Tuesday 9 September - Ripon

Eddie Brown's route 142 bus took us to Ripon by an interesting route through a number of villages. At Marton the phone box on the green had been turned into a book exchange. At Ripon we first visited the cathedral which is in good repair and has excellent glass. Possibly the most pleasant cathedral we have visited. It is set in a quiet green area that doesn't have the large number of tourists that visit York. The sun was shining through the large windows and the organ was playing quietly. A quintessentially English cathedral.

The Ripon canal has been reopened and we lingered at the basin watching the ducks. The ducks grumbled when a dog dusturbed their repose and a few even went into the water.

Walking back into town we were surprised to find a ford which is very well used. The path beside the river is more pleasant than that along the canal because it is quieter. A robin was watching us as it sang its high pitched trill to others hidden in the trees. The Tour de France passed through Ripon and terminated in Harrogate and everywhere there are reminders. The main square of Ripon had been yarn bombed with small yellow, green and polka spotted jerseys. The naim square at Boroughbridge has been similarly decorated.

This doesn't seem a safe way to place a ladder in a busy street.

After lunch at the Unicorn we went to the Spa Gardens which were well kept but which didn't keep us very long and we decided to take the Eddie Brown1415 bus back.
Click here to see all pictures taken at Ripon
This meandered through even more villages than before but we enjoyed it very much. The grain has been completely harvested and the hay bales brought in. The sun was shining brightly and it was warm although there are now definite signs of autumn.

We had dinner in the Blue Bicycle and then had a drink in the Blue Bell where I tried a Yorkshire, Bradford, Salamander Brewery Five Faced Bishop stout. It was pretty good with a rich consistency and taste similar to Guinness but slightly more bitter but with hints of chocolate

Monday 8 September - Harrogate, Knaresborough

Walking along Lendal to the station this morning there was an old, confused lady in a dark blue print dress. Using a walking stick and smoking a cigarette she looked at the confusion of delivery vans and said to nobody in particular:
" Bloody 'ell".
We took the train directly to Harrogate. There are many signs of autumn. The hawthorn bushes have a lot of red berries and several apple trees were well laden with fruit. The fields are populated with magpies, rabbits and old lambs.

There are reminders of the Tour de France everywhere

Harrogate is a high end place with many expensive shops but very few pubs. There is a large green area in the centre which must be left open in perpetuity. There are a lot of massive stone buildings, seriously in need of cleaning which impart a grim, sombre feel to the place. 

Maybe there's more going on here than meets the eye, or maybe its my sick sense of humor.

We left Harrogate sooner than expected and came back to Knaresborough which has real people and gives the impression of being lived in. There are a number of buildings decorated in a black and white checker board fashion. 

An unusual checker board pattern of decoration.

We walked along to the castle and admired the view over the river Nidd then found the Crown for lunch (chili and steak and kidney pudding).

The classic view of a train traversing the Knaresborough viaduct

More Tour de France

Knaresborough has a lot to offer and we enjoyed walking along by the River Nidd even though part of the walk was through a parking lot close to the river bank. There were a lot of very small fish swimming in the shallow water which was warmed by the sun. Much of the river bank is in thick woodland and at one point we were walking through a forest of holly trees. Crossing a field we watched a sparrowhawk hovering about 30 feet above the grass. It was able to stay stationary by flapping its wings as opposed to other hawks which glide in the air currents. We had about an hour to wait for the train back to York which we spent in the Mitre with a very acceptable pint of Black Sheep bitter. 

 

There is still some semaphore signalling in this area and Knaresborough actually has an unusual stone signal box. There are also two sections of single line working using electric train staffs.

Semaphore signalling

An unusual stone signalbox

Click here to see pictures taken at Harrogate and Knaresborough

One feature we have noticed in the entire area we have visited is "Award Winning" "Prize Winning" "World Famous".  It seems that every Fish and Chip Shop, Pub or brand of Ice Cream has won a prize marking it as the best. There must be a lot of competitions.

