I counted 24 establishments within a small radius of the market square, in a town of about 9000 inhabitants (and before you reach for your calculator, that's 375 people for each pub, and that includes children. I wasn't bored enough to study the census figures to determine how many people are actually over the age of 18). Needless to say, I could find no problems with the high ratio of pubs. My biggest issue was that we only had about three days, and Karen, naturally, wanted to do other things like look in shops and museums (sheesh!)
The market place in Richmond
The girls loitering on a street corner
(Bit of trivia here) This non-descript little building was the location where John Fenwick opened a grocer's store sometime in the 1870's. He eventually moved to Newcastle where he opened a larger store. From this came the Fenwick department store chain, now one of the largest in the UK with one in Bond Street in the centre of London.
This is a recreation of the original Fenwick's store in Richmond (Oh, and that's Karen trying to do some shopping)
A view of the fabulous Yorkshire Dales
A view showing how the hedgerows ( which have been around for centuries) serve as fences between fields)
Bolton Castle, built in the late 1300's. It's most famous inhabitant was Mary Queen of Scots who 'resided' here for about six months back in 1568, after she had been imprisoned for conspiracy to assasinate her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, in an attempt to seize the English throne. That's families I guess!
These two views show the amazing network of drystone walls which are prevalent throughout the north of England. Although these walls are believed to have been first constructed in Cornwall in the Iron Age, these here are quite recent, probably only dating back to about the 16th century.
This close-up shows the intricacy of the building technique
The Wensleydale Heifer is always a good spot to pull up for an hour
The market place of another beautiful town, Thirsk, which technically, is not in the Dales at all, but lies between the Moors and the Dales. However, it had to be included here, as this is the introduction to yet another old English TV series "All Creatures Great and Small"All Creatures Great and Small was shot in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1970's and 80's, and was set during the 1930's. For those who are unaware of it, it tells the true stories of a country vet who lived in Thirsk during that time, one James Herriott (although his real name we discover was Alf Wight).
The interesting thing about England is that there are stories of heroes and villains in just about every town or city you go through. And yet, a country that has produced such heroes as Francis Drake, James Cook, Lord Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Robbie Williams etc, can still turn a middle-aged country vet into a superstar. Herriott's books, film and TV rights turned him into a multi-millionaire, and naturally Thirsk embraces its favourite son (although he was born in Sunderland) and has turned his fame into a booming tourist destination. People from all over the world have been through Thirsk and the Dales in search of 'Herriott Country'.
The original vets surgery in Thirsk, now has been restored to its 1930's decor to reflect the TV series. Herriott and his partners at the practice all passed away in the 1990's, but according to the locals, despite his immense wealth, Herriott would still be tending to small animals way into his 70's.
One of the cars, an Austin 7, used in the TV series, now resides at the Herriott Museum
Another wonderful country pub in the Dales
Chanelle and Chloe in the village of Askrigg, where much of the filming was carried out
Main street of AskriggSo after about four days driving around the Dales, it was time to hit the road again, this time the destination was, arguably, the most beautiful region of England, the Lake District
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