lunch took about 40 minutes to come so we were rather hungry by this stage. Not to mention seeing our afternoon being frittered away, as everything closes at 5.

After lunch, we went our separate ways, and Lex went off to Jorvic, the Viking Experience. He said it was smallish, but very good with a glass floor above a reconstruction of the Viking floor. There was also a very impressive ride which took them through a reconstruction of the village which was there in the first millenium. I went off to see the Richard III museum, which was also smallish but very interesting. Then I went for a walk along the adjoining piece of remaining city walls - not as big and impressive as Derry's, but a wonderful survival nonetheless. When I came back down again I went back through the lovely old shops for a look and then into the minster to finish looking at the undercroft. We were very lucky with the weather today - quite warm at around 20 degrees and no rain, though it was cloudy all day.

Interesting wall décor at the House of Trembling Madness

Me hanging with Richard III!

We met up just after 5, and went off for a walk around the city centre before heading back to Picadilly to catch the bus. Fortunately one rolled up just as we got there, so we were soon on our way and were home again just before 6. I flopped in a heap while Lex went off for a bit of a walk (obviously hadn't had quite enough exercise....) then we cooked tea and are now happily sorting photos, blog etc. It's half past eight and it's dark! The days are certainly drawing in now that it's autumn.

Tuesday, 2nd September            POLKINGTON

Robyn writes: A lovely sunny start to the day with the sunshine streaming through the beautiful circular stained glass window in our bedroom. I took advantage of the nice weather to put on a first load of washing after breakfast. It's lovely to be in self-catering and have the joys of your own washing machine, and Helen had left a note to say feel free to use the clothesline in the back yard.

Our lovely bedroom with stained glass window

After I'd put the washing on, we headed up the street (about a minute's stroll) to the weekly market. We really enjoyed looking around at all of the stalls, plus we went to the local shops such as the deli, butcher and baker to get some groceries for our stay. It's always lovely having the chance to chat to the locals. Lex ended up with two bottles of "Bad Kitty", a local vanilla-flavoured porter (he has since tried it and reported that it is very nice). We wandered home with our purchases to put the kettle on for a cuppa and enjoy the baker's cakes for morning tea before hanging out the washing. I put on another load, then Lex went out for a walk around town while I headed for the Co-op's main shop in town to find the remaining milk and other groceries we hadn't got in the main street. Pocklington is a beautiful little town and is your classic little English township. Some lovely shops to explore! When I'd got everything, I headed home, meeting Lex just as we were both walking in the gate. We had lunch, then headed out in the car to explore Yorkshire a bit.

We drove first of all to Whitby, about 70km away through the North Yorkshire Moor National Park. This took us up high and through some amazing scenery - the heather is mostly still blooming and lovely and purple. Whitby is a seaside town - very popular and full of tourists. No parks so we couldn't stop, and kept going south towards Scarborough. We'd been hoping to stop at Ravencar, a National Trust place with sea views and walking paths we'd read about in the Trust book, but didn't see the sign to it we'd been promised. We did pass a Trust sign to "Coastal Path", and now think that must have been it. Not very helpful! By now it was heavily overcast and there was a fog rolling in, so we possibly wouldn't have seen much anyway....

Beautiful scenery on the moors

Although it's now autumn, a lot of the heather is still blooming

So we ended up in Scarborough, and like the Qld version, it's a seaside town - obviously originally Victorian, and there are still lots of lovely big Victorian buildings there. We stopped at a seaside cafe for me to get a takeaway cuppa, and looked at the seaside. Very overcast and about 16 degrees. Not very welcoming! We kept driving around the point and into the bay, which was also full of tourists. We almost got a park...but someone came right up behind us and Lex couldn't back into it! And that was our last chance. So we kept driving, and came back to Pocklington to the south via Burton Agnes, Market Weighton and Driffield. We got home around ten to six. It was quite a lot of driving but we did see a lot of Yorkshire, including the moors and The Wold. We've looked up 'wold' - it means a high forest (though in fairness I'd have to say that there's not much forest left!)

A beautiful day at the beach - Scarborough

Victorian seascape in Scarborough around the bay. Note the castle complex on the top of the hill!

For tea we had lovely Yorkshire sausages from our friendly local butcher. With onion and mushroom gravy, they were delicious. For dessert, strawberries which were on special in the market this morning. So far, Yorkshire is meeting all of our expectations!

One of the recreated gardens at Kenilworth Castle. This one is outside the gatehouse.

The large Privy garden, with the Norman keep behind.

Lex on the terrace

Looking down on the garden

Kenilworth Castle

Carpenter's Cottage in Pocklington, our home for the next 6 days.

Monday, 1st September   FIRST DAY OF THE UK AUTUMN

OXFORD - YORKSHIRE

Robyn writes: Another moving to a new accommodation day, and our last one for the trip, really, as the next one will be packing up and heading to stay with Carol, Dave and Glen for a night before we fly out.


