Knaresborough~ Day 8

We continued Day 8 of our travels on September 22nd from Skipton to Knaresborough. It was a short journey. We arrived in Knaresborough before our rooms were ready at the Knaresborough Inn. When we walked in to inquire about our rooms the employee behind the counter looked at us and asked, “Are you for Trump?”.  Cheeky question and I gave him a cheeky reply with a smile. I suppose it was no secret we were from the USA. Our rooms were not ready so we continued on to see the iconic view of the Railroad trestle over the river Nidd at the Knaresborough Castle grounds. It took us a while to find a good parking spot near the castle grounds.

Like in most towns in England there is a lot of history to explore but we were at a place in our travels that we just took in the views. You could spend days in each of the towns we chose to visit and take it all in.

The Kanesborough War memorial is set up on the Castle, overlooking the River Nidd. 156 names from the First World War and 55 names from the Second World War are commemorated on this memorial. One soldier who served with the Yorkshire Regiment is commemorated on this memorial.

After taking in these beautiful views we continued to some of the market streets.

This is the ‘oldest chemist shoppe in England’ or so they say. It was right to get a photo of our resident chemist in front of this establishment. It is now Lavender Tea Rooms & Coffee.

This Blue Memorial Plague stood out to me as we walked a few of the streets in Knaresborough.

A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker.

Persecution of the Jews continues to this day. It is evil and should not be tolerated.

We finished up in town and drove back to our Inn to check in and get freshened up for dinner at the Inn.

I took the photos in the collage above in the morning without the crowds that we experienced at the dinner hour. Things were really hopping in this newly refurbished Inn. Tables were at a minimum and we finally found one for the four of us. We had to find a waitstaff person to give our order for food and then we had to go to the bar to put our drinks orders in, too. The staff, many of who were young and new were responsible for making drinks with the help of cheat sheets. We had some fun interactions with James, our server, who we watched running about for all the ingredients for the drinks we chose.

The food was good.

It was nice to finish up our day with a good meal and just steps away from our room for the night.

Again we had the most amiable weather and were thankful for another good day to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Skipton to Knaresborough ~ Day 8

Friday September 22nd was the eighth day of our travels in the UK. Originally we were going to be driving straight to York from Grassington to return our car and take a train to Liverpool. The reason we were traveling to Liverpool was to attend the Liverpool v. West Ham futbol/soccer match which was scheduled for Saturday the 23rd. After we had made reservations for a hotel and flights back to Dublin based on that date the game was switched to Sunday the 24th. We scrambled to make different plans than we had prior to the game change. Instead of spending an extra night in Liverpool we decided to spend Friday night in Knaresborough. On the way to Knaresborough we stopped in Skipton to see the castle.

Before we packed up and checked out of the Devonshire in Grassington we enjoyed breakfast.

Breakfast was very good each of our mornings here.

On the road to Skipton Laura managed to get snaps of all these great road signs. We don’t see Hedgehog area signs on any roads we travel in the USA.

We had reservations for the castle and the castle car park.

Over 900 years old, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England. If you are interested in the history of this castle follow this link.

The ancient Yew tree in Conduit Court.

Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676)
Born at Skipton Castle, 30th January, 1590, the daughter of George Clifford, she was the last Clifford to own Skipton Castle. She fought equally tenaciously for her rights and for the King’s cause in the Civil War, when Skipton Castle withstood a three years siege.

Lady Anne was also remarkable for the extensive post Civil War restoration work on her Castles. In 1659 she planted the yew tree in the central courtyard to mark the Castle’s repair from its Civil War damage.

The beautiful Conduit Court where a 350-year old Yew tree planted by Lady Anne Clifford still survives today

We enjoyed our time here especially since we were early enough to enjoy the castle mostly on our own.

This door called out to me at Holy Trinity Church in Skipton. Before we left Skipton we popped into the church.

