June, 18, Ilkley Moor Walk

 Today was a circular walk day.  Two walks out of many possibilities were appealing: one, 10.1 miles, the other, 14.  Since I know my proclivity for going off the derech (getting lost), I chose the shorter one thinking that I could supplement it with a 3+ mile walk later should I have the need and desire.  Smart decision because off the path I did go a few times.  Walking in the moors has unique challenges. First, the weather. There are no trees, so there is no shade, the wind can whip through fiercely, and if you go off the path at all—and there are so many of them criss-crossing and some that don't even seem like paths—getting back to the one you want can be a big challenge because it is impossible to tell what is underfoot:  solid ground, bog, holes, both shallow and deep, and such.  Great terrain for getting a sprained ankle! And one more thing, you do not want to get lost on the moors!!

 Anyway, I hit a great day weather wise until the last hour or so when it got uncomfortably hot and I had to take a detour because the route went through a scary, rocky patch.  (Well, that is what a couple in front of me, who had turned back, said, so I took their word and did not even try.) The app claimed I walked 20 miles; my watch said 10.2.  Since it was about seven and a half hours, it was most likely somewhere in the middle.

First encounter of the day:

The first landmark of the day, and I kid you not, "Swastika Stone:"

The lower parts of the hills were fern covered:

Punctuated with the occasional foxglove, so if you have a heart attack and there is no defibrillator, you can at least get some digitalis!

Higher up, it becomes like this:

A view from up high:

Dry Stone enclosure

Gap in a wall offering excelling viewing opportunity:

A feature of this route was some big rocks, all of which have names, but I couldn't tell you any of them.  Call this one whatever you like:

I will call these Ignatius and Sebastian, although I was thinking of Duro y Grande:

These offer a whole new look being rounded and all.  Doubtless, some archeologist would have no trouble assigning them a function in an important religious rite:

As already mentioned, moors can be very boggy, so paving stones have been set down along part of the route.  Note: you can see what very boggy looks like:

Back down at the bottom, a lovely lake:

Those flowers looked beautiful and smelled divine!

Needless to say, after going off the trail a few times and needing to divert and find an alternate route—so not my strong suit—I was not needing that 3 1/2 mile add-on.  I just wanted to take my boots off, take a shower, do the Spelling Bee, and cook something to eat. All in all, it was a great day, and I am happy to just relax and pack up for heading off tomorrow.  

June 17, Dales Way 1/4 of Day 1

 I did begin the Dales Way today.  The thing is, I did not do a FULL stage because Grassington, where I want to go from Ilkley, where I am, is about between 19-21.5 miles depending on who is measuring. SO, I walked to Bolton Bridge (which means nothing unless you are doing it) and back to Ilkley, about 12 miles.  One could not say that it was difficult except that for the first hour and a half or so, I had to put on and take off the rain gear about six times.  "Why bother taking it off," you may ask.  Because it is hot.  Doffing and donning is an annoying and time consuming business.  It really slows you down. But the walk was quite pretty.  Very pretty, I'd say.  We are in James Herriot country, after all!

Sign marking the offical starting point::

And it really is about that blurry!

First sheep of the trip:

And first cows:

 There were many sweet stone houses with gorgeous gardens, or, in this case, climbing roses:

Church and cemetery:

Oh, those dry stone walls!  They are fast disappearing because they are too difficult to maintain.  But they are the essence of the Dales, are they not...well, without the barbed wire!

Black sheep:

There were some wonky stiles for sure:

One knock-out gorgeous bridge:

Bird with orangey tuft:

There was a moment of panic today when I thought I had lost my battery pack and the money I keep aside for quick access.  Honestly, I worried more about the battery pack as I have already had occasion to use it.  A DEAD PHONE = DISASTER. I thought that with all that taking off and putting on the rain garments, both could have fallen out of the pack.  I was lucky! I simply had not looked in the right pocket, and I was luckier still, because in Ilkley, there is a small tech store that carries such items.  Organization of "stuff" is a challenge.  Hopefully, after a few days, I will be "all sorted!"

June 16 Leeds

6:30 a.m. out the door to head off to Round Hay Park, some 4 1/2 miles distant.  It was quite an ugly walk although the park itself is big and beautiful.  I did not spend much time exploring because I wanted to visit the Royal Armouries Museum again—and the park is VERY BIG— after which I would be heading off to Ilkley, where the Dales Way starts.

I did take a tour around the lake, though.

Real ducks:

Not real, and not a duck:

Rhododendrons across the lake:

Another perspective:

Tree stump repurposed

"Within a Frisbee Throw!"