Yesterday was such a glorious afternoon and evening - so sunny with bright blue skies; very appropriate for the last day of summer. This morning dawned appropriately miserable to mark the beginning of autumn - we woke to a cool, grey, rainy Oxford. After a last delicious and huge hotel breakfast, we packed (or crammed, in my case....I am SO over packing!), booked out, and headed north just before 10.


Thankfully today, our satnav seemed to be in a benevolent mood and we had no trouble in setting a course for Kenilworth Castle, about an hour's drive north of Oxford through some lovely scenery. We arrived just after 11 and used our English Heritage membership to get in. Interestingly, as we walked up, the man at the door greeted us with, "You'll be members, then!" We were highly gratified to think that we obviously look like history buffs! We waved our membership cards around and got our admission stickers, audio guides and a map and set out to explore the castle.


Kenilworth Castle dates back to the 1200s. It was built by Geoffrey de Clinton, and his huge Norman keep is still partly standing today. Later in the 1400s it was owned and greatly extended by John of Gaunt, and it then became a royal castle before being passed to the Dudleys, most notably John (executed by Bloody Mary for trying to put his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey on the throne) and his son Robert, the great love of Elizabeth 1's life. He also built a huge new building, gatehouse and garden. All of the castle remained in excellent conditon until after the Civil War when Oliver Cromwell ordered it to be rendered unrepairable, so it could never again be used as a fortification. They did a good job of trashing all of the buildings except the gatehouse and the stables. As I think I've said before, when you're contemplating a building in ruins in the UK it's usually down to either Henry VIII, Oliver Cromwell or Adolf Hitler. Destructive bastards all three.


We used our audio guides to go through the ruins of the castle, which would have been amazing to see in its heydey. Disappointingly, though, we couldn't go into the 'new' wing that Robert Dudley built for Elizabeth - it's currently having new metal staircases put throughout the ruins so when they're open, you'll be able to go right up to the top...but they're not quite finished yet. Bugger. However, the main thing we went to see was the garden. This had been 'lost' for centuries, but English Heritage archaeologists determined how and where it was laid out, and after a huge amount of research over the last two decades, they've rebuilt and replanted the gardens as close to the original as possible. It was a 'privy' garden, just for Dudley and Elizabeth and close friends and attendants, and it is just lovely and so impressive to see what they've managed to achieve. They've rebuilt a huge bird cage which has pheasants and other smaller birds in it as well, so we could channel Tudor vibes and enjoy the ambience! It's just a pity that it was so overcast/drizzly - it would have been lovely to see on a sunny day like yesterday.


When we'd finished exploring the castle and gardens, we went down to the cafe in the stables and had delicious cheese & onion pasties and salads for lunch. Very warming on a rainy day. Then we went through the gatehouse which had a really interesting display about Elizabeth and Dudley, and finally decided we'd better be on our way.


We headed north again and all was going well when...you guessed it, the dreaded message "Severe delays" once more. I checked the map and we headed off the M1 around the congested area and went through Nottingham instead - a nice looking city and we got to drive through some of Sherwood Forest as well so that was a bit of a bonus. It was getting quite late though so we didn't have time to stop at the Robin Hood centre. Thankfully we were soon back on the M1 again and had no more troubles apart from the odd bit of roadwork, and arrived here at 5.


We're in Carpenter's Cottage in Pocklington, a little village about 15km east of York. We have a gorgeous little one bedroomed cottage in the yard of a house owned by Helen and Patrick, our extremely nice and friendly landlords. James is also a Grade 5 teacher and just started work again today after the summer holidays so I extended my deepest sympathies. Our cottage was built around 1850 as probably an animal shed, but James has done a fantastic job on the renovation. We unpacked, then walked just up the road where there is a little "Co-op" store for groceries for tonight and breakfast, and will go to the bigger Sainsbury's a few blocks away tomorrow, plus we've been told there's a local food market as well. Lex is ecstatic that we look out of the window at "Toddy's", the pub right across the road! We've had tea and are putting our feet up after a few very hectic Oxford days plus a long day on the road. Lex also just got to watch the replay of yesterday's MotoGP on TV which he was very pleased to see. We've now got 6 days to explore Yorkshire!

Sunday 31 August 2014

A second day in Oxford beckoned, with more beautiful buildings and more history to take in. We repeated yesterday's schedule of breakfast at the hotel, but today I looked around the dining room more. It was full of people over 70. All the staff were being careful not to trip us up, or startle anybody. It felt like an old people's home.

We got out of there, drove to the Park & Ride, and took bus into town. We made it to the 11 o'clock walking tour of the university. Our guide was Matthew, a recent graduate of the university, with a degree in psychology. He started the tour by showing us where Elizabeth the first had Archbishop Cramner burned at the stake. The spot is now in the middle of Broad street. From there he took us to Brasenose College refectory. In there is the Brasenose door knocker that gave the college its name. It's just a brass knocker in the shape of a monkey's head (I think).