The window of the Ministry and Ascension of Jesus. Centre-Ascension to his Father in Heaven, whilst his disciples watch from the ground as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Left panel: Jesus the Good Shepherd. Right Panel; Jesus walking on water.

Window by; J.B. Cappronnier of Brussels, 1899.

Love the rest of our journey to Knaresborough. That will be another post.

Back to the Present: Greg is working hard to finish up the redo of our Master Bedroom Shower stall. He is almost there. He needed a break from all the hard work so we did a little drive on Friday to some craft fairs. We had breakfast in Chewelah and then took some roads less traveled to see the beautiful larches in our area. Before we left home I put a roast in the slow cooker so dinner would be taken care of while we were out and about.

Saturday was back to work for Greg and he finished the grouting while I did some shopping. We enjoyed leftovers on this day.

We had a wonderful Sunday at church including our annual business meeting. After church we stopped for Mexican food in town. We were happy to see my cousin and her husband at the restaurant and had a good catch up with them. Hope you all had a good weekend.

One There Is, Above All Others ~ Hymn

One There Is, Above All Others

One there is, above all others,
Well deserves the name of friend;
His is love beyond a brother’s,
Costly, free, and knows no end:
They who once His kindness prove,
Find it everlasting love!

Which of all our friends to save us,
Could or would have shed their blood?
But our Jesus died to have us
Reconciled, in Him to God:
This was boundless love indeed!
Jesus is a friend in need.

Men, when raised to lofty stations,
Often know their friends no more;
Slight and scorn their poor relations
Though they valued them before.
But our Savior always owns
Those whom He redeemed with groans.

When He lived on earth abasèd,
Friend of sinners was His name;
Now, above all glory raisèd,
He rejoices in the same:
Still He calls them brethren, friends,
And to all their wants attends.

Could we bear from one another,
What He daily bears from us?
Yet this glorious friend and brother,
Loves us though we treat Him thus:
Though for good we render ill,
He accounts us brethren still.

O for grace our hearts to soften!
Teach us, Lord, at length to love;
We, alas! forget too often,
What a friend we have above:
But when home our souls are brought,
We will love Thee as we ought.

Words: John Newton, 1779.

Veterans Day 2023

Every year, on 11 November at 11 am – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we pause to remember and honor those men and women who have served our country in all branches of the military.

Thankful for all our Veterans.

My new pin to wear on Veteran’s Day from our Laura, also known as Auntie Lolo.

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Here I am in 2014 with the Marine Corps Band at a Seattle Sounders Game. Wonder where all these young Marines are now and how many are Veterans already.

Hope we all get a chance to thank a Veteran today! The closest Veteran to us is our Son-in-law Andrew. Thank you Andrew for your years of service. We appreciate your sacrifice and are aware of the toll it took on your body. You are loved and appreciated.

The Dales Way ~ Part 2

This continues the post of our walk over hill and dale from Grassington to Hebden and back to Grassington along the River Wharfe. The whole walk was closer to 6 miles than 4 miles but the steps that Laura’s device clocked were 20,077! This was on Thursday September 21, 2023.

We left our cozy Pub and headed through the village towards the River Wharfe.

The Old School Tea Room, Hebden. Family run, traditional but quirky tea room. Gifts, crafts and cards also available. School dates back to 1874 and the old bell still chimes every hour! (Laura, we missed going in here)

Hebden suspension bridge: The bridge, next to stepping stones, was built in 1884 to connect Hebden with Thorpe after a man drowned trying to cross the Wharfe. Nearby Burnsall Bridge, also on the river, had been swept away in a storm the previous year. The new bridge was built by the Hebden blacksmith using 262 yards of redundant steel rope from the old lead mines. It was restored in 2014/15.

If my hips were any bigger I wouldn’t have been able to squeeze through here! 🙂

 

The water at Linton Falls was in full force due to the storms the day before.

It was tempting to go down this lane and investigate Linton Church and village but our feet said no.

