A Drizzly Meander to Ironbridge and the Welsh Offa Dyke

Today was our last full day being able to meander on our Northern England adventure. The weather did not cooperate however once again we did not let it discourage us. It was off to Telford, a UNESCO World heritage Site to see the birthplace of the industrial revolution.  The Telford bridge , pictured is the first use of cast iron in anything as sizable as a bridge. The year of its opening was 1781.

Abraham Darby created an iron forge in the early 1700's in the village of Telford. He perfected a method of making cast iron by introducing coke to the process. His son Abraham Darby III came up with the idea of building a bridge entirely out of iron. Using a design provided by Thomas Pritchard he built the bridge and used it as an attraction to attract tourists to the area and to show off the use of his stronger iron.  Being a Quaker he believed that all people were equal so everyone would pay the same toll, 1/2 a pence. This applied to commoners, royalty, and soldiers. Up until the 1950's when the bridge was given to the town the Royals, when attending events in Telford, came to the gate house and presented an old 1/2 a pence and walked across the bridge.  The town of Telford today has become a fascinating museum town of the beginnings of the industrial revolution in England. Kayakers and canoeists also use the site for regattas and floats down the river severn.

After  a delightful lunch in the town tea shop of wild mushroom soup and a bacon butty we decided to meander through the countryside to the border with Wales and visit Offa's Dyke. Prior to leaving the town an attractive Boot Scraper of cast iron caught my eye in the gift shop. The scraper was forged at the local foundry. After much debate about its weight we decided to lug it home putting it in our carry-on luggage. Next time you visit us be sure to look for it on our path to our front door at home, providing I haven't pitched it in frustration at the airport.

The short drive to Wales was beautiful in spite of the drizzling rain. We arrived in the town of Knighton situated on the site of the Offa Dyke. Offa's Dyke was an earth trench and mound that was constructed by Offa, the Saxon King of Mercia. In the 8th century this had to be a spectactular feat as the mound went from sea to sea outlining the Wales/English border. Similar to Hadrian's Wall built by the Roman's, the Dyke was at points 20 feet high and meant to be a defensive protection from the raiding Welsh. Legend says that if a Welshman was caught on the England side he would have his ears cut off; if and Englishmen was caught on the Welsh side, he would be hanged. Hey, I lived in New England for 15 years and I can attest to the fact that fences make good neighbors.

In the neighboring town of Clun we spotted an interesting village church. Notice the style of the tower. This picture, in the rain, doesn't do it justice. The door was open and we went in to explore. A church board member, who is a neighbor, stopped by to lock up the church and we had a long chat about its history. This church does appear unique because it is a Saxon style church. We've seen Gothic, several Norman and now this lovely Saxon village church that would represent the time of the early Christians in England. This tower is the original part of the Saxon church built in the 7th century. The church also served as a fortress in this border town against raids from the Welsh.  As we stopped at a local tea shop for tea and the worlds finest Bread and Butter pudding, I was taken back by the Welsh accents. Its hard to believe that these local accents can persevere in our mobile society. These villages of Shropshire and of Wales are only 5-10 miles apart from each other.

After our visit we headed back to the Corbett Arms for our last night and to prepare for our drive up to Manchester tomorrow.  Our two week trip has exceeded my expectations for interesting things to see and beautiful countryside. I return with over 1500 pictures in my camera so I'll have many days of editing and working on my computer.  Julie has tuned up her English accent and has relearned much vocabulary which will delight us all back in the states for months to come. Special thanks to Peter, John, Kate, Christine and Auntie Audrey for fitting us into their schedules. Thanks also to those family and friends who have made it to the end of this blog.  We'll try not to burden you with too many pictures and stories when we return.

Traveling the Quaint Villages of Shropshire

This morning we turned our rental car to the south and programed our GPS to avoid all Highways and head for the Village of Ludlow. The 45 minute drive took us through many little towns and villages. We have been looking at wonderful scenery the whole trip and today was no exception. The land as you turn south along the Welsh border becomes more hilly than the rolling farmland we experienced in Yorkshire.  I wouldn't go so far to call them mountains and I am reminded of the cute Hugh Grant movie "The man who went up a hill and came down a mountain".

Village life in England appears to be absolutely idyllic and something that all our hectic world could benefit by. Like all dreamy ideas however I'm not sure its everyones cup of tea on a long term basis. It seems that all the villages we have seen have done an excellent job of keeping the new buildings and homes compatible with the old history. You have to look closely to see what's new and what's not. This just does not happen but requires strict building codes and enforcement. This is not the place for the free spirit in architecture. No "don't tread on me" types I suspect. The result however is very pleasing.

