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’…
The many stories of York
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…
Adventures in Isurium
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…
Sheriff Hutton in 30 minutes
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…
Norber Erratics
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…
An introduction to Ripon Cathedral
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…
From Ribblehead to Jericho
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…
St Leonard’s, Chapel-le-Dale
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…
Brimham Rocks, bairns and the Bee Gees
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…
Dracula and Whitby
The great tempest broke rapidly and without warning in the darkness. The sea around Whitby convulsed, waves rising in growing fury, over-topping one another, beating white-topped on the sands, rushing up the cliffs and breaking with great spumes over the…
Swaledale ‘twixt Muker and Keld
Or it could be the other way round. Son of Britain and I had often considered meandering through Swaledale between the small villages of Keld and Muker. Once, we had even chanced, equipped with boots and all the trimmings, as…
Lights Out
At 10pm BST on 4th August 2014, the villagers of Burton in Lonsdale, a small community of fewer than 600 souls in North Yorkshire, on the borders with Lancashire and Cumbria, gathered on the village green by the old war…
Tiptoe through the tulips at Constable Burton
According to property website Zoopla, on average, Britons move home every 23 years. This creates a diverting image of millions of us upping sticks and all swapping houses every two decades or so. It also means that the above average…
Malham Cove
If you went to school in Britain, and paid attention during geography lessons, you probably know all about Malham. Amongst other things, it is famed for its limestone topography. My failure at geography was spectacular, but even I remember pouring…