Harrogate, Hull and London, 2021

Last month I finally managed to get to the UK after 1 year and 8 months (who's counting?). Even though I have lived abroad for almost 27 years, I have still managed to see my parents, and then just my dad, at least two or even three times a year. Corona put a stop to that. Then my niece was getting married and entry to the UK was permitted once again, so it was time to be brave, fill in a lot of forms, pay for several corona tests and get on that plane! I am so glad I did it.  

Our first port of call was Rudding Park on the outskirts of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, where the wedding was due to take place. We were lucky enough to be staying at the Rudding Park Hotel for a few days. This rather luxurious hotel occupies a Georgian manor on 300 acres of parkland. It was a joy to walk around the surrounding parkland and golf course on the morning of the wedding. The wedding itself was beautiful!

The following day we took a trip to Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well in Knaresborough. The petrifying well, also known as a dropping well, is the oldest tourist attraction to charge a fee in England and has been in operation since 1630! The water of the well is so rich in sulphate and carbonate that artefacts are put in the well to be "petrified". The place is also associated with the legendary soothsayer Mother Shipton. According to legend, she was born in the cave and grew up around Knaresborough. As she grew older, her prophecies became known throughout England. She foretold the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the Great Fire of London.

The town of Knaresborough is perched high on a cliff above the River Nidd. Our visit to the ruins of Knaresborough Castle offered us an amazing view of the river and railway viaduct, above. The castle was first built by a Norman baron around 1100 and was controlled by various people until it was taken by Parliamentarian troops in 1644 during the Civil War and largely destroyed in 1648. Some of the surviving areas of the castle keep wall bear impact scars left by musket balls fired during the Civil War siege.

Then it was time to move on to Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the place where I grew up and where my dad still lives. I thought I pretty much knew the area but when dad suggested a walk in Paull, a sleepy village south east of Hull, on the north bank of the Humber Estuary, I discovered a place I have never been to before. We enjoyed the coastal wetland and the surrounding grassland and farmland and spotted a few birds as we strolled.

Another gorgeous new find was Tophill Low Nature Reserve, which is located on the site of an active water treatment works, operated by Yorkshire Water. The reserve consists of two artificial reservoirs and features 12 hides spread across a 300 acre site that flanks the River Hull. It comprises a variety of habitats with grassland, marshes, ponds and woods supporting over 160 bird species across the year. It was a delightful place to visit!

There was time for one more outing before leaving for London. We took a walk through the tiny village of Brantingham. The village has significant historic houses, including Brantingham Hall and Brantingham House, which overlook the duck pond in the centre of the village. A cast iron water pump raised up on a brick platform can still be seen on Spout Hill and a sheep wash, or washdyke, which was used regularly until the 1950s to wash sheep prior to shearing, is situated just beyond the church. The church itself is 12th century in origin and restored by the Victorians in the late 19th century. Unusually, it is not situated in the centre of the village but a little way up a wooded dale, affording it one of the most picturesque settings of any church in the Yorkshire Wolds.

As we left Brantingham I stopped to take a look at the war memorial, above, which was erected in 1922 in memory of 14 local men who gave their lives during World War I. The memorial and surrounding wall were constructed from materials reclaimed following the demolition of Hull's Victorian Town Hall. It has been described as "one of the most lovably awful things in the East Riding". I am not sure I disagree.

Then it was on to London to see our family there, though I always make time for a little sightseeing as well. We joined a Beatles "In My Life" tour run by London Walks and led by Richard Porter, holder of the "Beatles Brain of Britain" title. We saw the film locations for "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!", the registry office where two of the Fab Four got married and the house where Paul lived with his glamorous girlfriend, actress Jane Asher. It was in that house that John and Paul wrote "I Want to Hold Your Hand". We ended the tour at the legendary Abbey Road studios and crossing, above.

There was time for just one more thing! We booked a slot at The Museum of Brands in Notting Hill. The museum examines the history of consumer culture from Victorian times to the present day. It features over 12,000 original items including household goods, bottles and cans, packaging, sweets, posters, toys and games, all set out in chronological order in the form of a "Time Tunnel". I thoroughly enjoyed looking at brands from bygone years and seeing names that are still recognisable today. It was great fun to see the toys I used to play with in the 70s and the records I listened to in the 80s. Altogether, a wonderful trip down memory lane!

