Yorkshire, Thirsk, Nottingham…and parts in between

With exams safely in the books and nothing left to do on the academic front but anxiously await notice of whether I’m worthy of being a human being or not, Michelle and I sallied forth on a little jaunt into the northern hill country.  We rented a car for the trip because we’re American and therefore hate public transportation.  Really, it was just more convenient and cost-effective this time because we were going to places off the main rail lines…and the rail system is pretty much rubbish and over-priced now since privatization (darn you Thatcher!).  Anyway, the good news is we managed to score a…wait for it…Mercedes Benz as our rental car.  Yeah, how do you like us now?  Apart from the Benz, I had been eagerly awaiting this trip ever since we came to England for several reasons…which shall be elaborated on in due time…

-  First off, I had to get reacquainted with driving on the left and on spacious two-way roads like these.

Spacious two-way road

In all seriousness though, I love driving in England. They really know how to do it here.  The roads aren’t ridiculously wide so you don’t feel obligated to fly around at breakneck speeds.  Plus, there are no stop signs!  The ubiquity of stop signs in the US is among my biggest pet peeves (along with Michael Buble songs).  They’re everywhere…and completely useless (much like Buble songs).  Here they have “give way” signs…meaning you don’t have to do the stupid complete stop when a quick rolling stop is more than sufficient.  Finally, roundabouts are brilliant creations.  A bit confusing at first, but very efficient.  Note that, however, none of these positive attributes make driving within Cambridge desirable.  Driving in Cambridge is frankly terrible and a complete waste of time.  The traffic is abysmal…I was glad to get back on my bike after returning the car…but I’m getting way ahead of myself.

-  A little history on why I wanted to make this particular trip. As a kid/adolescent (the timing is a bit fuzzy…so I’m not sure when this particular interest developed) I fell in love with the books of James Herriot. For the uninitiated, Herriot is the pen name used by the British veterinarian James “Alf” Wight who wrote a series of books and stories, often referred to collectively as “All Creatures Great and Small”, about his experiences as a country vet in the hill country of northern England.  His works, which were later converted into a British TV series and several movies, are brilliant for their story telling, warmth and spirit.  And in all of his books, his love for the Yorkshire countryside and the Yorkshire Dales in particular was so evident.  I distinctly remember listening to his books on tape (yes, cassette tapes…so that gives some indication of the dates here) when lying in bed at night or when driving with my mom and dad to and from North Carolina.  I pretty much had the stories memorized, but they were always wonderful.  Anyway, ever since I’ve wanted to see the Dales for myself and I finally got the chance.  When I think about it, when you couple my affection for Herriot with my love of Scottish golf (St. Andrews) and the Championships at Wimbledon, I guess it’s only fitting that I ended up living in this country for a year.  I’m so lucky.

-  The Yorkshire Dales certainly did not disappoint.  Simply beautiful countryside with rolling hills, idyllic old buildings, and lots of sheep (I could probably do without the sheep, but I guess they’re alright…I used to love sheep actually, but the Wallace and Grommet series clearly revealed their more sinister side…shiver). The weather was perfect as well…overcast with a bit of occasional drizzle and wind. Usually you want sunshine when you go on vacation, but not when you’re visiting Yorkshire…just wouldn’t seem authentic.  

The Dales

Cute...yet sinister.

More Dales action

-  Our accommodation proved to be quite agreeable.  The Ramada just north of Leeds.  We found a deal on TravelZoo (love that website) that was 85 pounds per night including full dinner and breakfast each day.  The restaurant was excellent as well.  At least dinner was, I had some killer risotto both nights and Michelle had some meat-based items.  Breakfast was rather iffy, but passable.

Agreeable Accomodation

-  Our first full day in Yorkshire was jam packed.  While driving through the Dales, we stopped at the Aysgarth Falls.  As far as we’re concerned, any time we’re in a national park or nature reserve…we’re going to chase down some waterfalls (once again, take that TLC…RIP Left Eye).  These particular falls proved to be pretty decent.  It was raining pretty steadily while we were there, but whatever.

You can tell how much Michelle loves waterfalls

Adding perspective by placing objects in the foreground is the key to high quality nature photography

More of the Aysgarth Falls

Overkill?

-  After Aysgarth, we made our way out of the Dales over to the town of Thirsk.  Why Thirsk, you might ask?  Well, does the place name Darrowby mean anything to you?  Umm…probably not…but it just happens to be the setting of James Herriot’s books.  In real life, Herriot’s veterinary practice was in Thirsk.  Hence, Thirsk equals the Mecca for Herriot worshippers.  Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m generally not a huge fan of historically restored houses/dwellings, etc.  But, unlike Churchill’s house at Chartwell, the Skeldale House in Thirsk is actually very well done.  Very simple and informative with not too much unnecessary detail. Plus, there are a lot of interactive activities geared towards “kids.”  For example, there was an incredibly cheesy plastic horse head mounted on the wall that had a “painful tooth” that you had to find.  When you wiggled the right one…the horse let out a highly authentic whinny.  Awesome.  But this paled in comparison to the cow rear-end in which you could reach your arm, grab the calf hoof, and “test your strength.”  Even more awesome.  And let’s just say, the next kid that tries to tackle the “Are you ready to be a country vet” challenge will have a tough act to follow.  I posted a perfect score of 6!

The Proof

Old Veterinary Stuff

The TV Set

No Caption Necessary

-  Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games.  There was also ample opportunity to take highly stylized pictures.  Like these…

Michelle imitating James Herriot

Such a clever picture...works on so many levels

-  Probably the highlight for me though was when we walked into the room with the short movie about the Herriot TV series.  The film narrator was none other than Christopher Timothy!  Timothy was the voice of Herriot on the books-on-tape (and also, apparently, the actor that played Herriot on TV).  Hearing that voice again brought back a flood of memories.  I will be breaking out those tapes when I get home (and then trying to find a cassette player). 

-  After my personal walk down memory lane in Thirsk, our final stop on the drive back to Cambridge the next day was Sherwood Forest in Nottingham.  Of course, everybody knows why this place is famous…it’s the fabled setting of the timeless movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  And if you thought the World of James Herriot was borderline cheesy…just wait till you visit the Sherwood Forest Centre.  This place is wonderful.  It’s got the electronic talking likenesses of Robin Hood, Little John (the sidekick, not the rapper), Friar Tuck, etc. ala 1980’s Disney World.  Even better, it has the classic one of these things (see below) that I can’t place the name of, but provides amazing photo opportunities.  Oddly, the arm holes were really small, but luckily I have really skinny wrists, so it worked.

The Proof...I was really there!

Classic.

-  Oh yeah, and Sherwood Forest has some pretty cool and very knotty oak trees.  And we didn’t even make it down to the “Major Oak Tree” because it was a 20 minute walk away.  No way were we using our legs that much.

Knotty Oak Tree (no relation)

More Sherwood Trees

-  All and all it was an excellent trip.  I can’t say enough good things about this country.  And one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the vast amounts of empty land that remain on such a small island and just how tight and connected most of the towns and cities seem to be.  The lack of urban sprawl is so refreshing.  Next stop?  The Championships at Wimbledon…in less than two weeks!