MINI BREAK IN NORTH YORKSHIRE

A holiday to Grassington & Bronte country had been on the list for many many years, ever since my Auntie & Uncle had visited the area in the 1980's & told me what great place it was to visit & things to see. The chance to visit the area all came about with me delivering four bricks to Avril who lives near Skipton & her sister Carole, which had their family name of Bennett stamped on them.
The full story of how this came about can be read at this link.
http://eastmidlandsnamedbricks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/bennett-brickmakers-in-derby-nottingham.html

So in June 2014 with my plans for all drawn up for the places I wanted to see during my three days in North Yorkshire, I arrived at Avril's just in time for lunch, which she had kindly laid on for me. After a couple of hours of talking about the Bennett family & their bricks & with the rain now stopped, I decided to go on to Grassington, not knowing what was going to unfurl during the rest of the day. So after thanking my hosts Avril & Garry for a great lunch, I was on my way.

These first three photos are views from the car park at Grassington, which greet you as soon as you get out of the car. The first one above is looking towards Linton Falls, with the River Wharfe flowing in the valley just in front of the houses.

View towards the village of Linton.

Another view looking towards Linton & Thorpe with a menacing grey sky.

The Town Hall.

Book shops, cafes & village pubs can be found in abundance in Grassington.

There were many shops selling locally made quality crafts as well as the trinket shops full of Made in China to see, but I was on the search for an artist's gallery who just happened to share the same name as me. In not finding the Shenstone Gallery, I asked one or two locals, who told me that Martyn had retired from the shop, but then I was told that he lived in a village not to far away & was given his address. So I could not miss this great opportunity to try & meet him. You can read the full story at this link. http://gingerbennsdaysout.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-day-martyn-fretwell-met-martyn.html

There was no time to visit the Folk Museum as I headed off to try & find my namesake.

Day Two turned out to be a full packed day also. I originally only planned to visit Skipton & it's castle, but I ended up pulling in a visit to Bolton Abbey & that also included seeing another building on the edge of the park about two miles down the road & then coming back to the tea rooms at the side of the river at the halfway point back towards the Abbey. The day was then rounded off by going to a village pub for my evening meal which Avril had highly recommended. I wasn't disappointed. 

Skipton Castle although complete has virtually no furniture inside to see. There were many guides to tell you about each room & it's purpose, but the day was made by the guides telling ghost stories, wizardry & battles to the many excited school children who were visiting the castle. Oh to be young again & believe in myths & legends !

Looking towards the private apartments of the owner of the castle. This is as near as you can get & there was a sign saying "No walking on the lawn", although I did see a lady taking two mugs of tea going across the lawn & I said to her in a bit a of fun "The owner will tell you off if you get caught haven't you seen the sign." She just smiled & carried on her way.

Inner courtyard.

After a look around the town & a visit to the canal, it was time for a spot of lunch before heading off to Bolton Abbey.

Peregrine Andrew Morny (Stoker) Cavendish, the 12th Duke of Devonshire & his family had lived in these private apartments at Bolton Abbey Hall until 2006, but now resides at Chatsworth. The Hall had originally been the gatehouse to the Abbey & is not open to the public.

The 12th century Priory Church is a short distance from the Hall, but their are many miles of footpaths to leisurely explore this Estate or you can do as I did & park up in each of the car parks & explore each area. 
History of the Abbey & visitor information can be read at this link. http://www.boltonabbey.com/index.htm

The Stepping Stones Bridge near the Abbey attracted many excited youngsters as they jumped from one stone to the next.

Now a ruin, Barden Tower was the Hunting Lodge for the 10th Lord of Skipton. It's just over two miles from the Abbey along the B6160.

This building next to the tower was built by the 10th Lord of Skipton for his private chaplain & today the building, known as the Priests House, is a restaurant & a venue for weddings & receptions. http://www.thepriestshouse.co.uk

After visiting Barden Tower I headed back towards the Abbey, parking in the Sandholme car park to see the Cavendish Bridge & enjoy a nice cup of tea. This was followed by a small stroll into Strid Wood before I made my way to the Tempest Arms at Elslack which Avril had highly recommended. To say it was only 6.30 when I arrived, it was absolutely packed & with more people constantly arriving I thought I was going to be in for a long wait for my meal. The wait wasn't too bad, it had arrived by 7.20 & was duly enjoyed. http://www.tempestarms.co.uk


Day Three included a visit to Haworth & Ilkley before my return journey home. 

Groups of people were coming all the time to the Bronte's Parsonage home at Haworth & I just had to patient to get this shot. There were many Japanese, all armed with iPad's & cameras, so I slightly delayed my tour of the inside of the house until it had quietened down a bit. The rooms are fairly small & I didn't want to miss anything, as there is plenty to see. An extension has been added to the Parsonage to incorporate the gift shop & a large room which you come into at the end of your tour & has story boards covering the life of the family. After reading all about the family, their books & the things that they had achieved, you are then saddened to read the storyboards which tell you about the chain of events which decided the fate of this family. What other great novels could have been written, if only they had modern sanitation & modern healthcare back then ?

The Parsonage gardens. 

Information about visiting the Bronte's home can be read at this link. https://www.bronte.org.uk/visit

A group of Americans being given the history of Haworth Church. Needless to say that I listen in !

After lunch I explored Haworth & it's shops. As you would expect in a tourist area there are many pubs/restaurants & tearooms to water & feed the visiting traveller.

Most of the village shops are on this fairly level area near the church & parsonage, but then the cobbled main street descends towards the park.

It's not too steep, but I wouldn't want to do it every day.

Between the houses you get this great view.

As I peered through the windows of the Haworth Brass Band building, you could see the band having a practice.

From Coop Society Central Stores to Crazy Carvings, how times change. At least the building has not gone to rack & ruin.

Just about at the bottom of the main street, with a sign on the lamp post telling you about the forthcoming Tour de France cycle race.

After crossing the busy main road into the village, you find yourself in the park. Then after an ice-cream & a sit down in this lovely park, it was time to head back up the hill & then be on my journey home. There was just time to stop & have a quick look around Ilkley & sing a bit of Ilkley Moor bar t'at song, to myself of course. You cannot go to Ilkley without singing at least one line !
If you don't know the words, here is a link to the song on You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWXwqEGdWLc 

For most of the three days it had been overcast with grey skies, but that didn't spoil my first visit to this beautiful area. In fact photos shot with menacing grey skies can be more dramatic.