England for centuries has been called a nation of shop keepers and in the villages, shop keepers seem to be surviving. I stopped in a wonderful old bookshop in a 15th century storefront and leisurely looked at the old books. The shop keeper engaged each shopper in conversation and I was no exception. She was very helpful in suggesting sights to see and where I might find what I was looking for, though it was not in her shop.  In Ludlow today it was Market day. The square was filled with stalls and the town was busy with shoppers and a few tourists like ourselves.

The towns have wonderful names to our ears, like: Uffington, Wrekin Hill, Bridgnorth, Craven arms, Much- Wenlok, Church Stretton. Like in America each village seems to have some historical feature that defines its character; a castle, a mill, a bridge, an abbey. The difference is the age. While we see something from the 1800's as a relic, here we are talking about the past 1000 years.

Our destination today was Ludlow Castle, the home of King Edward the first known also as Edward Longshanks. If my history is correct Edward is remembered for his battles with the Welsh, the Scots and the unification of Wales with England. He permanently established Parliament as a form for raising taxes.  I guess he gets credit for settling down the lords however those battles would be fought again and again.

We returned home after a beautiful meander through the county of Shropshire to our luxury Pub Hotel. Its Friday night and the townspeople are playing lawn bowls out on the lawn. One more day to explore and then we drive to Manchester for our flight home on Monday. Thanks for following our travels. It's been fun to collect my thoughts in the evening and write this Blog for family and friends.

They Came...They Left...The incomplete story of the Romans in Britain

Today it was "tipping-it-down" with rain in Shropshire. Rain drizzle stop, Rain drizzle stop. After my full-English breakfast we adjusted our plans to hit some of the indoor museums in Shrewsbury and explore the town. There is a new museum in town that opened last month and it is a "Cracker". It tells the story of the excavations in the area of an ancient Roman city called Viriconium. We visited the museum and decided to brave the rain and carry on to the actual site in Wroxeter (pronounced Roxiter).

The Romans arrived in 47AD in the area under the leadership of Emperor Claudius. They came to Britain for their minerals - tin, lead, some gold, productive farmland and sheeps wool. They established several fortresses which quickly became substantial towns. In Shropshire they conquered the local bronze age residents who were a tribal people called the Cornovii. The Cornovii had already established substantial farms and a wattle and daub village. Within a few years the area of Wroxeter would become a Roman village complete with houses, markets, baths, a temple and the longest road in Britain. Emperor Hadrian visited the site on his way north to try to tame the Picts and the Scots. Meeting little success he would build a wall to protect his Britain from incursions.

This road, which today is not more than a country lane is hiking distance from our hotel. It's hard to imagine that this asphalt sits over the actual Roman road which came from the south of Britain and continued up to the North. It was the M-1 highway of Britain 60AD.

We learned about the Roman baths on the site and their importance to the Romans. Romans believed that for health they would gather in the bath for physical exercise, lifting weights, gymnastics and wrestling. After working up a sweat they would go through a series of more progressively hot rooms and end up with a dip in a cold water pool. After a dip they would get a massage. From these baths we get the names "Fridga-dorium" "Tepid-orium" and "Natatorium".The Bath was a social center of the community. Men and women separately bathed and sat in steam rooms to discuss politics for the day, the weather, while slaves scrubbed them down with the equivalent of loofa sponges. Sounds like a YMCA to me, minus the slaves of course.

At this British Heritage site one's imagination is filled with its wonder and how the bronze age locals must have been in awe of the Roman's capabilities.

A replica roman villa had been reproduced by the University of Manchester on its exact site. The Villa would have had plastered walls, mosaic tiles on the floor, running water from the aqueduct which brought water from the Severn. The village included a Roman mill. The Romans taught the local tribesmen how to use waterpower and build mills in other areas. So why did the Romans leave a 400 year venture? Was it the Round-a-bouts? Was it British dental care? Was it the Mushy Peas?  Scholars have clues but no definitive answer.

The Romans may have left because their empire was over extended. The battles with barbarian tribes that were threatening Rome required the Emperor to call back his legions to defend the homeland. Maybe the adventure was too expensive and was not producing profit. No one is sure but in the 5th century they were gone. This brought rise to the Dark Ages and a time period of which little is known.  In the ensuing years the Anglo Saxons and their kingdom of Mercia would form. Viking raiders and their kings would enter the arena. This dark period is the stuff of legends like King Arthur. Archeology is finding new truths about the history of Britain each year. Many Roman artifacts that we saw in the new Shrewsbury museum were found with the recent building of the soccer stadium.

