A Perfect First Day

Yesterday, Monday (July 24), was our first full day here in Ripon - Sunday can not really count, since we only arrived at 9:00 pm.

We woke up to morning sun, still feeling somewhat exhausted after the long trip, but happy to be here.

First thing we needed to do basic food shopping, so a walk to Aldi was in order. After breakfast, we checked in with Mary, my mother-in-law. She lives a 15 minute walk from the cottage, and on the way, we had our first view of the cathedral. Coming round the bend of Kirkgate and seeing the beautiful front of that magnificent building for the first time after a whole year is special - one of those ‘welcome back’ moments.

Leaving Mary, we briefly popped back to our cottage; soon, we were on our way to Fountains Abbey.

The weather forecast made it look as if this was going to be our best chance, and so we lost no time. 

That walk is one we have done so often I can easily play it step by step, corner after corner in my mind, something I do occasionally when I can‘t sleep or want to calm my mind.

Lawrence House in Studley Roger

Gate to the Studley and Fountains estate

Walking through the deer park, I was looking at it with the beautiful pictures from the book ‘Still Time to Wonder’ in mind, which my sister had given me a couple of months ago and which I have reviewed here.

Close to the church (St. Mary‘s), we spotted a large group of stags. They were big and beautiful, and especially one of them was truly impressive - I don‘t think I have ever seen a stag with such enormous antlers!

Inside the small, beautifully and unusually decorated church, the organist was practicing. We sat in a pew and listened for a while, until he ended his session with Amazing Grace. A wonderful experience, and the first time in all our visits that we heard the organ.

A bit more than an hour after setting off, we reached the visitor centre where we had a delicious light lunch before continuing on to the abbey grounds. 

Fountains Hall is always our first stop, and this time, the summer house and garden looked particularly nice.

Next was Fountains Mill, and then the vast spread of the abbey‘s ruins.

Not too many people were about on this beautiful Monday, but nearly every family or small group had one or more dogs with them.

We arrived back at the cottage late afternoon with about 13 km under our feet and had a bit of a rest before preparing our evening meal, and eventually settled down in front of the telly. I also spoke to O.K. - facetime is a good thing when you want to talk to and see your loved ones far away.

It had been a really wonderful day, the perfect start of our Yorkshire Holiday!