Friday 12 September - Easingwold, Thirsk

Some of the buildings in the Shambles are set at odd angles to each other and horizontal.  They are all joined together so there is no danger of collapse.

York has no bus station but the bus routes and times through the town are carefully coordinated so that a small number of bus stops are conveniently situated to allow convenience and transfers. The Reliance #30 route bus leaves for Easingwold at Petersgate in a time slot for an 0930 departure. Arrival and departure were right on schedule, quite an achievement in this traffic.
I asked the driver if we could have stop off privileges on a day return but he recommended a day pass which allows hop on and hop off. I said "So we could get off at Alne".
He gave a look of horror.
" Yes, but why would you want to do that? I wouldn't recommend it".
Passing through Alne we could see what he meant. It has a church but there didn't even appear to be a pub. The harvest is in and the farmers have been busy and the air is filled with the sweet perfume of manure.
The bus filled up as we approached Easingwold and there must have been ten people getting off to swell the visitors to the small weekly market.

Buses from York and to York meet at the Easingwold Market

Our first port of call was a tea room for lattes. The place was full but there was very little turnover as every group was engaged in animated conversation. This seems to be the main occupation here - renewing acquaintances and chatting. Buying supplies seemed secondary. We sat on a bench later on waiting for the bus when a nurse in uniform cycled past and stopped when she saw another nurse. They chatted in the middle of the road for at least 20 minutes. I hope there were no emergencies to be dealt with.

Easingwold Market

There was a cheese monger who had a good selection of French cheeses as well as local ones, some unpasteurized. The librarian directed us to the Easingwold Station. We stopped in at the church yard and were amused to see a sheep grazing in the churchyard. It didn't like having its picture taken and hid among the gravestones and peered out at us.

All Saints Easingwold

The 1892 station is an enormous building for the railway company which only ever had 2 1/2 miles of track. The contractor was Death & Co. who went bankrupt before it was finished. It is now turned into residences having been a pub after closure of the railway.

Easingwold Railway Station

We took the bus on to Thirsk which is a little like Beverley, a cobbled parking lot with interesting buildings placed around the outside. We had lunch at the Golden Fleece with Black Sheep bitter and then took a walk around. There is a large church and a pleasant walk along by the river which had a lot of ducks.

Thirsk has a lot of pubs, restaurants and cafes in the centre.

We caught a double decker bus back to Easingwold (we were the only passengers) and changed there for the #40 bus which has a different route back via the large Nestle plant.

Waiting for the bus at the Easingwold Market

Click here to see all pictures taken at Easingwold and Thirsk.
At the Blue Bell there was immense activity around one of the two tables in the bar. It had been repaired around 1960 with a Formica like material and the securing tacks had come out. New tacks were secured and hammered in using a half-full pint glass. Discussion then changed to how much money we made in 1960, the price of beer at that time and the differing prices you paid for beer depending on which bar you used. "I wouldn't pay a penny a pint just for a carpet on the floor."

I tried an intriguing Brass Castle bitter which was billed as ginger and marmelade. It was a pretty good bitter beer.

Thursday 11 September - York, the Holy Grail and Evensong

Just outside Marks and Spencer there was an old lady with a walker dressed in a bright scarlet dress. She had a long grey beard and bent down to say hello to a small girl who was passing - scared her half to death.
We had an easier day today in York. There were many school groups in the Museum Gardens.  It was another warm and sunny day and we walked along by the river Ouse. It was very peaceful and we saw mainly people walking their dogs. Just outside of town there is a very large field adjacent to the river but separated from it by a berm. It must be at least a mile in each direction. I assume this has something to do with flood protection.
We returned to the city and had lunch at the Star in the City. I was delighted to find a good bitter called Monty Python's Holy Grail.  Well balanced with a hint of toffee. The only bad thing about it is that this was their last  barrel. 

A product of the Black Sheep brewery of Masham.

The food was excellent. I started with traditional Yorkshire puddings and gravy while Mary had scallops. 

Three Yorkshire puddings with a tasty gravy

My main course was an excellent Beverley Duck while Mary had a mushroom omelet. A very satisfying meal.

This afternoon we went to the Jorvik Centre to use the tickets we had retained from our visit last November. Mary produced our ticket and the cashier asked for some identification with her signature on it. She produced her passport and we went in. Afterwards we realuzed i had signed the ticket.

We went to Evensong again this evening in the Minster. This was a special service for the new Bishop of Whitby to take his seat.  The singing by the all-male choir was excellent and the space is beautiful.

Wednesday 10 September - Hull

We can see this church from the living room window, it is just across the Shambles near Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma gate

We took the train to Hull. The electronic information boards said it was on time right until we left 10 minutes late. The guard apologized for the delay but pointed out that we arrived in Hull on time.  There are many semaphore signals and signal boxes on this line from Selby east, presumably the boxes have been retained to control the many level crossings with roads. The land is generally flat, mainly arable with a few sheep and cattle. Several churches, surrounded by trees, marked the small communities. The large Humber bridge heraldedour arrival. 

The man at the tourist office was very helpful in spite of his strange Humber accent.  95% of the buildings were damaged during the war. However, many notable buildings have been retained and restored. 

The Punch Hotel seems to have survived from the bombing just as a facade which has been turned into a good pub.

Brakspear Brewery is in Whitney, Oxfordshire

We walked down to the Deep which is a large aquarium.  On the way we passed the barrier which has been used several times to stop flooding of the city during exceptionally high tides. The foreshore is comprised of soft, deep mud. The Deep has a large tank with some interesting fish but the emphasis is on a lot of small exhibits which makes the focus blurred and the experience difficult to follow.  I kept waiting to see the large tank in all its glory but this only came right at the end. There was a lot of emphasis upon saving the planet and it's endangered species. I felt cockroaches, centipedes and toads were not really relevant. Altogether the Deep was disappointing compared to Genova or Lisbon.

 

This is a species of small conger eels which poke their heads out of the sand.  They were watching us.

The coral reef was very well done.

Holy Trinity church is the largest parish church in England.  The vicar is very progressive who is promoting non-ecclesiastical uses for this well preserved building.  A man in a pub praised him for putting on a very good Real Ale Festival in here

We just kept looking up and saw a great number of interesting and beautiful decorations

The tourist leaflet mentioned the smallest window in England at the Crown so we went in for a drink - Fullers London Pride -but couldn't find the window.. The barman took us outside and pointed out a small slit.

The actual window is the black slit to the right.  It now looks into a rarely used utility room but the barman has put a face in there for the kids to see.

The Streetscene Museum of Transport is well done. There are not a lot of exhibits but what they have are well preserved and presented.

We made our way back to the station passing the very impressive Old Court Building.

One end of the long Old Court Building

The Princes Quay shopping centre is a three level swanky place built over the water near the Marina. It has fallen on hard times and large parts are vacant.

We found a number of covered shopping arcades or galleries. Reminiscent of Paris.

Click here to see all pictures taken at Hull
The Hull station is enormous, possibly the largest covered station I have seen.  A large part of it is a parking lot and one section contains the bus station with at least 35 bus bays.

The evening light was good on the way back to York.  We were running on time until a dead stand for at least 5 minutes just outside York. Traffic regulation seems to be a problem here.

We had a drink at the Blue Bell. There was a discussion going on about the safe areas of the town.
"I grew up in xxxx".
"Oh so you had shoes then".
(This is a comment about the bad old days when, in poor areas, the families could not always afford to give their kids shoes. in some cases a kid would come to school on alternate days because he shared a pair of shoes with a brother or sister.)

There's nothing like a packet of scratchings to give you a boost.

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