Saturday 29 August 2015

Returning to Ripon

Ripon has been a regular holiday place for me since 2003, when my mother-in-law moved there from near Barnsley. It was a big improvement; her house here is much smaller than it was there, but she is on her own and doesn't need a big house anymore. More importantly, her eldest daughter and family live here.

Steve and I came to Ripon each summer for several years after her move, usually spending a few days at Mary's, then travelling to Scarborough where we'd enjoy a week by the seaside in a B&B, and then going back to Mary's for another few days before flying home. 
There was a gap in our regular Yorkshire holidays when in 2007, 2008 and 2009 Steve wanted to discover more of his new home, Germany, and we spent our holidays in different places around Lake Constance. Only after his death, in November 2009, I returned to Ripon and have been doing so every year since.

 
Coming into Ripon for the first time after a year always feels like coming home - the market square, the cathedral, other buildings and parks are almost as familiar to me as my hometown. I like its size; not too big, but big enough for there being everything available you may need. And if Ripon shops are not enough in terms of choice, Harrogate is only a bus ride away.

One can eat and drink very well in Ripon. The "Royal Oak", for instance, is a pub offering excellent food at reasonable prices. Its interior is a good mix of old and new, staff is friendly and the place is clean. 
Most of the time, though, we were cooking our own meals, getting the ingredients either at Booth's (posh supermarket less than five minutes from our cottage, with a huge range of "green" food), at Sainsbury's (on the market square, so only two minutes further down the road) or on the farmers market on Thursdays.


A visit to the Cathedral is a "must"; it is not only impressive in its size and beauty, but also a place teeming with life. There is always something going on; choir practice or preparations for a concert, exhibitions on various subjects, and a general atmosphere of friendly activity.

Walking along one of the three rivers that go through Ripon (the Ure, the Skell and the Laver) is always nice, too, giving you a different glimpse of the Cathedral in various places. And then there is the canal, where long narrow boats once used to transport goods, now holiday homes. 


The tradition of the Ripon Hornblower is something I find fascinating; I have explained it here. The Hornblower I knew from past years has retired, and the job is now shared between three men. It was the turn of this elderly gentleman when we were watching one night. He was doing the job well, of course, and when he offered us to stay for a bit of history, that was funny and interesting, too. But I must admit he did go on a bit long, and went into much detail that wasn't really all that important to understand the tradition; I liked his predecessor better. Still, I was satisfied to have seen the setting of the watch, as I am determined to do at least once every year, and maybe will get to see one of the other two next time.

In short: It is never boring there, and we have not even been to any of the three main museums this year!

16 comments:

  1. Wonderful post! I want to go to Ripon and I want to stay in the exact same place where you like to stay, it looks lovely!
    The Cathedral looks amazing! Are you allowed to take photos inside? Richard took so many photos of Southwark Cathedral when we were in London (paying a small fee to the church for doing so) and it was beautiful.
    Poor hornblower, giving just a bit more information than needed....maybe he will tone it down a bit as he gets used to the job!

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    1. Thank you, Kay! Ripon is indeed well worth a visit; there is still so much I want to do and see there and haven't got round to yet.
      Yes, photos are allowed in the cathedral. The one with the tomb plaque is from inside the cathedral. I took it because one of the friendly welcomers (volunteers greeting everyone who enters the cathedral) pointed out to us that it states an unusual year of death: 1694/5... So, did George Pickersgill die in 1694 or 1695? The welcomer told us that there had been an offical change of calendar that year, and therefore the tomb plaque gives both dates, according to the old and the new calendar... I had never noticed this, in spite of having visited the cathedral many times before.

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  2. Everything about Ripon looks worth seeing, and then the story of the hornblower, wow.

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    1. There's loads more to tell about this small city, Terra!

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  3. My Dear Frau Riley,
    Thank you for keeping your promise and singing the praises of our little Yorkshire city. As agreed when we dined together in "The Royal Oak" I will now send you a cheque for three hundred guineas. We look forward to seeing you and your delightful sister again next year.
    Yours,
    Sir Cedric Winkle-Rodent O.B.E.
    Mayor of Ripon

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    1. Dear Mr. Mayor, Your Honourship (or something like that),
      Looking forward to receiving your cheque although I still wonder how much 300 guineas is in Euros. Maybe next year you could make sure the bus fares don't go up again, like they did from 2014 to 2015.
      Yours,
      M. Riley
      Ambassador for Yorkshire

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  4. When I return to England, someday, and I really hope it will happen, I will certainly try to stay in Ripon. You make it seem so full of charm and interest....Never knew about the King Alfred story. It seemed from the writing that they had stopped giving out wooden coins but you say you got one. I will be happy if they have decided to keep up this tradition.

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    1. They have stopped the lucky wooden pennies, but I still have mine from some years back. As far as I know, it was something George Pickles started on his own accord, not an official Ripon tradition.

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  5. A few years ago when I read your Ripon posts I really thought that I'd get back there before now but the way life has gone I've hardly even managed to get down to England to see friends and family. It's still on my list though because it is a beautiful and charming place.

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    1. We should try and meet up there next year, Graham, maybe when you're on your way to somewhere else in England.

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    2. Well, Meike, I have made a note in next year's planner and we'll see if it can be arranged. This August was a very unusual one for me (with some Very Good bits like Pauline's visit) but hopefully next year it will be less so.

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    3. At this point in time, I can't say what month my Yorkshire holiday is going to be - could be anywhere from May to August, really. I'll let you know as soon as I know more myself.

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  6. I am glad you're back in Ripon again. I have only been once but always like to read about it. Lewis carroll's dad was an archdeacon of Ripon Cathedral so I visited when I was researching one of my books, and found it a most interesting place. On my www.jabberwock.co.uk blog a few months ago I wrote about an Alice in Wonderland craft trail they had at Ripon. It was at easter sometime, I think.

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    1. Yes, I know of Lewis Carroll's Ripon connection; in one of my posts last year was a picture that I had taken especially for you, Jenny.
      I seem to remember having read about the craft trail earlier this year in the "Ripon Gazette" (I sometimes look it up online when I have a little break at work).

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  7. It seems like a very nice place to revisit regularly, with plenty to see and do :)

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    1. Absolutely! I've never been bored there for a minute, in spite of it being a relatively small place, compared to my home town.

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