Day 10 - Whitby and York

*Due to slow Internet speeds in the Lake District and Whitby, this post has been delayed.*

Our lodging in Whitby is in a haunted lodge, but unfortunately no one reported seeing any specters overnight. Whitby is a harbor village that's hilly and easy to get around. We walked into the city centre then across a bridge to where the streets narrow and many unique stores can be found. After walking a bit, we reached the famous steps up to the abbey. One of Whitby's most famous, but brief, residents was Braum Stoker; the Abbey and these steps play into the Dracula story. The village has embraced this connection and it's become somewhat of a Gothic/horror haven, especially during their annual festival. Due to time restrictions, we weren't able to climb the steps, but we did enjoy our morning walk!

After checking out, we headed over to Whitby Abbey. It's perched high on a hill above the village and is a ruin. This is one of my favorite abbeys. I love the different color stone that can be seen, the view out over the North Sea, and I marvel that this much has survived for so long, especially having been targeted by the Germans in WWII.

We skipped lunch today in order to get to York, a favorite highlight of any trip to England. After getting into town and parking the car, we headed to Betty's for afternoon tea. Betty's serves the tea in silver (stainless) pots with white china plates and cups, and the scones are served on a three tier serving trolley/tower. All very proper.

After tea, we head to York Minster, the crowning English cathedral in my opinion, for choral Evensong. This was a special service three years ago and I'm happy to say it was just as magical today. The choir was made up of men and boys ranging from 6 or 7 to 50+. There are about 20 members of the choir and when they open up, they hit notes and volumes that make the hair on my hairs stand up. I loved the fact that we sang a closing hymn along with the choir and for a brief moment, I too was a York choir member...ha! After checking into our B&B we walked back into town to get dinner at Cafe Rouge. Unfortunately after a 40 minute walk, we discovered that it was closed for remodeling! However, we found a French restaurant across the street and ended up having one of the beat meals ever! A perfect way to wrap up a perfect day in England. Tomorrow our schedule is open as we tour York and pretty much do whatever we want in this great town.

 

Day 4 - Lynmouth, Dunster Castle, & Tintern Abbey

World-class hotel at Lynmouth and not nearly enough time to sightsee means I'll definitely be back here. Wow...it is so beautiful. Lynmouth sits at sea level with the Bristol Channel lapping at the beach and tall, sharp hills surround it in the other directions. It's a fabulous seaside town.

Once we headed out, we backtracked a bit, but the views from the top of Countisbury Hill were unreal and heavenly. I think Marianne might be having a moment in the one shot below.

Our first stop of the day was Dunster Castle. The site was first occupied as a Saxon hill fort 1,000 years ago. Upon entering, a 13th century gateway greets you as the oldest remaining piece on the land. In 1571, the Luttrell family bought it and started extensive renovations. This family lived here for over 600 years! A school group was visiting today and you'll see below, they decided to practice jousting on the front lawn.

 

A medieval village is a short, but steep walk down from the castle so we made the trek, grabbed some Cornish pasties (pronounced pass-tees), crisps (potato chips), and some drinks. After a picnic in the car we headed north to Wales and Tintern Abbey.

Tintern is another magical ruined abbey. It's skeleton is more intact than Glastonbury and it's settled on the banks of the Wye River. We are lucky to be here now as some of the trees are turning a beautiful yellow and red. The abbey was established in 1131 and was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1536. The towering stone framework is impressive to behold and is now also serving as a place that gulls and other birds nest and feed: always fun for someone who isn't big on birds! While near where the altar would have been, I pulled out my iPhone and did a search for Gregorian chat music. Sure enough, I had a song in my phone so I pressed play and just imagined monks in the abbey. The song lasted about 40 seconds and was unfortunately included on a Halloween sound effect CD I downloaded years ago. After the chanting stopped, the next piece automatically played. It was called Evil Demon Chat. A quick fumble for my off button did nothing to help the ruined moment!

After some tea, we jetted on to Hay-on-Wye. Our B&B tonight is fantastic! We'll explore the town and its bookshops tomorrow. Until the morrow...