A stroll around the town center followed, with random visits to various shops and some essentials bought. We also went to the Cathedral and had a closer look at its library upstairs.
Later, I went out on my own again: I wanted to see the Hornblower. A few years ago, I wrote about the tradition of setting the watch in this post; such things fascinate me, and since I had read in one of the leaflets found in our cottage that there was, apparently, a new Hornblower, I thought I'd have a look.
One of the many good things about this time of the year is that there is still enough daylight left for an after-diinner walk. I arrived at the market square in good time; the cottage is only 5 minutes walking distance from it.
To my surprise (but not in an unpleasant way), the Hornblower was still the same: Mr. Pickles, and just like before, he asked the onlookers whether they wanted to hear some history. He told the story I already knew, but he included the visitors, asking everyone where they were from.
Here are some more Ripon pictures. Maybe you have caught glimpses of the Victorian clocktower or the cathedral during "Le Grand Départ", the first stage of the Tour de France.
Not sure which of the two pictures below I like better:
For the next day, the 3rd of June, we had a day trip to York planned. But that, of course, merits a separate post.
You said... "coffee and biscuits on the bench in front of the cottage (third photo from the top in this post)." but I didn't see it! Was this a practical joke? Ripon is a lovely little city and your post supports that view.
ReplyDeleteWhy, the third photo from the top in the post where I have linked to (if you click on the words "this post") shows the coffee-and-biscuits-spot... just not the coffee and the biscuits. I leave the shape and size of them to your imagination.
DeleteIn your pictures Ripon has a gentle quiet charm. I am remembering once when you said (in response to someone's comment) that you worked hard to have your pictures free of people, and I wonder if it is really as peaceful as it looks. It seems a lovely place and I like the last photo best of the two last. I think I enjoy the increased light. You just cropped the first one, I think, but it changes the feeling quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi! To me, Ripon has that gentle quiet charm - most of the time. I don't go out much at night when I am there, but the few times I was still around after dark on a weekend, I found it a changed place, where I did not feel particularly at ease.
DeleteMarket days are of course very busy, but I do not take pictures of the market itself or of the busiest shopping streets - too many people! When I took the picture of the City Hall, it was nearly 9.00 pm and really hardly anybody was about, apart from the small group of people who, like me, were waiting for Mr. Pickles.
Thank you for your opinion on the last two pictures. The first one is not cropped, just zoomed in, while the last one was taken without zoom.
Of course it's the other way round - the last picture was taken with zoom, and the next-to-last without!
Deletemagnificent place. And York coming up and I've been there! Can't wait to see.
ReplyDeletexx
I hope you'll like my choice of pictures!
DeleteLATEST NEWS: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A PRESTIGIOUS LIEBSTER BLOGGING AWARD. VISIT YORKSHIRE PUDDING FOR DETAILS.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nomination, I feel most honoured! Will visit YP tomorrow morning.
DeleteBeautiful pictures, they look so old-fashioned, so authentic. The picture before the last for some reason reminds me of Wuthering Heights...the movie was on TV here in Sicilia the other night, I must have seen it three times, and read the about four times. I love English classics.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures do not just look it, they ARE authentic - I took them all myself and did not change anything about them before uploading them here :-)
DeleteI must admit I have never read "Wuthering Heights", nor seen any of the film adaptions. It's a bit embarrassing really, since I am a Librarian...
Your photos are beautiful! What's with the bicycle hanging off the balcony? Did I miss something? LOL! I like the graveyard photo with the cathedral in the distance, it's hauntingly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week!
Mary
Thank you, Mary!
DeleteI was quite happy with how the graveyard photos have turned out, too. Every now and then, I actually manage to capture the atmosphere I see and feel with my camera.
It must have been exciting to have been there, to experience some of the excitement of the World Cup!
ReplyDeleteI know that is how it was for us when we were in England a few months before the Olympics!
I remember from the James Herriot books how he almost had to try to convince people how beautiful he found Yorkshire to be!
Oh, and that is one main thing that Richard misses about England, the long summer evenings...
OH! I meant to say Tour de France!!! You might know that I have been watching the World Cup! And we were also in England in 2010 for the World Cup and we experienced that excitement too. I never notice mistakes until I hit PUBLISH!
ReplyDeleteHappens to me all the time, Kay; I make typos in comments and only see them once the comment is published. Never mind!
DeleteWe actually had planned our holiday in a way that we were NOT going to be there at the time of the Tour de France - I knew that everywhere would be PACKED then, and twice as expensive as normally. I was content with just watching bits of it on telly, from the comfort of my own settee :-)
The second one.
ReplyDeleteI still can't decide on one.
Delete