The river front at Leeds:

Back at the Royal Armouries Museum where one could easily spend a full day.  They have really good videos about a variety of topics one might not expect.  I watched one about Westerns.  Turns out—sorry to disappoint—that all those gun fights in the movies were totally so not the way it was.  For example it was really hard to actually hit anyone even from not far away. Bottom line:  The West was not so wild after all.  

I also listened to a talk on longbows. I don't have the energy to describe, so click on the link!

Who does not  like a decorated weapon?

Get a load of this Japanese horse and rider!

Black horse, no rider! Click on photo to better see the stirrups:

A fact:

War elephant: 

He is worth two views!

And, if you are interested in this particular elephant and a bit of controversy, read the reddit thread and for war elephants in general, the Wikipedia entry (even though I am very down on Wikipedia these days), and there are a bunch of other sources out there.

The Asian exhibits were great; the only problem was that to protect the fabrics and other materials, the lighting is kept low, so a bit hard to read the descriptions, and not easy to photograph. You just have to go see for yourself!  

My original plan had been to stay in Leeds tonight and leave early tomorrow morning, but I had booked the Air B&B in Ilkley an extra day so that I could enter at, say, 7:00 a.m., and then take off to hike. But since Leeds is well, just not great, and the hotel was a little bit depressing,  I decided to take off in the afternoon, and have the extra night in Ilkley.  Good decision!  Ilkley is a lovely town with good groceries nearby and the AirB&B is super nice.  Very happy to be here.

June 15, York

 Back in 1190, there was a  pogrom in York.  I am not sure that is the best way to begin an account of the day, but since it is bound to crop up, why not just get it out of the way.  I don't know what York looked like back then, but it has some beautiful spaces today and tons of tourists.  The best way to see such a city is to get out early in the morning while most people are still abed.  You'd be surprised what a difference that makes.  

York is about 1/2 hour from Leeds by train, making a day trip very doable.  Alex Allain would not miss this for the world because he could practice the piano right in the York station, if this guy—whose picture will not move to the middle— would give him a turn, that is!

The first thing I did was walk a portion of the city wall, only a portion either because that is all there is in the direction I chose or I could not find the continuance.   Now, I am not 100% sure about this, but I think cattle grazed on the open side of the wall where the grass is.  If they didn't why on earth not!

Speaking of pianos, before being interrupted by the city wall, I must say that there are a lot of harpsichords or clavichords in York.  Here is one at the Fairfax House, a Georgian townhouse open for viewing:

And sheet music, too!

Among other objets d'arts at Fairfax House was a writing desk that was decorated with exquisite inlayed designs of died ivory (something is wrong with that word order!):

Each of the designs was slightly different one from another, which, at first glance, one might not notice.  Very clever!  (Sorry, no examples for you to compare.)

Fairfax House has the most enthusiastic volunteers one could hope to encounter!  They will tell you anything and everything.  Overall, though, the rooms are too cluttered with such doodads as stuffed mice and fake flowers...lots and lots and lots of stuffed mice!  (Whatever for?)

York has a Cathedral, The Minster, which, apparently, costs £30,000.00, yes, thirty thousand pounds, a day to run. 

The Minster even has its own YouTube page (or does one say channel?)!

It, York, that is, not the Cathedral, also displays several fab animal topiaries:

Most of them you are not allowed to sit on, but this fellow may be the exception:

When animals are not grazing in the keep or being converted from shrubs to lions and whatnot, they are put to use advertising woolen scarves:

Phone booth repurposed as a defibrillator depot:

Once an Abbey..... before Henry VIII  went on a rampage:

The York Castle Museum has the most unusual time line ever!  For example, here you see poor Margaret Clitherow being pressed to death:  Euuhgh  that is so gross! (Remember to click on the photos to enlarge.)

And Robert Aske being hanged: 

As opposed to conventional hanging, this kind of hanging made the poor wretch suffer for days.

And that Joseph Hansom was from York:

I learned that corsets could not be laundered because the stays , no matter what they were made of, would disintegrate: 

And the blurb insisted that Victorian women, contrary to popular knowledge, did not wear skirts to cover their ankles, rather the length was above the boot line.

 The best exhibit was a take off of  Tipu's Tiger who lives at the Victoria and Albert in London.  While the real Tiger has a music box inside, this one, if fed a £1 coin,  moves about and roars, after a fashion, and the woman rolls her eyes and kicks her feet.  Not as impressive as the original, but amusing.

Back in Leeds, I picked up some Chinese food, less than not great.  In fact, most everything I have bought including fruit and vegetables has been of a most inferior quality.  Ah, well.