A visit to Yorkshire and the Humber (encompassing North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire) is to discover stone walls and villages, caves, fells, babbling becks and sheep in two national parks – the North Yorkshire Moors and the Yorkshire Dales – ruined abbeys, seaside resorts, cliffs, castles and cathedrals and a heritage shaped by being at the heart of Danish territory. Its cities include Leeds, now a bustling financial centre and retail mecca with a proud Victorian past, and York, famous for its medieval minster and one of Britain’s tourist magnets. Visit Ripon, with its cathedral and old workhouse, Whitby for fish and chips, Dracula and Captain Cook, or Haworth, home of the Brontes.
We set off with friends David and Cecile (and Hamish the dog) to visit Swaledale’s corpse trail. It is one of their favourite walks and the views are terrific. You may know of Yorkshire’s Swaledale, but I suppose I had better explain what a corpse trail is: so here goes. Once upon a very long […]
Swaledale meadows and the corpse way Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Here is a dramatic tale – of shifting landscapes, lost settlements, abandoned military installations and wobbly legs. It features the spindly, exposed, crooked finger of Spurn Head on the East Yorkshire coast. Spurn is an enigmatic, fascinating and slightly scary place, a low-lying spit of glacial clay, sand and shingle, washed on one side by
Time for a walk in the Yorkshire Dales. We will stroll from the old market town of Settle, up into the hills and do a circuit of around 5 miles. The route will take in the lonely starkness of Attermire Scar, the Victoria and Jubilee Caves and, along the way, encounter preparations for war. This
Attermire and the caves Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Whitby, one of Yorkshire’s go-to seaside towns, conjures up so many images: the ruined abbey, dominating the skyline and old harbour, tales of Captain Cook, Dracula, the semi-precious Whitby Jet, days by the seaside – and, of course, fish ‘n’ chips. On the other hand, maybe you are familiar with the place from the evocative
A Bit About Britain is delighted to welcome author and traveller Darlene Foster, as a guest writer explaining her affection for the city of York. The charming city of York in North East England is steeped in over two thousand years of history, harbouring many stories within its ancient walls. Forty-four years ago, my first
The many stories of York Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
The ancient stones of little Aldborough village, less than twenty miles north of York, tell of Romans, Danes, Normans, Scots, corrupt politics, brave fliers and a trusting churchwarden. Not to mention the maypole. Before we go there, be sure you don’t confuse Aldborough with Aldbrough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Aldbrough St John (also
Adventures in Isurium Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
The Ryedale village of Sheriff Hutton is unlikely to be on most people’s tourist trails. Yet it is a reminder, if one is needed, that history, like love, is all around us. Frankly, the first I heard of the place was when reading about the dreadful wars of the fifteenth century and learning that the
Sheriff Hutton in 30 minutes Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
A Bit About Britain’s geomorphological expert will know that erratics are rocks that have been transported by a glacier, and left behind when the ice has melted some distance from where they started. It’s a descriptive term, because ‘erratic’ means “uncertain in movement, irregular in conduct, habit, opinion” (Oxford dictionary of English) and rock erratics
Ripon Cathedral has such publicly ancient roots that I was surprised to learn it only got promoted to cathedral as recently as 1836. As a matter of fact, Ripon is a physical link with the earliest days of Christianity in Britain, and particularly associated with Wilfred – bishop, saint and builder of the 7th century
An introduction to Ripon Cathedral Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Ribblehead Viaduct is one of the wonders of Victorian construction. It also provided the inspiration for a UK TV drama Jericho, which premiered in January 2016. It’s not hard to be impressed by Ribblehead. Not just because it’s quite big – it is a quarter of a mile long – but also because it seems
From Ribblehead to Jericho Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
We stepped down the lane in the dappled sunlight of a still frosty winter afternoon. It has an ancient, lived-in, feel to it, does the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale. Sitting astride a Roman road, evidence of long-vanished communities are shown on the Ordnance Survey map with the word ‘settlement’ printed over various places close-by, in old
St Leonard’s, Chapel-le-Dale Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
Brimham Rocks could surprise you, a landscape of fantastically shaped crags and boulders that might look more at home in a theme park. It’s a place you should visit if you can’t afford the ‘bus fare to Arizona, Utah, or anywhere else that has an abundance of weirdly eroded rock formations. Not that Britain doesn’t
Brimham Rocks, bairns and the Bee Gees Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber