First Day in Ripon

Sunday was our first full day in Ripon, and of course food shopping had to be done. But first things first: No way were we going to enter a supermarket without first having said hello to the market square and the cathedral!

But let me start with the view I had before even getting up. I love my room here, and although a few things have changed, it has essentially remained the same:

The views from my window in the direction of town centre and the other way:

Ripon market square, Kirkgate and the cathedral:

After that first quick turn we had a light lunch at Oliver‘s Pantry, a place we really like for its food and friendly service. Then it was time for that all-important food shopping. Once we‘d done that, coffees and a biscuit were in order, enjoyed on the bench in front of the cottage.

We met our landlord and -lady for the first time, and a very lovely couple they are!

Later, we walked to the Spa Gardens. They are well maintained but of course the dry weather has been taken a toll on everything there, too. Here is a picture of the bandstand, still sporting the decorations from the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee:

We had arranged to visit my mother-in-law and spent an hour with her, out in her back garden where she was more comfortable in the shade under a tree than inside. From there, we walked to Littlethorpe, where my sister-in-law lives.

The top picture is of Ripon Canal, where we walked with Angela and her dog Ruby, a sweet-natured elderly lady; it was the first time we met her, since she joined the family after our last visit in 2019.

The picture below is of chapel ruins in the front garden of a small row of old cottages in Ripon. I have always loved that particular place.

Eventually, we walked back home and once more past the cathedral, now in the beautiful golden evening light. We cooked pasta and fried some vegetables in olive oil to go with it, and opened a bottle of white.

Not bad for a first day, is it!