Some of the more eye-catching sculptures were fashioned by Sophie Ryder.

In addition to a number of school classes exploring the park at the same time the other noticeable group of lifeforms were the sheep. We were acutely aware of where we were standing and did a pretty decent job of not treading in too many sheep droppings as I recall.

While it was still early in the year there was a little bit of nature on show to catch my attention as well.

We more-or-less drove straight down to the beach and had a quick wander around. Not a lot to see but what we saw suited us and we wouldn’t rule out a stay in the area in the future as some of the clifftop places looked interesting and probably had lovely views.

The park was opened in 1983, created artificially as a requirement on the back of extensive mining in the area that had been undertaken over the previous decade. The lake was filled with clean water and nearly half a million plants and trees were put in.

After meeting up by the lake with our friends and one of their friends we all set off along one of the trails in the area. We picked the sculpture trail as it was one of the shorter ones and we were mindful of still a long drive back home to follow on. The trail through the country park was nice, taking us up some reasonably easy-to-climb hills and granting us views of the Rother Valley from their heights. Along the way, as the name implies, we happened upon the sculptures, these being wooden posts with various carvings in their faces.

As the photos from along the sculpture trail show, the landscapes were lovely, bringing to mind imagery of a Windows XP desktop background.

We ended up using a Park and Ride bus to get into the city from the outskirts and this set us up very close to Clifford’s Tower, the keep area of what was York Castle. We’re quite fond of a castle as any search through our travel photos from the United Kingdom especially will show you so we immediately headed for this one and headed inside as well as, of course, up.

We hit the Jorvik Viking Centre next as we’ve got an interest in history and my wife’s genealogy appears to include some viking heritage in it. It was interesting but very busy with schoolkids when we visited. From there we had more of a general walk around York taking in a nose around The Shambles where souvenirs of the trip were bought and taking photos of some of the more interesting-looking sights in the city; I particularly liked the city wall. We had intended to visit the cathedral but our general rule of thumb when it comes to cathedrals is to donate at or above the suggested donation level after visiting but we refuse to go in any that demand an entry fee especially when it’s marked as a donation for tax purposes and a suggestion for legal reasons but you don’t get the option to refuse.

We popped into the Leeds Gallery next, mainly because one of us needed to pee. This gave us the opportunity for a bit of a look around (no photos though) and a quick stop to hydrate and grab a snack in the café. We were quite impressed with the tilework and general decorations of it.

We followed that up with a visit to the very good Leeds Museum (in a separate post) and with our cultural quotient filled we proceeded to explore the Yorkshire city on foot. As with a lot of big, old cities up north, away from much of the flattening that took place during World War 2, the architecture was fabulous and on a grand scale. Leeds city centre looked to be a quite well-to-do place, full of interesting shops and plenty of indoor shopping arcades.

One section of the pedestrianised shopping precinct in Leeds seemed to be popular with street entertainers including a Morris dancing side. We’ve got a soft spot for the traditions of the Morris so we stayed and watched for a little while, enjoying the interactions with other people.

Religious buildings were dotted around the city, as you’d expect.

Our walk back to the car park after we’d finished with nosing around some of the shops and stopping for a drink took us through more rundown, more modern streets and styles of architecture. There were still some gems among the bland buildings and even a few pieces of sculpture to punctuate that there was still some pride in these more industrialised areas.

A highlight of the trip was getting spotted with my camera by a local guy who then proceeded to pose and asked me to take a photo of him showing off his muscles. A little bit of street portraiture is absolutely fine with me so I was happy to oblige with a shot of this Leeds chap, whoever he was.

As part of our short visit to Leeds in 2011 we visited the Leeds City Museum. When museums allow you to take photos then I generally do so and this was no exception. Expecting little more than a history of Yorkshire through the ages we were pleasantly surprised to find there was a significantly wider range of items on show covering a wide range of historical periods and cultural topics.

Many museums often run an exhibition, of course, and on the day we visited the exhibition at Leeds Museum was one dedicated to the Spice Girls. To be perfectly clear, we did not visit the museum specifically to see the Spice Girls exhibition. That said, it was very good, featuring shoes and clothes they’d worn, media coverage, dolls, etc.

It wasn’t just cars at the car show; bikes were present in fairly large numbers too.

I was quite taken with the paintwork and details on some of the vehicles present.

A few vehicles came from the world of television. Both Only Fools And Horses and The Prisoner were represented.

And finally, it wouldn’t be a Classic And American Car Show without an appearance by Imperial Stormtroopers. Apparently.

In March of 2011 we drove from Wakefield to York for the morning, then carried on to Whitby to spend the afternoon. Our first action upon reaching the town was to head towards the imposing ruins of Whitby Abbey on the East Cliff overlooking the place.

A car park is located about 200 metres before the entrance to the abbey and approach on foot is along a narrow lane with views over the wall and across a small lake (or large pond) to the nearby historical site.

Whitby Abbey is run by English Heritage and you can see the opening times and admission prices here: Whitby Abbey Prices and Opening Times. After paying you’re free to explore the grounds of the abbey and get up close to the ruins of the building.

