A Day in the Dales

Today we braved the rain to drive to Thirsk, the 'Darrowby' in the James Herriot stories. We drove through the lovely rolling Dales, past pastures inhabited by soggy sheep. James Herriot was the pseudonym of Alf Wight, who had a veterinary practice in Thirsk, and wrote several books about his experiences. We love his books, so we just had to visit the places where he lived and worked. We toured the Skeldale House of the books. It is set up as a very nice museum, and we really enjoyed going through it.

In front of the house

The garden

There was an old Austin 7, like the

one that James drove, out in the garden.

This is the church where Alf and Joan

(James and Helen in the books) got married.

On the way home, we decided to swing by a place called Bolton Abbey. The ruined abbey is situated next to a river in a valley. The location was absolutely beautiful, and I could have roamed around and taken pictures all evening.

Caledonian Castles

Well, yesterday we got up at the crack of dawn and drove through the verdant Yorkshire countryside and across the border into Scotland. It was only a 3 hour trip, but it was amazing how much the landscape and architecture changed. Just by looking at the houses, it is obvious that the Scots are much more frugal than the English - the buildings are apparently constructed in accordance with a stern 'no frills' standard. We went and saw the ruins of three castles, all of which are in the Dumfries/Galloway area. I found that I enjoyed exploring ruined castles far more than taking guided tours through restored ones. There is so much more freedom of movement when you are on your own, and I felt that I was able to get a clearer picture of what castle life was actually like.

The first castle we visited is called Caerlaverock Castle.

I was told that it is a Welsh name, the

meaning of which is 'the home of the lark'.

After exploring the castle from top to bottom, we decided to try to get a glimpse of the sea. We took a trail that led through mud, gorse, and bluebells, and finally to the beach. The beach was a good mile wide and the wind just about strong enough to blow us away (and Richmond still had a sore throat), so we decided not to walk all of the way to the ocean. We took a few 'we were there' pictures and headed back to purchase postcards at the gift shop. I have a goal of obtaining a postcard from every place that we visit, and so far I've had pretty good success. I'm going to have a formidable collection by the time I get back to the States.

The bluebells are just beginning to come out,

and the woods are beautiful. This picture

doesn't even come close to capturing the

loveliness of the scene.

Our path took us past the ruins of an even older castle.

The ground here was very wet, and the castle started

to sink, so the 'laird' decided to remove

 to Caerlaverock's present sight.

In Scotland, Gorse bushes are about as prolific, and 

are viewed with as much affection, as

multiflora roses are in Missouri.

A lovely Scottish coastal landscape
On the beach

The next stop on our agenda was Threave Castle. To reach it, we drove through someone's cow pasture and onto their farm. Parking our car, we took a path down to the River Dee where we rang a bell for the boatman to take us across to Threave Island. The elderly gentleman who operated the boat was quite friendly, and Mom and Dad chatted with him for some time. I sat and listened to his accent in awe.

Our last stop was at Cardoness Castle. It is situated on a hill from which you can obtain a good view of the ocean. We arrived close to closing time, and had the place to ourselves. We didn't stay long because the wind, which had been strong all day, was turning very cold. I always thought that March winds are strong in Missouri, but I don't think that they can compare to the May winds in Scotland!

A view of the sea from the castle.

Looking out of a gunport in the

castle wall.

By the way, I have discovered that we are actually able to tap into wi-fi here at the cottage. I think that we must be getting it from some local restaurant. Anyway, we are now able to check email frequently, so we'd love to hear how things are going with all of you.

Exploring Haworth

Today Dad, Mom, and I drove down to Haworth to explore the footpaths around the Bronte parsonage. Richmond stayed home because he has a sore throat and didn't want to go out in the chilly wind. We had gorgeous weather for our explorations, and discovered some potentially promising footpaths. We didn't go as far as I would have liked because it was getting late, but we're planning to return another day for a more extended walk.

  

A view from the park in Haworth

Looking down a Haworth street

The amazing thing about the foot paths is that they cut straight through private property. The one we took led us through a sheep pasture. There was a gate at each end, with a sign reminding you to keep the gates latched. There was also another sign that read: 'Lambing Time; Please Keep Your Dog on a Leash'. I have heard that there is an annual walk in which the population of England turns out to stroll on the footpaths. They are even allowed to tear down any fences or obstructions that have been erected to block the paths. I'm not sure if this story is true or not, but it illustrates how much the Brits value their footpaths! Below are some pictures of our walk.

 
  

 

Weekend Adventures

On Saturday, we rode an antique steam train. It was a lot of fun. We stopped at the lovely village of Haworth, where the Bronte family lived. We walked around the cobblestone streets and saw the church that was attended by the Bronte's, the house where they lived, and a school where Charlotte taught. The town is very quaint, and the gardens are all in bloom.

The landscape that we saw from the window of the train reminded me a lot of the movie 'North and South', based on a book written by Elizabeth Gaskell. The country around here does not have very fertile farmland, so it is largely industrial. There are a lot of old mills around, just like in the 'North and South' movie.

At the train station. There were several old train

cars on display.