Sunday 7 September - York, Merchant Adventurers Hall

Early morning view of the Minster from the city wall close to the station

It was sunny today although the wind cooled things down a bit.

We have only just noticed Lady Pecket's Yard which is right across the street. It is a delightful alley way which contains a coatwainer which is a craftsman who makes high quality shoes as opposed to a cobbler who repairs shoes.

The Coatwainer is on the left.

The Guildhall of the Company of Merchant Adventurers was open today at a cheap rate because there was an antiques fair in progress. The building is very old indeed and the great hall was impressive as was the chapel.

This stonework is above the entrance arch

The Great Hall was being used for an Antiques Fair

On the wall of the Great Hall

Stained glass window in the lower level

The Chapel

The outside is every much as impressive as the inside.

The Red Lion provided a very good dark mild and we were surprised that we were the only people in there.

The dark mild had a flavor of molasses

Lunch was a good carvery with roast beef, pork and Yorkshire pudding with lots of good vegetables.

Dessert

The west side of the Minster is beautiful in the evening light

Saturday 6 September - Market Rasen

Due to an East Coast cock-up our train to Newark was an electric one rather than the scheduled 40 year old diesel. Seat reservations were cancelled so it was a free for all.
Sheep dogs working a flock in a field. Cows coming out single file into a field after milking.
Just before Doncaster is a very long newly completed bridge over the main line which removes a bottleneck through the station.
Several lakes before Newark had many fishermen kitted out with canvas shelters to keep the rain off.
The train from Newark to Market Rasen was an overfull single car puddle jumper.
At Lincoln there were several Morris Dancers in full costumes - they went out to the derision of a football group travelling to Cleethorpes. The cathedral was hidden in the mist.

The puddle jumper at Market Rasen

We quickly found the model railway exhibition at which Brian's group was participating. Brian was out front talking to people. Their model of Market Rasen station was excellent, the first time it has been to an exhibition. There were several other layouts, mostly OO and mostly with local themes. The entire show was very well put together and the layouts were all exceptional. I lingered around several just watching the shunting moves.

Market Rasen coal staithes

Market Rasen showing the original overall roof

A nice shunting layout with plenty of interest.

We had an excellent lunch at the Aston Arms. Bombardier bitter and steak pie. Mary had an excellent full English breakfast with an enormous nicely herbed sausage and a great mound of back bacon.

It was raining a very fine mist as we walked around the market which is held on the first Saturday of each month. There was a good selection of locally made produce, jams, chutneys, cakes, pies etc. and we bought some good local cheddar which we had sampled.

 

The church was build of soft stone which has weathered significantly in parts.

A final visit to the model railway exhibition and we said good bye to Brian and made our way to the station via the bar of the Advocate Arms.
Click here to see all pictures taken at Market Rasen
The automatic station announcement explained the train was delayed - by one minute. There were only 8 people waiting to board the two car train which was empty in contrast to the over crowded one car train of this morning.
There was a signalling delay after Lincoln and we eventually passed a semaphore signal at danger.  As we started away there were two foxes sitting in a field watching us pass.
The train to York from Newark ran six minutes late because it was put out of Peterborough on the slow line - sounds like another cock-up.

Friday 5 September - Whitby and the North York Moors Railway

The double deck Coastliner bus took us directly to Whitby. We travelled via Malton and Pickering. The grain has been harvested and the hay made into very large bales. One of the problems at this time of year is the tractors that move large trailers of hay at slow speeds on the highway. We were delayed several times through this yet the bus was able to keep to the timetable throughout the two hour plus journey. At one point we made a detour to serve Flamingoland. We passed over a narrow stream along which two swans were taking three cygnets.  One white bird, one bringing up tgecrear and three brown grey birds in between. The stream was not more than a metre wide. It was misty in places and a thick fog developed as we climbed up to pass over the North York Moors. There were extensive patches of purple heather in which could be seen grazing sheep, many with curved horns. Over the moors the sheep grazed along the unfenced road. There were a few dry stone walls but mostly hedges to mark boundaries. Going along the high moorland roads in thick fog produced an atmosphere suitable for Bram Stoker (who wrote Frankenstein in Whitby) or the Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Magpie is a white building just right of centre

At Whitby we crossed the bridge to wander through the narrow cobbled streets. We were particularly taken with one place unusually named Arguments Yard. 