So where did all the stones go? These were substantial buildings. All you have to do is look around the neighborhood. Saxon churches , houses, abbeys. Locals pinched the stones and used them in the construction of their towns. This little church down the road dates from the Saxon period and has identifiable stones, lintels and columns which came from the Roman Village.

So that's everything I know about the fascinating story of Roman Britain. Considering I didn't know anything yesterday, that's a lot. What I do know is that when the rain stops and a little bit of sun peaks through a cloud-hole you can get beautiful pictures. Here's Shropshire after the rain.

The English Reformation and a Nice Pint of Beer

Today we traveled from Kenilworth through the counties of Gloucestershire and Shropshire settling in a wonderful country Pub Hotel in Uffington near Shrewsberry. The counties date back to Saxon times when the Kings of Mercia divided the country into shires in the 10th century. Significant growth occurred in this region when William the Conquerer granted principle estates to prominent Normans who supported his venture in England. Unlike further north , he is spoken of as King William, not William the Bastard.

In Tewkesbury we stopped midday to view a beautiful Norman era Abbey and had lunch in the Bear Pub; the oldest pub in the county going back to 1422.

The Norman church similar in style to the one we saw in Durham dates back to 1086 where is was listed in the inventory of English Everything.  The church, controlled by Rome at the time had an abbey of Monks and had all imposing control of religious matters, courts, markets and everyday life. Much of the abbey is intact as opposed to the many ruins throughout the country of Abbeys that were demolished by HenryVIII's commissioners. To understand the "Why" I'll give you my condensed version of the Reformation in England.

When we think of the Reformation we think of Martin Luther and his differences with the church of Rome. In reading the Bible Luther called attention to how the church had strayed from Christ's teachings and had become too consumed with money making schemes, power, church building and all powerful clergy. Luther's differences with Rome were primarily theological ones.

The English reformation, which began with King Henry VIII severing the churches control from Rome, resulted in Henry appointing himself (and all future monarchs) the head of the church. We all know about the divorce issue but the church in England had also become all powerful and had accumulated tremendous wealth. Henry's Reformation might be classified as more Political than Theological. Henry appointed Commissioner's who traveled to all the churches and closed the abbeys. They also removed statues and other forms of what they felt were idols and confiscated the churches gold and wealth. Most of the Abbeys were demolished and resulted in the ruins we visit today. We see many broken and headless statues in the churches we visit stemming from this time. In Tewkesbury's case , the influential Norman Lords paid money to the commissioners to spare their buildings. Therefore Tewkesbury is preserved in its original state.

After visiting the Abbey we headed downtown to Ye Old Black Bear Pub for lunch which has been in operation since 1422. When this establishment opened Columbus would not sail for another 70 years. We've had most of our lunches in pubs during this trip. The Pub is a wonderful part of English culture. We really don't have its counterpart in America. Everyone in England heads for a Pub at one time or another. You see, Businessmen, families, young people, clergymen...everyone. 

Here we have stopped at a pub where people riding horses tie up their horse and go in for a beer. You see people like our Kate Hall in the pub with their dogs. England, last count had 51,380 pubs. There is a real sense of community in the pub with darts being played, trivia games on certain nights, raffles and other activities. 

Julie and I have been eating our main meal at midday. We've enjoyed trying the traditional English meals, Bangers with Mash, Venison Pie, Chicken and Mushroom Pie, and of course fish and chips. Its been a wonderful time to talk to the locals who are always friendly and anxious to give us ideas on sites to see and how to get there.  Julie and I have pledged to eat healthier when we get home , but for the moment we are enjoying our English cuisine. Off to bed for the night. Tomorrow we explore the Surrounds of Shropshire. 

English Aunties

English Aunties have a special place in the English heart. They often play a mentoring role to nephew’s and nieces. In some ways they serve as a second set of parents. I guess the role of God Parents might be similar but clearly living as a family in relative proximity gives them a special role in the family.  I think today as our families are dispersed throughout the country we lose this special role of extended family.

 We spent the day visiting Julie’s very special Auntie Audrey in Coventry. 

Auntie Audrey is 90 years old and is a real character. She has a wonderful gleam in her eye and has a lovely sense of humor. Auntie also has very strong opinions and is not shy about sharing them.  Family tales about when and where she set someone straight abound. I first learned of her from Julie when she told me how she trained her as a young girl to not speak with a coventry accent. She wanted her to sound more refined. Julie truly loves her Auntie and spent much time with her as a young girl.

