Richmond

Our flight from Amsterdam to Leeds Bradford was cancelled at the last moment. KLM put us on a late afternoon flight to Manchester and our friend Aaron kindly came and picked us up. Next day, Marianne was picked up by our friends from Whitby and Aaron dropped me off in Richmond where I was due to recommence the walk.

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There was an immediate problem, the B and B did not have me written down in their book. Fortunately, I could show them the exchange of emails on my phone and we worked out that the daughter of the house had made a mistake and there was a spare room. While this was getting sorted out, I enjoyed a cup of tea and looked at this vase.

The B and B was close to the old station which has been converted into shops.

The platforms have been converted into a large tearoom.

Parts of the building have been left as they were. This is the station master's office.

One large room had been converted into a brewery.

The girl selling the beer. She was not offering tastings.

Yes, the local picture theater.

I wandered over the bridge into the main part of town.

A gate led to the graveyard of the local church, St Mary's.

There is something really peaceful about these English churches and their graveyards. Most of the stones in this graveyard had a distinct lean.

While not the most spectacular church I have seen in England, it was worth a good look around.

There was an older woman in attendance who showed me around the church. She pointed out this rabbit carved into a very old pillar.

The Green Howards regiment is based in Richmond and this is their chapel in the church.

The walls of the chapel were lined with plaques like this one showing where the regiment had fought over the centuries.

The choir stalls.

The font comes from 1399.

The seats in the choir could be lifted up and showed carvings.

The roof above the congregation.

Another part of the roof. The lady told me that the church used to be 'high church' and the blue section was above the most sacred part, the alter.

Entrance to the church.

I was intrigued by the row of houses on the opposite hillside. They were out there by themselves with only fields around them.

The cobbled market place. When I arrived from the walk from Reeth, the area had been taken over by a group of fun fair rides.

Back in 1974, Marianne and I had passed through Richmond and took a tour of the Old Georgian Theater. I was very much looking forward to revisiting it but unfortunately it was closed for the day because they were holding auditions.

The Keep of Richmond Castle.

The castle must have been quite large.

The hall inside the Keep.

There was a good view of nearby Culloden Tower. Apparently you can rent it as holiday accommodation.

View from the top of the Keep towards the market.

St Mary's Church.

The row of houses.

I liked the pattern the wheels had made in the grass.

The remains of the Great Hall.

The Cockpit Garden.

Your dose of colour for this blog.

The castle was the prison for conscientious objectors in WWI.

The prisoners wrote on the walls. You cannot see the originals which are fragile but you can see copies.

After the castle, I wandered into the nearby Market building which was filled with stalls of arts and crafts. There was not much going on and the sellers were just standing around talking to each other or just looking bored.

I also went into the Green Howards Museum which had three floors of memorabilia. 

The tie of a famous cricketer Herbert Sutcliffe who had been a member of the regiment.

You see lists of clergymen who have been at a church. Here is a list of Band Masters and there are not that many of them for such a long history.

Eighteen soldiers of the regiment had been awarded Victoria Crosses. Here is the story of one of them.

The medal room.

I walked over to Culloden Tower. Be sure to check out this link which starts off with 'Like staying in a large Wedgwood Vase'.

I then followed the Swale River back to my B and B.

The water in this river has a distinctly tea stain colour. The next day, one of the walkers I met complained about the taste of the water in Richmond. If it came out of the river I would think the taste would be 'unusual'.

Click on the picture to enlarge it and look at the legs on the woman to the right. She is not wearing stockings. They were moving very slowly but I did see them later a fair distance away.

The river can flood very quickly and there are warning signs about how dangerous the river can be since the water level will rise faster than you might expect.

The bridge back to the Station and my B and B.

I really enjoyed my walk around Richmond even though I missed out on the Georgian Theater.