 

Returning across the bridge we were delayed as the span was opened to allow three yachts to exit the inner harbour. As expected, there was a preponderance of fish and chip shops, rock shops, ice cream vendors, pubs and amusement arcades.  We were taken with the Den of Antiquity. We had been recommended to try the Magpie which turned out to be an excellent fish restaurant. Not only did they serve superlative fish and chips but they had a very wide selection of fish and seafood and were skilled at preparation other than deep frying.

I started with a Whitby Kipper.  The bread and butter and strawberry were provided to cleanse the palate.

Mary started with an excellent plate of scallops

A six wheele3d Sentinel steam bus was giving rides around the town.

Nobody was in the water which even looked cold for paddling.

Whitby is a working port

There was time for a short walk to the sea wall and then we returned to the station to catch the train to Pickering. The NYMR has been running into Whitby for a couple of years now but the new platform and run round loop has only been in use for two weeks. There is a need to sort out the crowd control as the man technically in charge had no idea. Our train of old blood and spilt milk cars was scruffy and in need of a good clean. It was hauled by a Stanier class five. The route is pleasant enough but the ride was slow with a number of unexplained pauses. We saw several pheasants and although the line runs through the moors they are completely hidden because it is in a valley. The bus is a much better moors experience.

Stanier Black Five 45428 at Pickering

Click here to see all pictures taken at Whitby and Pickering
At Pickering we made our way to the Coastliner bus stop where we found two Australians and two Americans and a discussion ensued over the time of the next bus to York. They felt that the bus would arrive in two minutes but I pointed out that as it was a school day the bus had already left and we would have to wait an hour for the next one. We went into the nearby Royal Oak where the barmaid admitted that she had given wrong information as she had forgotten about schooldays.

The bus shelter was conveniently located close to the Royal Oak

John Smith's was excellent

The wait wasn't too much of a problem as we just bought a drink and sat in the bar where we had a long discussion with a 73 year old local who had had two strokes and a triple by pass.  "If you rest you rust".

While waiting for the bus we were observed from a room above the supermarket across the road

The bus arrived at the time I predicted and brought us back just after 6 o'clock. It was a good day but there was a lot of travelling just to spend a few hours on the coast.

This evening we tried a new pub, the Black Swan. It is just a short way away from the tourist area that it had mainly local people. The bar was pleasant and I enjoyed a Timothy Taylors Landlord.

Thursday 4 September - York Minster and the Stinking Bishop

View of the Minster in the morning sun

After the last couple of days we decided to stay around town today. 

After a full English breakfast with Fullers London Pride at the Old White Swan we went to the Minster. We spent some time and did a tour. The Chapter House was very impressive but the whole building is looking well and the tour guide was enthusiastic about the work that is being done.

Ceiling of the east transept

The centre of the ceiling of the Chapter House

This stone carving was above the Dean's seat in the Chapter House. One way the workmen could poke fun at their masters.

The Treasurers House is a National Trust property close by. It was bequeathed to the nation in the 1930s as a going concern. There is an impressive Grand Hall and the house was worth a visit - our Canadian memberships gave us free admission.

There was a short pause at the Hole in the Wall where I sampled a very passable bitter from Mansfield.

 

This beautifully restored and painted stone carving was at Petergate, part of the University of York

We walked through the museum gardens and sat for a while on the river bank.There were a lot of noisy ducks washing in the river then they all came out and hunkered down along the footpath. A couple of fishermen had a number of bites and one landed a fish almost two feet long.

Walking back to the apartment I bought some Stinking Bishop cheese. This is reputed to be the smelliest cheese in Yorkshire. It wasn't very stinky, not compared to an Epoisse or a ripe Roquefort, but it had a good flavour and a very smooth creamy texture under the brown, crusty rind.