Back in town we treated ourselves to some famous Love brownies and got a recommendation for dinner and made reservations. As if we didn’t have enough steps in already to strolled in town and did some last minute shopping before we got ready for dinner.

Our dinner this evening at the Grassington House would be in honor of Greg’s 70th birthday, a treat from Josh and Laura.

Cheers to Pops on 70 years!

It was a lovely dinner and an American couple from Utah stopped by the table for conversation since they noticed we were from the States, too.

After dinner we took some evening shots for our memories.

We were thankful for being able to walk in sunshine with glorious blue skies and fluffy clouds and to see the wonderful landscape of a portion of the Dales. Capping the evening off with a delicious meal was a nice treat.

Although there was talk of taking part in Quiz Night at The Devonshire we all opted to tuck in and rest our feet and legs and get ready for Day 8 of our trip.

Truth for Today #77

Thursday November 9th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

John 3:31-36

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets a seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

From Dianna:

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

From Vera:

Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭28‬-‭31‬

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

From Kathy:

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.

From Karen:

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

From Maristella:

Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
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Not For Granted Hodgepodge

Speaking of gratitude, thank you Jo From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Are you too hard on yourself or not hard enough? Elaborate. 

It really depends on where I failed. If I hurt someone else I’ll be harder on myself. I can really give myself a lot of slack in other areas.

2. What’s the role of gratitude in your life? 

Gratitude plays a central role in my life. Everything I have comes from the goodness of God and the more I’m conscious of that, the more grateful and content I am. God is holy, I am not. Peace with God comes from belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin. Turning from that sin and believing in Jesus leads to the forgiveness I need and a lot of peace and generosity in my life. I am grateful for Jesus Christ who is my greatest treasure.

3. Where do you get your news these days? How much attention are you giving it currently? 

We’ve gravitated away from watching daily news. We’ll get some news on the internet. We don’t listen to the major networks. We might tune into Newsmax or Fox News when something major happens but not day to day. Generally it seems we get a little news with lots and lots of opinions. We get family news via texts unless it is something major and deserves a phone call. I have a What’s App group that I get daily friendship news from, too. Keeping up with bloggers and what is going on in their lives through their posts is another kind of news gathering I appreciate.

4. Do you like potatoes? Last time you prepared potatoes in some way? Which of the following is your favorite…baked potato, mashed potato, french fried potato, sweet potato, hash brown potatoes, roasted potatoes, or potato salad? 

I like potatoes in all these ways. The last potatoes we had were diced new potatoes in homemade chicken pot pie.

5. Are you a veteran? Are there any veterans in your family? Will you do anything special to honor them on Veteran’s Day/Remembrance Day this year? 

Our son-in-law Andrew is a Veteran and the only one in our little family. Greg’s father served in WWII but he was called up to heaven in 1985. We will give Andrew a shout out and thank him on Veteran’s day but we won’t be seeing him in person until Thanksgiving. Thank you for your service in the Marines, Andrew. We love and appreciate you and are grateful for all you have done for our country. We are sorry for all the aches and pains you continue to endure because of that service.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m always impressed with how the United Kingdom honors their veterans and all they do for Remembrance Day. We’ve seen tributes in many if not all of the towns and villages we’ve visited in the United Kingdom.

Speaking of remembering, November 5th marked the one year anniversary of Greg’s stroke. We are so grateful to God that Greg is alive and well and that we could celebrate the anniversary with him on this earth. Grateful for all the days God gives us.

The Dales Way ~Day 7

On Thursday September 21st, day seven of our travels, the fire alarms went off in the Inn while we were getting ready for breakfast. Yikes. I was happy to be dressed when one of the owners knocked on our door to check our smoke alarm. After a full check of all the rooms in the Inn it was determined that there was a faulty wire somewhere that set off the alarm. The noise stopped and we finished getting ready for our breakfast.