Views from the windows of the train

The school where Charlotte Bronte taught

Mom, Dad, and Richmond in front

of the Bronte parsonage.

The tower of the church that the Bronte's

attended. The rest of the church was re-built

after the Bronte's era.

Beautiful Haworth!

Today we went to St. James's Church. It is about a two minute walk from our cottage. After church, we went and visited nearby Cliffe Castle. Much to Richmond's disappointment, it proved to be a newer castle built in the late 1800's. He was expecting something more medieval. It is now a really nice museum, and I enjoyed walking around in it.

Cliffe Castle

  

We're Here!

Well, here we are in beautiful Yorkshire! We arrived at Heathrow airport on the 6th at 6a.m., English time. On the way to our cottage, we stopped at Nottingham to see the ruins of Nottingham Castle. We were hoping to catch sight of some of Robin Hood's merry men, but were informed by a friendly local that he was off robbing another part of the country. Below are some pictures that we took at Nottingham. As you will see, the gardens around the castle were beautiful.

I have no idea what this building is,

but it made a pretty picture.

Driving in England is hectic! We've heard that driving on the left side of the road is not the wrong way - it's just the English way. However, it sure feels wrong to us! The scenery here is beautiful enough to make up for the stressful driving, though. Many of the fields are covered in yellow mustard flowers. The land here is very hilly with lots of woods. It is amazing to be able to drive down the interstate and see castles and manor houses sprouting casually out of the landscape. Another beautiful thing here are the ancient churches. 

 Our cottage is really nice. It's located in a tiny village called Cross Roads. There is a greengrocer, a butcher, and a baker just across the road from us. It is a new experience for us to simply take a few steps across the street to buy groceries. 

Today, we took some time to walk around the nearby village of Keighly. We tried unsuccessfully to locate a place with wi-fi. everyone was extremely helpful, but it is a bit difficult to understand the broad Yorkshire accents. Right now, we are sitting outside of a McDonalds, were we can pick up wi-fi without having to go inside.

I'll have to post some more later. Now that we know how to find the McDonalds, we can come out here every few days and write more.

More From the Other Side of the World

Another email from Dad that I thought you might find interesting; especially the part about the camels.

~Janie

Day Two of the R and R

There are two self service machines at Taji.  They are always in demand as I
suspect they put our clothes in a large tub with soap and water, then have
them agitated by camels running in circles.  Unfortunately the camels do not
come equipped with a delicate cycle, so the clothes take quite a beating.
The lifespan of the clothes is greatly increased by doing your own wash.
This does not even take into account that the standard laundry service is a
three day turn around - longer than any transient is here.

At 0500 this AM the machines were full, so I (being prepared for once), sat
down to wait for an open machine.  One truck driver got there just after I
did and a steady stream of others followed suit ( no pun intended).  It took
until 0900 to get the clothes (one load) washed and dried.  Of course the
DFAC is closed for breakfast by then - oh well.

I did, however, reach the end of my "must do" list and am ready to leave
tomorrow.  I should be in Baghdad by tomorrow evening.  I got my phone
charged and in the middle of the night I was awakened by a mysterious noise
that was similar to my alarm clock.  The noise was my phone informing me
that I had three new voicemails.  I haven't opened them as it may take a
week's pay to satisfy the minutes charged.  How I can get voicemail when we
have no service is beyond me.

Adventures on the Other Side of the World

Here's an email that Dad sent me. He's in the process of getting shipped out of Iraq. It sounds as if things on his end are slightly different than they are here!:)

Janie,

This is the first of several entries I will make into the crushingly boring
pile of irrelevant information collectively know as "our trip".

Once upon a time in a land torn by war and lots of other things, there was a
carpenter named Bald Bob.  It came to pass one day that Bob had to travel
from Wonderful War Eagle to Terrible Taji to be subjected to almost
limitless frustration collectively know as "clearing for R and R" - a truly
heuristic experience.

The adventure began at 2200 hours local time when our hero was waiting for a
helicopter to take him to Terrible Taji.  He wondered if events were not
somehow tainted when his name was not on the manifest.  He incorrectly
assumed that things were indeed fine when he got on the flight anyway
because there was room.

Bob soon discovered that this was no routine flight, but what his boss calls
the "VIP tour".  This "VIP tour" consists of a flying over Baghdad and
environs for two hours in a nocturnal glow and making seven stops.  The view
was breathtaking - or maybe it was the sewage?

The coup de gras was one of the final stops were two firefighters got on the
bird and occupied the final two seats with themselves and two huge and heavy
sea bags each.  These large items were born on the laps of the other lucky
travelers.  The close up view of the OD green canvas was incomparable and
the smell....   What ever happened to the "two bags only and forty pounds
total weight - no exceptions" rule.  This is obviously for lesser mortals
than these two.  Our hero did not doubt that if he had tried such a thing,
he would have been thrown - bags and baggage - into the Tigris River to feed
the crocodiles from a height of about 250 feet.

Tune in later for more adventures with Bald Bob, Beautiful Baghdad and
Terrible Taji.

Janie,

You can cut and paste this as needed.  The practice of blogging is frowned
upon in war zones - how provincial!