There and Back

A mixture of images from more of our Dales exploration starting with a visit to a ruined abbey. Yorkshire certainly has its fair share of these!  Jervaulx Abbey is the country's largest privately owned Cistercian Abbey, most others being in the hands of English Heritage or National Trust. It is situated in East Witton near the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, dedicated to St. Mary in 1156. It is a Grade I listed building.  At the height of its prosperity the abbey owned half of the valley and was renowned for breeding horses, a tradition that remains in Middleham to the present day. It was also the original home of Wensleydale cheese. In 1279 Abbot Philip of Jervaulx was murdered by  one of his monks. His successor, Abbot Thomas, was initially accused of the crime, but a jury later determined that he was not to blame, and another monk fled under outlawry.  Like many of the 900 or so religious building in Henry VIII time, it dec

On the way to our holiday cottage in Marrick, we stopped at Richmond where we visited the castle and toured the town before doing some shopping. Richmond Castle is the best-preserved example of an early Norman castle in England apparently. Probably begun in the 1070s by Alan Rufus, who had fought at the Battle of Hastings, it was expanded in the 12th century by his great-nephew Conan, who built the keep. By 1540 the castle was derelict, but it later became a popular tourist destination. During the First World War it was used as a prison for conscientious objectors, including the Richmond Sixteen. Who? - The Richmond Sixteen were a group of "absolutist" British conscientious objectors during the First World War. Conscripted into the British Army in 1916, they refused to undertake even non-combatant military duties. Brought together at Richmond Castle, Yorkshire, most not knowing each other previously, they were transported to France, where they were court-martialled and form

Today our aim is to explore more of York, using a bus ride, a walk on the wall and just walking!  York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Walls, the Bar Walls and the Roman walls (though this last is a misnomer as very little of the extant stonework is of Roman origin, and the course of the wall has been substantially altered since Roman times). To see York it is a great idea to follow the wall trails, somehow you get a different perspective other than walking at street level. So, to the walls we went. The Minster from the wall walk. You certainly get a different feel of the place as you are above the general traffic. Not sure how old this advert is but I expect quite a few years! The walls are punctuated by four main gatehouses, or 'bars', (B