Friday, September 24, 2010

Askrigg, North Yorkshire, Part I

Today we're going to visit [virtually] the village of Askrigg in the North Yorkshire Dales. You will see that I ended up with a pretty messy map, but it helped me at the time to circle the towns we're going to visit, so that when I looked up from the map and then looked down again at the map, I'd not lost my place.  I'm also hopelessly visual, hence the castle icon at Castle Bolton. I know. It looks kinda like a second grade workbook, doesn't it!

The yellow trail above shows you the route we took from Askrigg to Richmond. From Askrigg, we went up the hills to the Askrigg Common, then down again to Low Row, Grinton, and eventually into Richmond. Having made Leyburn our hub for several nights (it's over toward the bottom right of the map above), it was only a twelve mile trip to Askrigg, although that twelve miles took about a half hour. Am I complaining? Not at all. Dales scenery, even in March, is breathtaking.

But in this, the first of two parts, we're going to wander around the village of Askrigg.


It was a sight we certainly don't see anymore in NW Wisconsin - a milk bottle sitting outside the front door. It was one of the first anachronistic things we noticed about Askrigg. Walking down the streets of this lovely village was like stepping back in time. It just occurred to me that perhaps those milk bottles are really like lawn ornaments, purchased at Tesco. ;-)


Askrigg, like every other Dales village we visited, is made of stone. I always think of the great labor involved in picking all that rock!  Although they're beautiful to look at, I'm sure the farmers who worked in the 'byres' only noticed how miserable, cold, and dank they were. I would imagine that it would take a distance of several years for that memory to ever morph into nostalgia.  Yorkshire winters must be bone chilling.


St. Oswald's Church, erected in 1466. In 1587, Elizabeth I granted a charter for a weekly market to be held in Askrigg. Notice the market cross in the center of the photo.



Church graveyard

Sign on church yard
Placed at dog height,
for the literate pup.


I hope there are no sleep-walkers in the house.


I thought this was such a pretty, terraced garden.

 It was fun to see dogs accompanying their owners almost everywhere! I still like the sign we saw on a pub, 'Dogs and well-behaved children welcome.'
The road sign above, contrary to logic, meant 'national speed limit.'

This building was filmed as 'The Drovers' pub for the TV series All Creatures Great and Small.


Crown Inn, under the same name since 1850
not nearly so impressive if you consider the fact that the pub we went to in Dorstone had been a freehouse since the 12th century!



Crown Inn interior, where we had...
what else: ...fish 'n' chips.


Tile fireplace - A welcome fire on a chilly March day


Askrigg, Part II is going to be mostly photos of the Askrigg Common and the sheep who graze there. Coming soon...  :-)


This post is linked to New Friend Friday
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and Friendly Friday
and Home and Family Friday
and I'm Lovin' It


15 comments:

Stacey said...

Sheep. Reminds me of the song your son has sung to me since we were married..

"Oh, we, like sheep...they are so soft and cuddly, we like them very much!"

I suspect, Handel wouldn't enjoy Kev's version as much. :D

Speaking of your son (notice how I am not taking ownership of him at this moment..LOL), he has suggested that I get a crawling baby graffic like your sheep and call it "puker". I think you can guess what he thinks the baby should be doing. Groan!

Have a wonderful Friday with lots of love from all of us.

Unknown said...

What a lovely trip! How wonderful to still have milk delivered by the bottle!

Listening to the wind howl here right now. That front is coming through. Hope the corn can keep itself upright.

Have a great weekend!

Cranberry Morning said...

Wonder where Kevin gets that totally ODD sense of humour! :-) You guys have a great weekend and don't send anymore rain our way, PLEASE!!!

Unknown said...

As always, thanks for taking us with you...I love to see the old buildings...the old way of life too. I LOVE that they still get milk delivered to them.

Jean at The Delightful Repast said...

Judy, I LOVED this post. How wonderful to be able to visit Yorkshire with you this morning. I wondered if All Creatures Great and Small would be mentioned, and I was so happy to see a photo of The Drovers. We've just been thinking about that series and plan to start watching it again this winter. For some reason, I enjoy it most when it's cold. Nothing like tucking in to some comfort food, then having a scrummy dessert and tea while watching ACGAS on a cold winter evening! Having Lionel there, purring away, would make the picture complete!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

What a fun trip! I've always wanted to explore England. The cloudy gloomy look appeals to me for some reason :) Thanks for posting your travels, I love to visit places virtually :)

Michelle said...

Very charming!!! You're convincing me more and more that we need to head to Great Britain!

Unknown said...

That garden was really pretty and super cool. I am always fascinated by those who can make those gardens grow!

Denise said...

I love taking trips with you my dear friend.

Diane said...

WOW... that would be a dream trip Ü

Thanks for visiting me over at Pittypat Paperie and leaving the nice comment.

J_on_tour said...

Very nice and informative post that shows typical Dales life. I like how you took your time to explore the small villages like this one as so often people pass through them without stopping. I'm still searching for the perfect byre and dry stone wall photo... I think I know where it is according to a fellow blogger, very near your yellow route. I just need time on my own to find it. Your picture of Castle Bolton stands very grand on your trademark map.... that made me smile.

Anonymous said...

What a treat this was. But we're only able to see towns like this in Europe - not that there aren't nice areas here in the states, but not with these twisting road and big stone houses. I didn't know there was a saint named Oswald? But there so much I don't know - and I learned a lot from this little tour. Thanks Judy, this was fun! Hey, the bar was empty - I wonder why they put the fire in the fireplace...for you guys? Oh of course that's it. For the visiting Americans. Smiles.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy!

I love your travelogues and especially the photos. You are a wonderful photographer. It always makes me yearn to hop on a plane.

I also love the shaggy sheep photo and the virtual pet sheep.

I have an award for you, if you're into that sort of thing. You can see it at http://blog.cassiopeiachats.com/2010/09/thanks-for-awards.html

Deborah said...

Lovely post my friend. What a wonderful place to visit. I so enjoyed the photos. I would like a fireplace like that at my house. :)

partialemptynester said...

Oh, your comments just have me in stitches...so funny to read signs that are so normal to locals...I wonder what signs we have that others would think were so odd..."slow children playing"? That's always a favorite of mine, lol!

Love what all you capture in your travels! What a quaint town and yes, what we view as so beautifully nostalgic was just necessary work at the time.

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