I ordered the American Pancakes on this morning and they were excellent. The coffee was decent, too. After breakfast we headed out from town for a 4 mile walk or so we thought.

 

We learned that the day before our glorious sunshine filled walk there was lots of rain and flooding. Again we were so thankful for Providence in our timing. So thankful for blue skies, fluffy clouds and nice temperatures for walking.

Once we were off the paved road we begin to see what the storm left behind. At this point we could call our walk. Around the puddles and through the Dales.

 

We spotted some grouse ahead…

 

After seeing them we felt like we were going off track so we headed back.

We were confused on which way to go to get to Hebden. We saw another walker and she pointed out the way or the direction we needed to go and we bumbled our way through someone’s field and finally made it to this sign.

Over the Stile we went and continued on.

We were happy to see our first destination in sight.

 

I wanted to call this walk, ‘Sheep Shite and Mud Puddles’, because we had to really work at dodging all three.

We were thrilled when we made it out of the fields.

A few more mud puddles to navigate.

We made it to this Pub just before it opened for the day.

We enjoyed our time here very much. It was nice to sit a spell and enjoy some good food. Josh had the Pheasant Burger and got a chance to compliment the chef on the goodness of it.

 

From here we would make our way to the Dale Way trail along the River Wharf to get back to Grassington. That will be another post.

Goodnight Day Six ~ Grassington

From Ripon on Wednesday the 20th of September we continued on our journey to our final destination for the next couple of nights, Grassington. This part of our journey was a short 22 miles on B6265.

Grassington is the home of the fictional market town of Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small, the 2020 television series set in 1937. Based upon the classic James Herriot books written by Alf Wight which follow the adventures of a young country vet in Yorkshire. Click here for more information on this charming town.

We would be staying at the Devonshire for Wednesday and Thursday nights. We were very happy to find a parking spot in this very popular market square. If we hadn’t we would have had to park at the Grassington National Park Visitor Center. We checked into our rooms in time to freshen up and have a walk about the town before our dinner reservations.

We had the Darrowby Suite and our kids had the Tristan Farnon room.

It was nice to be in a small quiet village with everything we needed at our doorstep.

We were glad we had made reservations for dinner because things filled up fast and the seats were full.

After dinner we regrouped in the bar area to play Phase 10. All the seats in the Inn were full with people and many with their 4 legged friends. Some were well behaved and others…not so much.

We shared another Sticky Toffee Pudding in the bar while playing our game.

We tucked into bed after a nice full day.

Day Seven took us into the ‘Dales’ for a nice long walk.

One is Kind Above All Others ~ Hymn

 

One is Kind Above All Others

One is kind above all others,
O how He loves!
His is love beyond a brother’s;
O how He loves!
Earthly friends may fall and leave thee,
One day kind, the next day grieve thee;
But this friend will ne’er deceive thee;
O how He loves!

’Tis eternal life to know Him,
O how He loves!
Think, oh think, how much we owe Him,
O how He loves!
With His precious blood He bought us,
In the wilderness He sought us
To His fold He safely brought us,
O how He loves!

Blessèd Jesus! wouldst thou know Him?
O how He loves!
Give thine heart, thine all unto Him;
O how He loves!
Is it sin that pains or grieves thee,
Unbelief or trials seize thee?
Jesus can from all release thee;
O how He loves!

Love this friend: He longs to save thee;
O how He loves!
All through life He will not leave thee;
O how He loves!
Think no more of friendships hollow;
Take His easy yoke and follow;
Jesus carries all thy sorrow;
O how He loves!

All thy sins shall be forgiven;
O how He loves!
Backward shall thy foes be driven;
O how He loves!
Best of blessings He’ll provide thee;
Naught but good shall e’er betide thee;
Safe to glory He will guide thee;
O how He loves!

Words: Maryanne Nunn, she wrote these words to adapt John Newton’s Hymn, One There Is Above All Others. I’ll share that hymn next Sunday.