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Saturday, July 6: We packed up, had breakfast, and set out for Guisborough and the home of our friends Sonia and John Greenwood. The planning wasn't the best on my part, and we got tangled up in a great deal of local traffic in the towns north of Manchester. I hadn't realized how urban it is almost all the way from Manchester to Leeds. We took the motorway from Leeds to Thirsk and then a secondary road to a small one lane road which took us through some lovely countryside, the kind of driving Buzz enjoys most. We did have an encounter with a very large Land Rover which necessitated our backing up on this narrow road to a place where two vehicles could get through.
We drove thought Great Ayton, birthplace of Captain James Cook and on to Guisborough, Cooks boyhood home. We were warmly welcomed by Sonia and John, had a rest and a snack, and then they took us out on a tour of the area. We started at Redcar where John used to work, then went on to Saltburn. In its prime, visitors from London came to Saltburn by train for their summer holidays. The train actually went through one of the great hotels discharching it's passengers inside. We walked down the steep flights of stairs to take a walk on the Pier. There is a yarn bomb on the pier railing. Knitters fashion all sorts of objects...usually seaside related...and attach them to the railing at night. This means that the display, from seashells to mermaids, is ever changing. After our walk on the pier, we took the funicular back to the top where the car was parked. The funicular opened in 1884. It is water powered and climbs the 207 foot track in 55 seconds. The fee is 50p (about 75 cents) one way for pensioners. We had a lovely dinner out and thenan evening at home.
Sunday, July 7: This morning I awoke at 5 AM. I meant to mention earlier that the days are much longer here than at home. It is breaking daylight at about 4:30 in the morning, and still light at 10:00 PM. We had a leisurely morning and then left for a wonderful day of touring. We started with a visit to ruins of the Guisborough Priory and then on to the North Yorkshire Moors before going on to the seaside town of Whitby all with excellent commentary from Sonai and John. John has actually walked about 10,000 miles of walkiing tracks over the moors. He is working on getting Sonia's mileage up as well. We stopped at the Lion Inn at Blakey Junction, a crowded Pub/B&B seemingly in the middle of nowhere, for lunch and then had an ice crem later by the sea in Whitiby. The scenery is everything one expects of the English countryside. There are narrow roads, great expanses of green countryside, charming villages, sheep wandering the roadside unattended. We are much reminded of New Zealand and can surely understand why the English settled in so well there in the early days.
A light supper at home and a quiet evening ended a lovely day. Tomorrow we ae off to Ripon and a visit to Fountains Abbey.
Monday, July 8: The visit to Fountains Abbey in Ripon near Thirsk was excellent. There is an admission fee which includes tours by very knowledgable guides. Sonia and John had been there before and said that different guides focus on different aspects of the Abbey. Ours focused on the architecture. The remains of this 14th Century Abbey show the great craftsmanship of the time...from the arched great dining hall to the soaring windows and later added tower. I always marvel at the accomplishments of the early builders who had none of the "mod-cons" builders have today. Only men were allowed inside the gates of the Abbey (Buzz said it was because silence was required within the Abbey and women couldn't comply) , but there was accommodation outside the gates for women travelers.
Tomorrow we set off for Leeds.
- comments
Joe and Mary Commentary and pix excellent! Sounds like a wonderful trip.
jim grayson i guess you wouldnt have been too far from Glossop and Hathersage on your travels Elaine - the Grayson clan came out of there and we still have rellies there whom we visited in 2008. it is a beautiful part of England. loved your blog- glad you got some golden syrup. Sam, Hannah and leo have just moved back into town to be closer to Laidlaw college. we miss the patter of tiny feet. J & H