Back from holidays!

So, I’m back from a week in sunny (and, admittedly, rainy :-) ) Yorkshire. It was a lovely week – catching up with Anne’s relatives, showing Ruth off to those who’d not seen her before, visiting nice places, seeing newborn lambs at the farm we were staying on, and having other people do our washing up :-D More details below, if you’re interested…

The first day we were there, we visited the amazing Fountains Abbey. This is a wonderfully well preserved Cistercian abbey dating from the 11-14th centuries. The unusual thing is that not only is the abbey church still standing and in very good condition, but the living quarters are also still there, even the Infirmary, which is suspended over a river. Once one of the richest institutions in the country, Fountains Abbey even had flushing toilets in the prison block. Until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, that is.

We also visited Ripon Cathedral, which is strangely grand for what is now a fairly small town.

While there, we also visited the Police Museum, which Adam greatly enjoyed (police and burglars being a current obsession).

Wednesday, we met up with an old friend of Anne’s at Skipton Castle for a windy, cold tour. It’s a grand old place, and Adam loved running around the rooms.

Finally, we went to Harrogate and had tea at Betty’s. Apparently, this is a terribly famous place, although I’d never heard of it. Having now eaten there, though, I can believe it. I had a very nice cup of tea and a Fat Rascal, which is described as a sort of large scone. However, it resembles a scone in much the same way as King’s College Chapel resembles Top Shop – in style, aspirations and substance there is simply no comparison :-) They even had good gluten-free cakes for Anne and her mother. And I’ve never been anywhere with such lavish staffing. Definitely a holdover from a bygone era, and a very welcome one.