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Yorkshire And Beyond
  • Dales Ventures
September 2023

Yorkshire And Beyond

Dale and Christine Johnson, Jim Cudworth and Suzanne Ranck travel through Yorkshire, England and beyond…… visiting cities, quaint villages, castles, and walking on the many footpaths throughout the countryside. Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 9, 2023
    Dales VenturesYorkshire And BeyondTraveler

    Day 1 - Oxford

    September 10, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    Yesterday was our travel day. Dale, Christine, Suzanne and Jim met up at Heathrow airport just as planned. After no waiting at all we were on a bus to Oxford and our stay at a guesthouse for 2 nights.

    Today, we toured Oxford and caught another of the “Pay As You Will” walking tours of the Oxford University campus and the center city of Oxford. We have discovered these “free” tours in various cities and they are wonderful. We then visited the Ashmolean museum, which is a world class museum concentrating on artifacts from ancient civilizations such as the Romans and Egyptians.

    We wrapped up the day by visiting the Christ’s Church meadows, an area of beautiful open space that has been open for centuries. Tomorrow we rent our car and head north. Dale will be the driver and Jim the navigator.    Read more

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    Day 2 - Drive to Pickering

    September 11, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    I got up early and walked down to the River Thames to catch a view of some of the boats.

    We picked up our rental car in anticipation of our longest driving day of 200 miles. Of course, driving is on the opposite side of the road than the US, so Dale has become our sole driver and Jim our navigator. Dale has driven over in the UK on several occasions, so the transition was not too bad.

    Our stay in Pickering is in the northeast of England, in a lovely town, and our apartment is in a nice group of classic English cottages. We will be here for 7 days and take day trips from Pickering.    Read more

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    Day 3 - Pickering

    September 12, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Rain was forecast for today, so we decided to tour our local town of Pickering. What a picturesque English town with all the stone buildings. After a 15 minute walk to the High Street and the center of town, we visited their marvelous local museum, which had a great glimpse into the history and everyday life in the town many years ago.

    Afterwards, we toured the Pickering Castle that was started in 1070, by Norman the Conquerer. Much of the castle was in a semi-ruin state, but it was fascinating. There, we ran into two British couples and probably spent 20 minutes talking to each about the U.S. and England……fascinating.    Read more

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    Day 4 - North York Moors NP & Whitby

    September 13, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Today, the weather was great, so we decided to visit the North York Moors National Park and the coastal town of Whitby. The moors were hilly and covered in heather, with sheep roaming around freely. Unfortunately, we missed the full bloom of the heather by about two weeks. We stopped by a few towns within the national park and took a walk on the English footpaths.

    In the afternoon, we went to Whitby, a coastal town known for its beaches, cliffs, old abbey, and lively boardwalk by the ocean.    Read more

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    Day 5 - Cayton Bay and Filey

    September 14, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We continue to embark on day trips from our base in Pickering. Exploring Jim's ancestral roots, we decided to visit Eastfield, his ancestors' hometown, and a nearby cemetery in Cayton. Although both locations didn't meet our expectations entirely, they were still worth the visit.

    Our next destination was Cayton Bay beach, a stunning and secluded spot surrounded by cliffs. Interestingly, we encountered just as many joyful dogs frolicking as there were people enjoying the beach. It's clear that the English adore their dogs. To reach the beach, we navigated our first English footpath and practiced crossing fences using stiles.

    Afterward, we ventured to the charming town of Filey, another picturesque beachside community with beautiful gardens, an English-style boardwalk, and wonderful views from the cliffs overlooking the beach. We continue to have delightful conversations with retired English couples, which adds to our experience.

    Lastly, we explored a small nature preserve boasting lush woods and exceptional birdwatching opportunities from well-placed bird blinds.    Read more

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    Day 6 - Castle Howard

    September 15, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    We had to include one of England's palaces in our itinerary, and Castle Howard was our choice. This magnificent palace has been in the Howard family for 300 years. When we arrived, a thick fog blanketed the area, but that didn't deter us from exploring its elegant interior in the morning.

    The estate's grounds were equally enchanting, offering us the opportunity to hike through fields, woods, and around several lakes. Our journey eventually led us to a meticulously maintained garden, adding to the tranquility of the day. Of course, we couldn't resist our customary morning tea and snack, often indulging in scones with clotted cream or marmalade. It was a truly relaxing day.

    Note: Our photos are coming from a variety if sources. At the end of each day, everyone goes through their photos and nominate ones for the blog.    Read more

  • Dales VenturesYorkshire And BeyondTraveler

    Day 7 - York

    September 16, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Today we visited the historical city of York, the largest and capital city of Yorkshire. We started with the free York Railroad museum, one of the top railroad museums in the world.