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Floral Passions,  Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday and My Corner of the World.

Hull 2020 - Part II

After Storm Ciara had died down and the remains of my dad's garden fences had been piled up, we set off to see the "Snowdrop Spectacular" at Burton Agnes Hall. It was rather a brave decision because it was still bitterly cold but the drive through the countryside was beautiful and I was excited to spot a few pheasants and a hare running through the fields en route.
Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor house in the village of Burton Agnes, near Driffield, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It was built by Sir Henry Griffith in 1601–10 to designs attributed to Robert Smythson. The older Norman Burton Agnes Manor House, originally built in 1173, still stands on an adjacent site.

Once again we found the house closed for the winter but it was anyway the gardens we wanted to see on this occasion. Every February millions of hardy snowdrops push through the cold winter ground to create a magnificent white carpet across the historic woodland floor at Burton Agnes Hall. Despite the cold and rainy weather we had a lovely walk along the pathways, enjoying the endless snowdrops and the wood sculptures of owls, squirrels and more that line the paths through the trees. After the torrential rain of the previous day, the snowdrops were a joyous site.

As the name suggests, snowdrops or Galanthus from the Greek gála meaning "milk" and ánthos meaning "flower", are one of the first spring flowers to bloom, often appearing while snow still blankets the ground. This low-growing plant tolerates partial shade to full sun, a variety of soil types, and requires almost no maintenance. It is toxic to animals and humans, but where this is not a concern, it offers the benefit of being virtually immune to feeding by deer and other wildlife. The beautiful little flower is a symbol of hope and purity; the green coloured stem of the snowdrop symbolises and links with the Pagan ideals of health and well-being, whilst the white symbolises the light of the winter sun and reminds us that winter eventually gives way to spring.

In addition to the historic woodland there is also an Elizabethan walled garden and maze at Burton Agnes Hall. There was not so much to see in the walled garden at this time of the year, but I believe that it is stunning in the summer months.
A café in the main courtyard was a welcoming end to our woodland stroll. A hot cup of coffee was a must and the ploughman's lunch was delicious! Outside the shop were pots of snowdrops and irises for sale in every colour imaginable.
The historic 13th-century church of St Martins is tucked away on the hillside immediately behind Burton Agnes Hall, below. In the centre of the village is the mere, a large pond surrounded by trees. It is overlooked by Mere House which was built as a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in 1837 and was converted to a private house in 1987, bottom.

As we left Burton Agnes Hall I spotted a sign pointing to an ancient monument just 3 miles away. A quick google told me that is was the Rudston Monolith, above, the tallest standing stone in Britain. Of course I had to go and see it!
The Rudston Monolith is situated in the Norman churchyard of All Saints in the village of Rudston in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The stone, which predates the church by over 2,500 years, is grey sandstone or gritstone and was quarried 10 miles away at Cayton Bay. It was brought to Rudston either in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The task of transporting this immense monolith over 40 miles to Rudston must have presented a staggering feat of labour and strength, showing that it was a matter of extreme importance to the architects of the stone.
The stone stands at almost 8 metres tall and is nearly 2 metres wide, a metre thick and weighs somewhere in the region of 26 tons. An excavation in the late 18th century suggested that its depth below ground is as great as its height. The top of the stone has been weathered and eroded into a fluted peak and a lead cap was added to try to preserve it in the 18th century.
It seems likely that the stone marked a prehistoric holy place or worship centre for the indigenous pagan religion, and that Anglo-Saxon missionaries followed the successful strategy of "Christianising" this already sacred object, possibly by fixing a cross to the top. This could account for the name "Rudston" since the old English word for cross is "rood" and "stane" means stone.
A popular myth about the stone is that the devil, angered at the construction of a church on this sacred pagan hill, hurled a huge stone javelin or thunderbolt at it to destroy it but, thanks to divine intervention, the weapon veered off course and landed in its present position.

There was one last treat before it was time for me to return home. I was excited to find that the comedian Michael McIntyre was appearing at the Bonus Arena in Hull as part of his Big World Tour. The man who finds the funny in every domestic scenario, from iPad-addicted sons to shoe-fixated wife, was brilliant! It was a wonderful way to end a great holiday with my dad.

* This post has been shared on Floral Friday Fotos, Friday Bliss, All Seasons, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Sharon's Souvenirs, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Travel Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday and My Corner of the World.