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Mon. 9/17
An hour’s comfortable sail around beautiful Wildermere Lake, lined with handsome mansions, was a pleasant
start to a clear and sunny, cool day. Driving east on local roads, we met ever changing views of green
fields with the ubiquitous sheep and cattle, miles of ancient, very unique stone fences, tiny quaint
villages and stone ruins. HARROWGATE is called the Floral Town, and rightly so. Gardens, both in ground
and hanging, are everywhere in this “upscale” town.
HARROWGATE GARDENS is a serene mid-city park,
delightful in exotic and native greenery. In YORK we are staying at the modern QUALITY HOTEL, conveniently
located near the heart of Old York and steps from the old town encircling wall, which I enjoyed walking
(about 3 ½ miles in all.) . We attended an hour's EVENSONG at the magnificent MINSTER (cathedral) with
its wonderful choir participating. Dinner was at our hotel tonight.
Tues. 9/18
As we drive in a northeasterly direction, the stone fences give way to the traditional English hedges
separating the fields. We stop to pick heather at the HOLE OF HORCUM on the moors, where we view mile
after mile of the purple flower, just coming into bloom. In the lovely seaside town of WHITBY we
visited WHITBY ABBEY, founded by St. Hilda in 657 AD, atop a steep hill overlooking the harbor.
This morning is clear but very cold with a mean wind blowing off the angry North Sea. The abbey
itself is but a skeleton of its original grandeur. Wave after wave of strife, invasions, both religious
and secular, over the centuries have done its undoing, even tho its remains are still impressive.
Back in Whitby, we anxiously anticipated a scheduled fish and chips lunch at renowned Trenchers Rstr.,
but fate took over; their deep fat fryer had broken down, and we were forced to eat a delicious, but
ordinary seafood dinner, instead. CASTLE HOWARD is a magnificent 18th century palace set between 2
lakes in over 1,000 acres of parkland with lawns, woods, fountains and rose gardens. It was the setting
for the major TV series “Brideshead Revisited”. Since this was one of my most favorite TV series, I
especially enjoyed its grandeur. Our hotel is only one block from the Inner Wall of YALE, where I enjoyed
a late afternoon walk.
Wed. 9/19
YORK MINSTER (Cathedral of the Church of England) is the largest Gothic Cathedral in England. We took a
guided tour of some of the many highlights and in particular the spectacular stained glass windows.
During World WarII, the stained glass segments had been painstakenly removed, numbered and stored in a
safe location to protect them from Nazi bombings, then returned to their proper places after the war.
The tour was an excellent history lesson covering the Cathedral’s transition from Catholic to Church of
England during the Reformation. After a short informative walk in town and atop another section of the
town wall with our own guide, I branched out alone and spent hours roaming the city. I explored stops
at the YORK ART GALLERY, Railway station and NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM, with its multitude of steam engines
and railroad memorabilia on display. A delicious Chinese dinner at the Royal Dragon rounded out a busy day.
Thurs. 9/20
Today we travel over the PENNINE HILLS to WALES. We come to scenic mountains with spectacular views, and
acquaint ourselves with some of the sheep who wander onto the road. We visit LLANGOLLEN, a quaint and
attractive small town in N.Wales, nestled in the hills with a strong river running thru. In the region
of SNOWDONIA in the CAMBRIEN MOUNTAINS, the highest peak is 3560’, steep sided and impressively rugged.
We stay tonight in CAERNARFON, a small historic town right on the coast opposite the Island of ANGLESEY,
and beyond that, Ireland. Anglesey is relatively flat and sometimes called the breadbasket of Wales
because of its rich farm produce. The CAERNARFON CASTLE and medieval walls were built by the English
after the conquest of Wales. In this castle, Prince Charles was formally inaugurated as Prince of Wales.
There is a lovely promenade alongside the sea that I enjoyed walking. An excellent dinner tonight at our
hotel, the CELTIC ROYAL, featured local lamb, which is exceptionally flavored because the sheep in this
region eat large amounts of heather.
Fri. 9/21
Our good weather fairy deserted us today as we drove to our date with the steam engined narrow rail train
at BLAENAU FFESINIIOG. This is the oldest independent railway in the world, built in 1832 to carry slate,
and later in 1864, passengers. Rain turned into a monsoon as we traversed through 13.5 miles of
spectacular scenery. But our lack of visibility was more than compensated by the riotous churning
streams that we encountered and silver ribbons of floodwaters cascading down the mountains. The
entire area abounds in ragged mountains of slate that up until recently were quarried by thousands
of hearty workers.
At the SLATE QUARRY MUSEUM we learned by film, demonstrations and detailed
displays, some of the working conditions and lifestyles of the quarrymen. A thoroughly enjoyable
experience. Tonight is our home hosted dinner. We are broken into small groups to visit ordinary
families who have arranged to meet and feed us. We lucked out with an extremely hospitable and
interesting family AND a great dinner. Oh yes…the dinner featured…..lamb!
Continue...
This trip to England/Scotland/Wales was made 9/12/07 – 9/26/07 by a resident of New York State.
Your comments are welcome.
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