    Afterwards we spent the rest of the day walking around the busy downtown area with its many narrow medieval streets. We started at one of England’s greatest cathedrals, the York Minster. Although we didn’t go inside the York Minster, we did visit tge interior of a beautiful nearby church. While scouting out a place for lunch we were able to peruse the many classic narrow streets and wander in and out of the shops.

    Toward the end of the day we headed down near the river to visit some of the ancient Roman ruins and walk along the ancient city wall.    Read more

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    Day 8 - Walking the Footpaths & Dinner

    September 17, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    In the morning we wanted to get in our first earnest walk on the famous English footpaths. We started in the nearby lovely village of Thorton-de-Dale. We quickly left town and walked on a few deserted country roads, before entering onto some true footpaths. Of course, the footpaths are filled with various gates and stiles so you can get into and out of the pastures and fields. The thing I love about walking the English footpaths is the variety. Sometimes you are walking on public land and other times the land is private. On this particular walk we walked on narrow lanes, through woods, across bridges, through sheep pastures and along the streets of small villages. The British love their countryside and we saw many people, and their dogs, walking the footpaths. As usual, we stopped for tea as we got back into town.

    In the afternoon, we stopped for a traditional Sunday dinner at a nearby country pub, the Fox and Rabbit Inn.

    We are getting a couple of reactions from Jim and Suzanne on the driving on the opposite side of the road in England. Jim gets into the front passenger seat on the left side and immediately tries to put his foot on the brake. Suzanne is in awe of me driving because everything is backwards and appears to be chaotic, especially at the scores of traffic circles. In all honestly, having driven in England before, I find the skills come back after a few days andit becomes almost second nature.

    I’ve include a video today of us walking along one of the quiet country lanes.    Read more

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    Day 9 - To Bury St. Edmunds

    September 18, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Today was a driving day where we changed our base of operation from Pickering to Bury St. Edmunds, 200 miles to the south. The weather was rainy, followed by sunshine, followed by rain, etc. …… I have always been aware of how quickly the weather changes in England. We stopped for lunch in the lovely town of Ely. It has a massive cathedral that I was able to peek into. The architecture of the town was also wonderful.

    Our new accommodation has more of a countryside location as opposed to the in-town lodging we had in Pickering. We try to acquire AirB&Bs with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. We eat out during the day, but try to eat breakfast and dinner in. We have included a few photos. The view out our back window is of the lovely English countryside.    Read more

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    Day 10 - Bury St. Edmunds & Clare

    September 19, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 66 °F

    We started the day, in our base village of Bury St. Edmunds, by visiting the ruins of their ancient Abbeu, a lovely garden, an aviary, and their restored cathedral. During the reign of Henry the 8th, in the 1530s, the monastery system was abolished and most monasteries and abbeys were destroyed or fell into disrepair. The abbey was a great setting for a photo of Dale and Christine who were celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary.

    In the afternoon we visited the lovely small village of Clare where we had lunch in a delightful little cafe. We then embarked on a walk along the footpaths through town and into the countryside……another delightful walk with such variety. Walking allows you to see the world at such a slower pace and the English footpaths allow closeup looks at villages, houses, and the countryside.

    Note: We have included a time lapse video Jim created of the sunset out our window overlooking the English countryside.    Read more

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    Day 11 - Anglo Saxons & Bury St. Edmunds

    September 20, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    We took a chance and visited a reconstructed Anglo Saxon village on an old archeological site nearby. To our surprise, it was excellent. Their museum gave a wonderful chronology of settlement in England. The reconstructed houses, based on archeological evidence at the site, was equally fascinating.

    We also visited market day in our host town of Bury St. Edmunds. It was quite active and the architecture in the downtown area was wonderful. England has something we now rarely have in the U.S…….bookstores. Jim and I enjoyed stopping in and browsing like the old days. However, Jim thought a nation like England should have a better collection of poetry in their bookstores.

    Rain cancelled our regular afternoon walk on the footpaths. Maybe tomorrow.    Read more

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    Day 12 - Windmills, Watermills & Dogs

    September 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Our morning outing was in the vicinity of the small village of Pakenham, which was nearby not only a windmill, but a water mill that began in 1089. After a quick photo stop by the windmill, we toured the working water mill that was actually in operation on our visit. It was fascinating and really one of the highlights of our trip so far. When constructing an itinerary, I like to include big name places, like Oxford, as well as great little sites that are off the beaten path. Of course, after the tour we stopped at the little outdoor cafe for tea. The cakes and scones were made by a group of women who were simply accepting donations for charity.