Audrey in her youth had a first love who she will readily will tell you about. We learned of Ron and how he was tragically was killed in the War. This loss caused her to never seek another and she lived unmarried throughout her life. 

Our plan for the day was to take Audrey to Lunch, and then to visit Julie’s 93 year old cousin Billie, who unfortunately was in the hospital suffering from a stroke. My thoughts tonight will reflect on our reunion with Audrey.

Over lunch I posed a similar question to Audrey as the one I posed to Peter ; “where was she during the Coventry Blitz of 1940”. 

Audrey was 15 years old and worked for the Standard Auto company which later would become Triumph motors. They made cars like the Triumph roadster later merging with Morris Mini which years later was bought out by BMW.  The Blitz occurred over many days in 1940. The Germans were targeting the heavy industry and the workers homes of the city. Audrey shared a story which apparently got repeated often throughout the family. One day at work the air raid siren went off and the girls in the office were quite busy so they delayed leaving the office until the last minute. Finally a friend said “We’ve got to get to the shelter”. The shelter was out the door and across the street. As they ran across the street a German fighter plane came low in the air and began strafing the street with machine gun fire. Audrey, though terrified, thought to herself, “If he’s going to shoot me I’m not having him shoot me in the back” She turned around, put her arms on her hips and faced the pilot down. As she recalled to me “We all fought the war”. 

Audrey at 15 decided she wanted to join the effort and join the auxiliary fire brigade. She went to the recruiting office and presented herself for service. The officer said how old are you - she said “15”. “Too young” was the reply, “you have to be 19”. She went back to work discouraged and decided to go back in two weeks. When the man asked “how old?” She said “19”. He replied ,” okay you’re in, go get your uniform and report for training”. 

On the night of the big raid Audrey was out at a nearby pub with friends when they heard the sirens. The pub was in an area that overlooked the city. They all came out to see what was going on against the advice of the barman. She said she looked over from a hill and saw the city all ablaze. She watched stunned in horror thinking of her family and whether they were safe. After the raid she and her friends went to their neighborhoods to find her parents. She arrived to her home to find that her home had taken a bomb hit. She frantically searched inquiring with neighbors about her parents and eventually found them safe that night. They had survived in their backyard shelter. She told us a sweet story of the following week. She was with her mom picking through the remains of the kitchen of their house when she went outside and saw a group of men walking down the street reviewing the damage. She could see what she saw was the King in the front of the group. She ran inside with great excitement and told her mother “The King is coming down the street”, Her mother scolded her, “Stop telling stories”. She went out and looked again and said “No Mum it’s the King, it’s the King”.Her mother replied, “Well you better wash your face then and get out there”. She threw water on her face and went to the front steps and stood. The King walked up to her and she said “good morning sir”. He spoke to her and said “Is your family alright?” . At this point in telling the tale Audrey looked at me with her finger pointed and said “And he didn’t stutter a word!”. 

We had a wonderful time lingering over lunch together as Julie and Auntie Audrey reminisced about family members, most who have all passed on. I can attest from our brief day together that Audrey is truly one special English Auntie. 

This morning we are off to the last leg of our trip. We travel to the beautiful area of Shropshire.. 

Lady Godiva and the Coventry Blitz of 1940

Today was a pleasant surprise spent exploring the city of Coventry. I did not anticipate this to be as interesting as it was as Coventry is not high on the casual tourists list of English cities to visit.  This is an industrial city that today consists of many modern buildings which replaced the medieval town after WW II. That being said is was a most fascinating day touring with Peter, his son and daughter-in-law. It was particularly fascinating because Peter, an official Freeman of the City, was so knowledgable about the city's history. He personally lived through the days of 1940 during the horrific bombing by Adolph Hitler's Luftwaffe.  There are many lessons to learn from the history of Coventry and its enterprising people.


The city of Coventry's first claim to fame is Lady Godiva.  Her statue is currently covered with Sky Blue ribbons to celebrate the win of the Coventry City football team.