The knocker. Don't laugh - one of the most prestigious colleges in Oxford pays homage to this......thing !

Next, he showed us the college chapel. Every college has one, and until about 80 years ago, students were forced to attend services. Anybody who refused (and the poet Shelley did) was kicked out of the college (and he left). Also, women were not admitted to any of the colleges for the first 800 years. The last college to admit women changed its men-only policy in 1979.

We visited the church of St Mary the virgin. This place actually housed the university library until a separate building was erected. This was the old Bodlean library. The church was also used for graduation ceremonies until the Sheldonian Theatre was built. Now it is the church of the Dons (the professors).

As we left, Matthew showed us where C.S. Lewis stood when he had the idea for the book of Nania (The Lion, the Witch, and The wardrobe). He stepped through a door, and felt the snow beneath his feet. Looking up, he saw a carving of a goat, then on a door, a carving of a lion. Finally to his right he saw a lamppost. Except for the snow, we saw exactly the same things today.

We later came back to the church and climbed the 131 steps to the top of the tower. It gave us good views of the nearby city area. However the walkway around the spire was so narrow that people had to turn sideways to let other pass. It looked like a good place to push someone over the low wall (sound like a plot for an episode of "Morse").

 

The tower of St Mary's has carvings all over it, including the gargoyle at the top of the picture. The opening behind Robyn is wide enough for one person only.

We saw the Radcliffe Camera (reading room, associated with the university library) from the outside. This is the round building with the big dome on top. It is apparently the most photographed building of the university.

 

The Radcliffe camera. Radcliffe put up the money to build it. The original meaning of "camera" was room. This place is a reading room for people who borrow books from the Bodlean Library.

　

Matthew, our guide then took us into the university's School of Divinity. It dates from 1430. Being a beautiful gothic building, it was used for some scenes in the Harry Potter movies. It was Hogwart's Infirmary. The sandstone carvings look like they were only finished yesterday.

The inside of the School of Divinity. Full of 15th century craftsmanship.

It was just a short walk to the quadrangle. This area is surrounded (on the ground and first floors) by various university faculties on all sides, with the main gate incorporated into one side. On the second floor, the Bodlean library on three sides. The fourth side has various offices and, and the decoration above the main gate. It actually isn't that big, but it is very old.

We later came back here, and took a separate tour of the library. That was impressive. The Bodlean is a copyright library. A copy of every book and every magazine published in Britain is sent to this library. That is several thousand - per week ! This place has been a copyright library since 1610. They now have eight buildings, and just one of those holds 5 million books. Unbelievable !

Our first tour ended outside the Sheldonian theatre, where we were shown the "Bride of Sighs". This was given its name because it looks just like the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Its original name (and arguably, its correct name) is the Hertford College bridge. It joins two buildings belonging to Hertford College.

Just a little feature down a side street in Oxford......

The first tour was a real tour of the history and geography of the university- and well worth doing. It was technically free, but everybody happily gave Matthew a donation. He has applied to the university to do a PHD (Doctorate) in psychology. The subject of his thesis is to be stress; he will find plenty to talk about.

At Robyn's suggestion, we walked to the "Eagle and Child" pub and had a very nice lunch (and a local real ale). The reason we chose this pub was that this was JRR Tolkein's watering hole. He, C.S. Lewis and others would meet here for a few drinks and a chat. Tolkein wrote The Hobbit during this time, and started writing Lord of the Rings while he was studying at Exeter college (in Oxford).

Robyn posing in front of the pub, even though she has never written a book.

The second tour took us through the School of Divinity again (we'd been there during the first tour), and the library. The highlight of that one was the old library, known as Duke Humfrey's library. All the books in it seem to be hundreds of years old, and most are. We were not allowed to take photos, which is a pity. The place looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie, and the books are priceless. From the covers, I deduced that most are written in Latin.

We headed home via the bus/car to our hotel, and changed. I drove the car to the Trout Hotel, a little pub beside the Thames River, about 1 kilometer from our hotel. Sitting at one of the outside tables with a beer in my hand, I noticed a large fish (about 50 cm) swimming around below me. It was a chub- not good eating as its too bony, but lovely to look at. I didn't order the fish on the menu, or the duck. A local duck had flown up to us and sat on the low wall beside us. It was after food. When we didn't give it any, it waddled along the wall to the next table- where it stuffed itself on chips. It was all so peaceful and warm (for the last day of summer) as we watched the sun go down. We weren't the first to do this. Morse and Lewis had sat on this same terrace and had a beer looking at the Thames and the sunset. Robyn was happy; I didn't want to leave.

The Trout; the place looks five hundred years old from the outside. That water lapping the wall is the Thames River. 

 

The view from the other side of the wall

Reality finally imposed itself on us, and we headed home to pack. Tomorrow, we go to Pocklington, near York.

Bye for now

Lex and Robyn.