Friday 14 June 2013

Castles

On our way back to the Dales we stopped off in Helmsley
where the pansies were putting on a very good show.

It's a very pretty place, with a mixture of attractive cottages
and handsome houses.

On our way to the castle
we passed this lovely garden
where the queen was overseeing the vegetable patch!
On Saturday we had packed our bags and were ready to leave, but not before seeing the Muker Prize Silver Band come marching through the village.
 They were celebrating the 141st anniversary of the village friendly society, leading the parade known as the 'Foresters' Walk' which takes place every other year.
And here come the foresters dressed in green and carrying their animal staves. (Most of the younger generation of dalesmen have outgrown the old uniforms and just wear a sash.)
We stopped by the church where I was married
to put fresh flowers on the family grave,
then drove through Middleham, whose castle I blogged last September in the 'water, water everywhere' posting. The  town, twinned with Agincourt, is home to various racing stables, so horses are a daily sight.
We were off to explore somewhere new, en route to visiting a friend who has moved to rural Wales. More castles to come! 

5 comments:

  1. It doesn't look like there's much left of the castle but it's pretty neat nonetheless. The pretty cottages and handsome houses are pretty nice too.

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    1. We visited four places with castles during our week away, all of them derelict.
      'Neat' means 'tidy' in England, which those castles certainly are not! When our daughters played in youth orchestras we often acted as hosts to visiting players and one year had a young American who spent the entire time when we took her out saying, "Oh, that's neat, oh, that's so neat!"

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  2. Thank you for the wonderful journey through Britain! I enjoy it every time and will come back ( Lincolnshire) in two weeks.

    Sigrun

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    1. Hello and welcome, Sigrun. We had perfect weather to be away and the whole country was looking especially lovely because the flowers and growth of both May and June were blooming together.
      I've had a peep at your garden and your enviable hostas - the slugs love mine!

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  3. What a lovely trip....and the queen looking so regal. A great post, with some really great images, so glad you enjoyed it so much. J.

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