The Anglo Saxon Lady Godiva legend stems from the 11th century. It is tale about the wife of Earl of Mercia who chose to tax his peasants to the extreme causing great hardship in the land. His wife took pity on the peasant workers and pleaded with her husband to ease this strain and rescind the new tax laws. After many arguments he finally proclaimed "If you are willing to ride naked on a white horse through the city I will remove the tax". To his surprise she said she would do this. The town residents spread word that this great sacrifice of the Lady was going to occur. They instructed everyone in respect to go to their homes, close their windows and not look at the Lady as she road by. This occurred and her husband obliged and rescinded the tax. The legend continues that one man named Tom could not resist. He opened his window a slit and looked at the Lady. He immediately became blind and became memorialized forever as "Peeping Tom". I couldn't resist to take a picture of the naked Godiva and the fully clothed Lady Julie.

The city is spattered with medieval buildings that miraculously survived the Blitz. This 15th century structure is the Ford's Hospital which is still in operation to this day providing senior care for "the old ladies of Coventry". This visit was a fortuetous find as I can now go home and cancel Julie's long term care insurance.

We then were taken to the Coventry Motor Museum. We learned through the displays about the industrious people of this city. Hundreds of cottage shops , gave rise to the development of the bicycle , the motorizing of the bicycle to become the Motorcycle and the development of the horseless carriage. I had known the name of Raleigh from my Youth and Triumph from my college days (The rich kids brought them to college) but I had no idea of the hundreds of auto companies which existed during the height of the industrial age. 

The Motor Museum is filled with rare examples of the machinist's work. The exhibits trace the rise and fall of the industry and leaves open the question of "Why did Coventry lose the car industry"? Peter's passionate view on the subject gave an insight into the workers' reasons for this decline. He spent his life working as an engineer for several of the car companies and also became an expert in motor cycle building and repair. Peter raced motor bikes most of his life and to this day at age 80 goes out for a spin on a nice day. He opened his own business in his later working life and sold and repaired motorcycles for many of the famous racers. 

Julie and Peter proudly showed me the museum bench, dedicated to their mother and father for their efforts in helping to found the Antelope Motorcycle club in Coventry. 

After the museum we had a chance to tour the ruins of the Coventry Cathedral and the new Cathedral which replaced it. The Cathedral along with the city environs were destroyed in the blitz bombing of November 1940.  I had learned of the story of the Cathedral years ago on my visit to Lubeck Germany. My friend Werner was the head of the St Mary's church that was bombed in response to the destruction of the Coventry church. I learned how after the war a special relationship developed between the congregations of Coventry and Lubeck. Choirs, ministers and youth groups have continued a 65 year exchange which stands as an inspiration of Christian reconciliation. Seeing the displays of the destruction and death on those nights impacted me on the gravity of that reconciliation and the reality of man's inhumanity to man. 

Peter,  Julie and I viewed the WWII memorials and I asked Peter if he remembered the night of the bombing? Peter was 7 years old at the time and has vivid memories of that night. He was home with his mother and father having dinner. Peter initially was evacuated to the countryside along with many of the children of Coventry however he was so unhappy he returned home. As they were having dinner the sirens went off which was a signal to go out in the backyard and get in the Anderson Shelter. We stood by a display of a Anderson Shelter as Peter told of his experience. The shelter was a corrugated structure which you had buried in your small backyard. The shelter had two wooden racks for beds, a few stools and shelves for some provisions. Peter remembers going in the shelter with Grandma and Grandpa Hall, and his mother. They also brought with them the dog, the cat, the parakeet and their goldfish in a bowl. Dad was not to come in as he was a volunteer in the Home Guard and responded to his duty as the night continued. The bombs began to fall and Peter remembers that as a little boy he thought it was quite exciting. To the adults, exciting could not be the word they thought of as the city was destroyed along with the Cathedral. They could hear bombs falling in the neighborhood. When the all-clear siren sounded they came out to find their neighbors house destroyed. Peters dad spent the evening putting out fires with the Home Guard, living through this experience. Years later he would have a beautiful daughter. When visiting St Mary's Guild Hall we passed the memorial to the firefighters who perished during these raids.

Next to the Cathedral we visited the St Mary's Guild Hall which survived the night and remains today an important building in town. Parts of the foundation date back to the 12th Century Coventry Castle.

Peter and I donned 16th century armor to pose for this picture in the Hall.  The main Hall was a beautiful room filled with stained glass windows. We visited a side room which was the room of the Black Prince who made many visits to Coventry.

I close my notes tonight with this view of a window in the council room of the Hall. It was a wonderful yet at times sobering day to tour this courageous city which has endured the war and the loss of an industry. I enjoyed sharing  Julie's joy in revisiting many places of her youth and reuniting with her brother, her nephew and his wife.