Originally a Christian monastery and then a Benedictine abbey the stone structure was stripped of its religious title in 1540 by King Henry VIII and fell into ruin. Despite taking further damage during shelling by German battlecruisers near the start of the First World War what remains of Whitby Abbey is still an impressive sight on the wild, North Sea headland.

In truth, though, there isn’t an awful lot to actually do at the abbey. Some of the building’s remaining architecture does have an appeal but other than providing some views over the Yorkshire coastline there isn’t a huge amount to see. This, though, might be one of those places where the weather can play an important role. As you can tell, it was very overcast when we visited and also windy with occasional spitting rain, and while this did lend the location an air of imposing menace it also removed any opportunity to simply sit and enjoy the place or take a picnic if you were so inclined.

There were four good reasons to choose Fountains Abbey as a destination, those being its proximity to where we were staying, the fact it’s a National Trust property and we’re members, it’s an ancient ruin and we’re fond of them, and it – along with Studley Royal Park in the vicinity – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we love ticking them off the list.

The abbey and gardens are about ten minutes from the centre of Ripon by car, well sign-posted and easy to get to. As National Trust members we didn’t have to pay anything (the same is true for English Heritage members) but general admission adult prices are about £15 with children half that and family tickets available too. On the walk to the abbey itself we first came upon Fountains Hall, an early 17th century country house built from the stone of the abbey ruins. Its 20th century history is quite interesting with it undergoing some modernisation in the late 1920s and it housing guests such as the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, friends of the owners at that time, the Vyners. During World War II the building was co-opted to serve as housing for evacuees and was used as a sanitorium.

As you exit Fountains Hall there is a distinctive memorial window above a stone staircase leading down. Elizabeth and Charles were children of Commander Clare George Vyner and Lady Doris Hilda Vyner. The lower inscription reads:

Elizabeth Vyner WRNS [Women’s Royal Naval Service] Died on Active Service June 3rd 1942 Aged 18 years. Also her brother Charles De Grey Vyner Sub Lieut (A) RNVR [Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve] Reported missing from Air Operations Off Rangoon May 2nd 1945 Aged 19 Years.

From the hall we made our way the short distance towards the abbey ruins but decided to take a look around the small area of land to the west of it first which contained some streams with attractive, stone bridges crossing them and assorted buildings. Of odd interest was the Chinese-like dragon bas-relief we found at one of the buildings; the reason for its presence eludes me.

To Fountains Abbey itself now which was founded in 1132 on the back of a falling out in the Benedictine abbey located in York which led to 13 monks seeking to form a new abbey for themselves. After initially being granted land by the archbishop the monks sought to join the Cistercian order whereby they received instructions how to perform the various rituals specific to that Christian group as well as how to build religious buildings in accordance with Cistercian architectural practice, that being a more simple layout with no distracting features and very limited religious adornments. Originally built from wood, Fountains Abbey was soon replaced with stone from the region, some of it mandated following an attack on the building in 1146 by a group unhappy at the religious and political decisions of the abbot at the time.

After a few years of struggling Fountains Abbey attracted generous donations from wealthy benefactors partly on account of its good work for the poor in the area and it was able to buy additional land, set up granges, and employ labourers to work the more outlying areas that the brothers could not easily reach. The River Skell through the land made an ideal spot to set up a mill which could be used to mill the grain brought in from the granges. By the late 13th century Fountains Abbey had an efficient connection of estates under its ownership and was turning a handsome profit.

In the early 14th century a reduction in the number of labourers that could be employed, perhaps attributed to worsening relations with Scotland and Scottish raids as far south as York, led to a change in the way that Fountains Abbey was run as it could no longer adequately control farming. Laws that had prevented the leasing of religious property had been relaxed in the centuries before so the abbey started doing so with its more distant land and consolidating its nearer assets. By 1535 Fountains Abbey was the richest Cistercian monastery in England. Sadly for the monks, within four years they would surrender the abbey as part of Henry VIII‘s Dissolution Of The Monasteries. Some of the materials of the site – stone, timber, and lead – were sold by the new owner to offset his purchase of the land and Fountains Abbey began its decline into ruin.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site doesn’t just consist of the ruins, though. To the east and north of Fountains Abbey is Studley Royal Park which provides for a pleasant walk along the route of the River Skell. This area mainly consists of green lawns running alongside the river with paths that lead to it and also out to the deer park. Trees in the park include limes, oaks, and sweet chestnuts.

Studley Royal Water Garden was created by John Aislabie in 1718 who had inherited Studley Royal through his mother’s family. Aislabie had a passion for garden landscaping and set about introducing a natural look to the grounds of the estate as well as incorporating the water garden: an elegant series of canals, ponds, cascades, statues, and follies.

Aislabie was an interesting character who had been a notable MP, achieving such positions as Lord of the Admiralty, Treasurer of the Navy, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was in that lattermost role that he was partly responsible for the famous South Sea Bubble that eventually saw him resign, get expelled from the House, and spend some time imprisoned in the Tower of London for accepting money from the South Sea Company to push the bill through parliament. MPs getting imprisoned for taking money from private enterprises that screw over the country? Whoever thought such a thing was even possible? Good times, people, good times.