    Afterwards, we took in another walk. Instead of a walk through the countryside, it was in a park that has been around for over 200 years. Many of the trees were from all over the world and were huge due to their age. There were even a few enormous redwood trees.

    There are a couple of things we observe while on our walks. Walking in nature and the countryside is a big fabric of English life and we think it affects their tranquility and attachment to nature. Also, their dogs are a part of that walking as well as part of the rest of their lives. Dogs are everywhere, from footpaths to inside restaurants. Jim has noticed how well mannered the dogs are, like their English human owners.    Read more

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    Day 13 - Quaint Villages

    September 22, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Today was our last travel day as we ended up in our new base, Thame, near Oxford. The drive was not real long so we stopped in a couple of wonderful little villages……Great Missenden and Turville. Our destination of Thame is also a very English village in its history and architecture. Today’s photos are from these 3 villages and show beautiful buildings and several churches we visited.

    We also spent time on some incredibly narrow backroads where if you met another car, one of you must back up to a cutout so you can pass each other.    Read more

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    Day 14 - First Train to London

    September 23, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    We decided to make use of England’s excellent public transportation system and took the train into London and traveled around on the underground. Our main purpose was to spend some quality time at the British Museum.

    Afterwards, we played “Tommy Tourist” and tried to hit as many of the big name sites Jim and Suzanne needed to see since they had never been to London. Our 2 hour walk hit Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

    We also ran into an anti-Brexit demonstration that contained tens of thousands of marchers. Apparently, the support for the Brexit decision continues to erode.    Read more

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    Day 15 -Small Villages Again

    September 24, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 68 °F

    After a hectic and busy day in London, we were off to more “off the beaten path” touring. Our main visit was to a village called Bourton-on-the-Water, considered one of the most beautiful villages in all of England. Christine and I first visited this town 15 years ago when Christine had a year job assignment in England.

    After spending some time showing Jim and Suzanne around Bourton-on-the Water, the three of us took a hike through the countryside on the footpaths to another lovely town of Lower Slaughter. During the middle ages, folks used the footpaths to travel to other towns or their garden plots. Once private land came to be the norm, the rights to walk these footpaths remained. These footpaths have been walked upon for centuries and the variety you see along them is amazing. At one point today, the footpath went straight across a wheat field. We have nothing like this in America.

    When Christine and I first visited our current base, Thame, 15 years ago, we knew it was the home of Robin Gibb, one of the brother Gibb, from the Bee Gees. Jim is so knowledgeable about pop music history. We both knew Robin had passed away 10 years ago and we found out his home was 200 yards from where we were staying. We then realized his grave was in the church cemetery between us and his house. Last evening, a community building in our street was having a dance. I walked by and they were dancing to the Bee Gees song, “Stayin Alive”. It was so ironic.

    Tomorrow will be the last day of our trip and I have a surprise for everyone.    Read more

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    Day 16 - Home Again in Haddenham

    September 25, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    The rest of our party was not quite up for a 4 mile walk this morning, so I left at sunrise to walk to the town of Haddenham where Christine lived for a year and a half, 15 years ago, when she was working on a company project for McCormick, the spice company. Haddenham is where I first learned about footpaths through the countryside. As I was heading east the sun rose and I was able to get some great photos. Having the footpath go straight through a field of sunflowers raised the walk to a whole different level.

    After arriving in Haddenham I revisited the old streets Christine and I walked on years ago. I caught the bus back to Thame and then drove everyone the 3 miles back to Haddenham so Christine could show everyone where she lived, including her house with a thatch roof that was built in 1564.

    After returning to Thame, I told everyone I was treating them to lunch at a beautiful pub that was a 2 minute walk from our apartment. That all led to the surprise of the day.

    Background: In 2018, when Christine and I were walking the Camino in Spain, we befriended a lovely young lady from Scotland, Mairi Therese. Eventually, Mairi Therese came to visit us in Lancaster. Many of our friends at Willow Valley met her and for a week we took her to all sorts of sites….Philadelphia, DC, etc,

    When Mairi Therese found out we were in Portugal and heading to England, she and I started working on potential opportunities to meet up. We worked on the plans for several weeks, but did not tell Christine , Suzanne or Jim. Jim and Suzanne had met Mairi Therese when she visited us in Lancaster.

    Today, we met up at a local pub and Christine had a few tears in her eyes when she finally realized the person she saw at the pub was Mairi Therese. The 6 of us had a great lunch learning about her new husband Marceli, of less than a month, and the near completion of their PhDs.

    It was a great end to our England adventure.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 26, 2023
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