Traveling to Warwickshire for a Reunion with Peter

Today was an overcast travel day as we left our Yorkshire apartment and headed south on the Motorway to Kenilworth, Warwickshire. Interstates and Motorways have a lot in common except for new signs to learn like Give Way, Round About Ahead, Petrol 1/2 mile and a really funny one "All Cat's Eyes Removed." We spilt our three hour trip in two and pulled off in Nottingham to see Sherwood Forest and The Newstead Abbey, the ancestral home of Lord Byron. From what I can figure Lord Byron was the Robert Frost of our day, making his living as England's prophetic poet.


I of course had to have my picture taken in what's left of Sherwood Forest since Robin Hood was one of my childhood hero's. Maybe that's why I had a career in Fund Raising.

Byron's ancestral home dates from a time during the reformation when Henry VIII closed the Abbey's of England and gave this one to a friend.  The home was filled with Elizabethian style furniture  with many interesting pieces. I took some pictures for a possible future wood working project.

I was beginning to get historic house overload so we grabbed a cafe lunch and headed back on our journey.

When we arrived at the Kenilworth hotel Julie called her brother Peter who came over to our hotel and we went out for Sunday Dinner.  Peter is a wonderful ole guy with a great positive attitude about life and appreciative of a good joke, He showed us a beautiful pub resturant with outdoor seating overlooking an idyllic pond with a ruin off in the distance. After dinner we drove by the Kenilworth Castle at sunset and went inside the Warwick Cathedral. Tonight's closing picture is of the ruin by the pond. This location looks like the perfect spot for a watercolor artist. Its not bad as a photo.

The Villages of Yorkshire and our hunt for Richard III

Today our little diesel Mercedes headed west through the Yorkshire Dales. We began to notice slight subtle differences as hedgerows turn to stone walls and old stone houses are smattered with the occasional white washed house. We still see sheep everywhere. We came upon one sheep and her lamb who caused quite a stir by jumping the stone wall right into the road with on-coming cars.

I guess for Yorkshire sheep the grass is always greener on the other side of the road. This grass is certainly greener than any grass in my neighborhood. As we approached the idyllic town of Bedale we came across a saturday English tradition... The Car Boot Sale. We call them flea markets but they seem more festive and a real community event. We often get the bug to sort through antique stores so with a spring in our step we headed up the hill to the sale.

As you can see from the picture they really do use cars. This enterprising saleswomen used the Boot, the Bonnet and everywhere else on the car. I of course can't resist a sale and I was able to find a english coffee mug for my grandson's mug collection and an old wood molding plane for my collection of old tools, The planes were selling for 3 pounds, about five dollars. Had I been home I would have bought her whole supply as they were beautiful as you can see in the next photo. By the way, all you collectors of coronation mugs (Michael Smith); they were available for 50p a piece. My only problem with my purchase is how am I going to get my plane on the plane? A little Blog Humor...

Speaking of humor, Julie is in heaven each evening as she is getting to watch BBC 1,2,3 and 4. I do say they have some bizarre programming that would not fly back home. We watched one night "Clergy Telling Jokes". Real clergymen from all over England stood in front of a blue screen and told their best joke. It was an hour of church jokes with a few off-color ones thrown in. Very funny but definitely strange.

Our next destination was the town of Middleham and the castle ruins of the home of Richard III (You know the hide and seek champ they recently found under the parking lot in Leicester). The castle was a unique ruin because the walls were somewhat intact and you could imagine life going on there. You can see the smoke stained stone of the kitchen ovens, cooking fireplaces and the original granite counter tops. We followed our guide leaflet and stood in the grand hall pictured below.

Julie had a strange fascination with the number of toilets in the castle. This should have not surprised me living in a house of two occupants with five bathrooms. The toilets emptied into the moat and provided an early form of chemical warfare. When a soldier waded through the moat, no doubt with scratches and cuts from his profession he would be sure to get infected and later die. The toilets also served as  closets. You would hang your robes over the loo so that the rising ammonia vapors would kill the lice you collected during the day. Here's Julie at a 3 hole water closet - no doubt men's, women's and handicapped. 

Having discovered all the bathrooms, we left the beautiful ruin and wandered our way back to our last night in York. As I sit reviewing our day I am snacking on a very tasty Wensleydale Cheese (of Wallace and Gromet fame) and a bottle of Durham Bitter. Tomorrow we pack up and move to our next location in Kenilworth to explore the midlands and visit with Julie's brother and her auntie. We recommend a visit to this county of Yorkshire; history, beautiful countryside and very friendly people, who are happy to converse with you in pubs, tea shops and guest houses.