Today we left the east coast of England and travelled to the west coast through James Herriot (the vet) country. He had a beautiful landscape in which to work – the Yorkshire Moors and Dales.We stopped off at the Rievaulx Abbey – located in a beautiful valley, again like the Whitby Abbey, in operation from around 1100 to 1500s… until King Henry 8th kicked the monks out because he set up his own Church of England, and dissolved over 800 religious houses which existed before the Reformation – and ignored the pope in Rome!! – Some monks even lost their lives standing up to Henry 8th, that is, they were executed. But the ruins are mystical and enchanting set in a gorgeous valley.
The monks life was pretty hard – especially in winter, though perhaps better then the peasants living in the surrounding countryside, and they learnt to read and write….although the Abbots & monastery leaders in later years did seem to have more focus on generating profits, than spiritual matters & helping the community.
We stopped off at the Asygorth water falls – which compared to Australian waterfalls were not as spectacular, …still pretty though. We then travelled into the Lakes District – valleys of lakes and rolling hills.
We had dinner at an Italian vegetarian restaurant (The Rowan Tree) in the little village of Grasmere, sitting on a patio next to a brook, overlooking a stone bridge leading to an historic church and cemetery with bell chimes every half hour – delightful evening.
We finished off at a comfy pub for a glass of wine and to make use of a wireless hotspot to update the blog and download some email. Our &B, also in Grasmere, small bedroom but a nice view of rolling hills and sheep