On the west side of the river through the park is a tearoom, ideally located for a break after exploring the abbey and wandering the park paths, where we enjoyed a drink and a cake which I’m sure was delicious but which I neglected to take a photo of. We then followed the riverside path back for some last views at Fountains Abbey before leaving.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park is just our sort of British historical site to explore; some old architecture, some lovely history, and beautiful views. You can easily spend several hours there and there were parts of the estate that we didn’t even touch on such as the church and the deer park. It’s definitely worth a visit and we’re probably overdue a return trip to the lovely location.

The day before we’d driven to Yorkshire from our home in Hampshire and we’d stopped along the way to visit Coughton Court and Upton House National Trust properties before arriving at our hotel, the Best Western Hotel St Pierre. After breakfast and before taking the car into Wakefield for a look around we thought it would be a nice idea to take advantage of the crisp, clear weather and wander down to and take a walk around the nearby lake that formed part of the Newmillerdam Country Park, a local nature reserve. A pretty level path twisted and turned through the woodland along the water’s edge and ended up making for a great way to walk off the food and take in some spectacular sights across the mirror-like surface of the lake on this beautiful morning.

We weren’t alone on this walk in the nature reserve. We encountered numerous other people out for a stroll too – all very friendly and wishing us a good morning in that northern way that can sometimes be unsettlingly overfamiliar to southerners – and we started to spot wildlife too. Ducks we’d expected but happening upon a heron was a surprise to us. I think we startled it as much as it startled us because it soon took off and started flying low over the water up and down the length of the lake with occasional dives in attempts to locate its own breakfast. Photos were taken but with the sun behind it and the general speed of the bird it was difficult to get any sharp shots of the fishing action so I’ll spare you the blurry imagery.

Newmillerdam gets its name from New Mylle on Dam, the term used to describe the area from around 1285 when a corn mill was built on the lake. Prior to that it had been known as Thurstonhaugh, an old Norse name, and we spotted a nod to the heritage of this attractive suburb of Wakefield in the discovery of a wooden carving with Viking-like features. There were other artistic findings too on the walking route we took, such as wooden toadstools.

For the most part we were content to simply admire the views across the flat lake and I was keen to get around the southern tip of it on our anti-clockwise walk when the sun would start to be at our backs and it would make taking photographs a lot easier to do and with more chance of capturing some of the deep blue colours of the sky.

We spotted more herons and one of them could well have been the one we’d been surprised by earlier on the trek. With Newmillerdam Country Park being a local nature reserve it is home to a number of types of wildlife during the year. Originally, there were gameskeepers’ lodges around the lake to protect the animals from being poached as the area was managed for commercial purposes but these days it’s a public beauty spot. If you’re a keen birder then you can expect to see the Great Crested Grebe courting in the spring while if you’re more of a mammaler (yeah, I know that’s not a word) then grey squirrels inhabit the woods and the summer months bring the UK’s smallest and largest bats – the Pipistrelle and the Noctule, respectively – along with the Daubenton’s bat which can typically be seen flying low over the water, taking insects from the air.

Another surprise to us, though, and one we only just noticed because of the slightest of movements, was the appearance of terrapins on logs in the lake. I can honestly say we never expected to find terrapins in a Yorkshire lake. It’s likely that these were abandoned pets at some point and it’s equally likely that while it might be difficult for creatures like this to breed in cold climates generally that’s something that’s going to become less of an issue as the global temperature continues to rise.

We continued our walk and I continued to take pictures of the beautiful scenery, and we soon reached the site of the Boathouse which was probably the original location of the mill from which Newmillerdam gets its name prior to being moved around 1633. The Boathouse dates from the 1820s and was constructed merely as a place for entertaining, allowing men to shoot game from punts launched from the site with ladies later joining them for lunch.

Coots aren’t spectacularly rare but their feet do amuse me much to the irritation of my wife who thinks my laughter and pointing will give them complexes. What was unique for us about this walk in the country park, though, was coming across a coot on a nest in the lake with eggs in it. As I’ve mentioned before on this site in other travelogues, we aren’t the sort of people who go out of our way to look for exotic animals when we travel and when it comes to birds, whether in the UK or abroad, we’re okayish if it’s something that would have appeared in an illustration in a children’s book we’d read growing up but after that anything goes. All that said, I am fascinated when we happen upon wildlife no matter how commonplace and will always want to capture the moment and spot unusual or novel behaviour, or admire what evolution has wrought upon the surface of the planet; in that respect Newmillerdam nature reserve really excelled at fuelling that desire.

That more-or-less brought our circuit of the lake at Newmillerdam to an end but there was one more brief encounter with some local fauna when a duck decided to check out my wife before we headed back to the hotel. What was this behaviour about? No idea. We didn’t have food on us and my wife doesn’t resemble a giant breadcrumb so the fascination – and even standing on boots at one point – was odd and amusing in equal parts. Perhaps it was that Yorkshire friendliness again.