Just arrived and unsure what to do? I'm the one who is doubtful, not quite got the others bent to my will.
Tuesday 19th April - Steven and Marie often go to Bolton Abbey to walk so we'd decided that next time Damian came up we'd go there. We couldn't have had a better day - our summer continues, not like the Aprils we used to know.
Just arrived and unsure what to do? I'm the one who is doubtful, not quite got the others bent to my will.
" ... The land at Bolton was granted to the Augustinian Canons in 1154 by Lady Alice de Rumilly. It is thought that she gave the Canons the land as an expression of her grief for her son, the Boy of Egremont, who drowned in the Strid. Thankfully this is an unlikely tale as the boy's signature appears on the Priory's deeds.
A
fter the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 the nave of the Priory was allowed to continue as a parish church. All the other priory buildings were stripped of their lead roofs, leaving the stone work exposed to the elements. Over time the stone structures weakened and began to fall down. Rather than leaving good stone to go to waste is was pillaged and today can be found in buildings up and down the Wharfe valley. ... "
Drama: as soon as we arrived we spotted the ambulance and then the helicopter arriving. We don't know what had happened?.
The helicopter leaving the scene
The remains of the Abbey. sue liked the flowers growing in the masonry.
Attached to the Abbey is The Priory Church of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert. This is the east wall. This wall was built in 1877 to replace the old wall of 1539. It was decorated three years later by local craftsmen Thomas Bottomley and his assistant R. H. Greenwood. The paintings are of five Madonna Lilies, all slightly different, which refer to the Priory's dedication to St. Mary. Alternating between the lilies are six symbolic plants: barley, olive, vine, passion flower, rose and palm.
These are Pugin's magnificent windows in the south wall showing the entire gospel in stained glass.
Michael starts to cross the river by the stepping stones watched anxiously by Sue. The little boy in front of Michael slipped in the centre of the crossing, held by his mother and grabbed by Michael to keep all but his feet dry. It is quite deep at this point. Damian crossing moments later.
The stepping stones from the other side after we'd crossed
We elected to take the high path. This monument came into view. The third photo was taken by Damian when he an Sue walked back to the car.
It was quite steep in places. It was such a warm day the children were playing in the water, this is looking down across the valley from the path . The third photo is looking down on the Sandholme car park.
Two photos by Damian. Sue is looking at the log. There are several logs like this. For some reason unknown to us they have coins hammered into them, about halfway and then flattened.
We're back on the low ground again. The first family of ducklings we've seen this year. The bridge over the river which we crossed to have a cup of tea at the Cavendish Pavilion. Although we're way up north this land is owned by the Duke of Devonshire! The third photo is the view from the bridge downstream.
The Cavendish Pavilion. Sue is looking upstream and this is what she saw.
After our refreshments we discussed whether we should go on or start back. Damian wanted to go back to the car and drive round to the Strid car park and explore from there. Sue was tired and didn't want to walk further away from the car. I was reluctant to go back to the car so we agreed that Sue and Damian would go back to the car and we would meet at the Strid car park.
I journeyed on, eager to see the bodger at work but was to be disappointed. As I started out this stretch of river was quietly flowing and considerably deeper than we'd experienced so far. There was strong smell of the wild garlic. However I soon reached the exciting bit: The Strid:
In the distance I'm approaching the Strid?
" ... The spectacular Strid is where the broad River Wharfe becomes suddenly narrow and the water rushes with great force. The Strid was formed by the wearing away of softer rock by the circular motion of small stones in hollows, forming a series of potholes which in time linked together to form a deep, water filled chasm. The Strid gets its name from the fact that it is said to be a Stride wide, but there is danger here. It is wider than it looks and the rocks are usually very slippy. ... "
I couldn't get in the right place to take photos because two young women had beat me to it but these are some of Damian's taken later.
In the end photo looking back towards from where I came you can see how worn and smooth the rocks are and they are well above the level of the river today. To do all that wear, even over centuries, there must be torrential flow over them many times.
I continued along the path towards the car park.
This was my last sight of the river for a while. Apparently Turner painted this view in 1808 and later a view of the Strid.
Sue and Damian arriving at the Strid car park. The Dusty Bluebells Tea Room and Gift Shop. Damian went off to explore the Strid and Sue and I had tea and cakes - flapjack for me and fruit cake and Wensleydale cheese for Sue. I'd never heard of having cheese with fruit cake before but the local girl serving us suggested it. I said it must be a Yorkshire custom but both on Saturday and Sunday our relations and friends said it was universal.
Below are some of the flora that we saw:
