We then went on to "The Shawl", which is (according to the wikipedia article about Leyburn) "an escarpment of about 1.5 miles in length which provides panoramic views of rolling Wensleydale. According to legend, Mary, Queen of Scots, upon fleeing captivity in nearby Bolton Castle, dropped her shawl en route to Leyburn. The Shawl is the start of several circular walks taking in the nearby village of Wensley, from where Wensleydale takes its name."
How I'd love to go on one of those circular walks!
It had just begun to rain, though, and we only stayed a short while on The Shawl to take in the views before going back to the car. Accordingly, I took only a few pictures in Leyburn:
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| N Y stands for North Yorkshire. NYPD here does not mean the same as in the US :-) |
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| View from the start of The Shawl |
By the time we arrived at Aysgarth, the rain had stopped already, and we enjoyed walking down from the parking lot to Aysgarth Falls and spent some time down by the river, which was very relaxing.
Maybe you remember my "Live Blogging" from there - the post from the beginning of August with a short video of the falls is here.
A quick look around a former mill (now a tea room and several artisan shops), and up the hill to see the church and churchyard.
I found the churchyard very unusual in its layout; I've never seen one so hilly. It doesn't really show in the pictures (as up- and downhill paths often don't really show properly in my photos), but believe me, it was so.
The church itself was, according to information I found on the internet, rebuilt in 1536 after the original building dated back to the 10th century. The interior shows some fittings that were rescued from Jervaulx Abbey at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, including a rood screen.
This was not yet the end of our day out with J and B - there was one more place we wanted to see. But that will be in one of my next posts.
what a fabulous church. It looks like one to visit. I suppose that some churchyards have to be hilly but I think they usually tried to put churches on top of hills, or in flat places. Would make digging the graves easier, I suppose. It's a pity about the weather but it still looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe weather wasn't too bad; just a bit rainy in Leyburn and dry again in Aysgarth.
DeleteYes, most churches are on top of a hill or in the (flat) middle of a village, unlike this one!
More wonderful photos from Yorkshire. I love the river with little waterfalls, and the street with colorful window boxes and the beautiful interior of the church especially. All lovely.
ReplyDeletePeople take such pride in the flowers around their house, I really love seeing that! In many villages and small towns in Yorkshire, even shops and pubs have beautiful flowers outside, mostly in hanging baskets.
DeleteFor hilly graveyards come to Scotland. The most hilly immediately to spring to mind is the Necropolis in Glasgow.
ReplyDeleteGraveyards and cemeteries (what is the difference?) have always held a strong appeal to me. The older (and more neglected), the better.
DeleteI would have wanted to spend a lot of time inside the church. I never tire of these ancient churches, they are fascinating to me.
ReplyDeleteNYPD, they are a long way from NYC! :-)
I knew you'd see the humour in the NYPD bit, Kay :-)
DeleteYes, ancient churches are very special places. I think even to people who have a different faith, or atheists, feel that way about them.