Easter Holiday in Yorkshire

Our Easter weekend began with Easter Service at the York Minster. We attended a beautiful service conducted by the Archbishop of York complete with the Children's choristers, the Adult Choristers and a wonderful processional with herald banners and all the traditions of the Church of England. Julie and I arrived early enough to experience the pealing of the bells.  Arriving early allowed us to get seats near the front of the church and time to have a pleasant chat with the parishioners around us. As a Christian working for the YMCA I've been blessed to worship in varied settings all over the world. Whether with a small group of friends praying in Russia , 200 gatherers in a dirt floor village church in northern Thailand, my home church Westminster Presbyterian or 1000 worshipers at the Minster,  I have felt the presence of God in all of them. This being said I must give accolads to the York Minster for excellence in pagentry.

With temperatures is in the 70's, Julie and I decide to fill out our day in the Yorkshire countryside. First a full English Breakfast at a city cafe and then the walk back to our apartment.

The ancient city wall of York

built to repell the Scots and the Vikings

On our return walk Julie found the shortest route home by walking the top of the ancient city wall. Now I must say, I've been walking gingerly with a cane for the last two years while healing from several pinched spinal nerves, which have weakened my legs. Tackling the city wall walk, complete with a lack of safety barriers was definitely a challenge I will not forget. I survived and saved 5 pounds for not taking the Taxi.

After a brief rest and a change of clothes we head north to the north country. Next destination Rievaulx Abbey.

 The Abbey was built in the 1100's by the Order of Cistercian monks. As the Orders height they had over 600 followers both lay and ordained. The abbey was placed in an absolutely gorgeous valley. Driving to the abbey was an inspiring experience in itself. During the reign of Henry VIII, the Abbey was destroyed and all its artifacts were confiscated by the Crown. The ruin today stands as a memorial to these devoted and enterprising people.

 After a lovely afternoon we drive back to York with the cars navigation system set to "Scenic Route"

 The fields planted with rape seed are in bloom

Arriving back at our home base in York we went to sleep exhausted by a very special and beautiful day.    Happy Easter to all.

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Upon awaking Easter Monday morning, Julie and I decided to head back to the countryside and seek out Thirsk. Thirsk is the home of the late James Herriot, author of many books. His best known is All creatures great and small which was made into a movie with Anthony Hopkins. Julie and I are fans of "The Yorkshire Vet" TV series, which can be found on the Acorn Channel. The Yorkshire Vet is a series about the continuation of James' practice and stars the varied animals of Yorkshire.

 We arrive in Thirsk and to our surprise its market day. Julie is ecstatic as she was hoping to find an open market to peruse. I was pleased to find a nice bench in the square and locals to chat with.

This "Barker" selling her produce was just too much fun not to record. 

To my surprise we didn't buy anything at the market other than a bag of scones which we will enjoy tonight. After another traditional English lunch we headed off to the home of James Herriot.

After our visit to Herriot's home and office we stop for our daily ice cream and drive the slow route back to York. 

This has been our last full day on our adventure. Tomorrow we head to Manchester Airport for a night stay at the Holiday Inn and then home on Wednesday. We will find some sites along the way to Manchester but for the most part , its time to head home.

This was a trip that nearly got canceled. Julie did a wonderful job picking locations and housing but my back and leg problems concerned me as to whether I could handle this trip. Several months of physical therapy brought me to the point where I could safely drive and walk short distances.  The trip was on and I am so glad we did not cancel. I thank Julie for putting up with my slow pace. We enjoy our travels, whether through the Blue Ridge of Virginia or far away as these past two weeks. We feel very blessed to have each other and the promise of many more adventures near and far.