Tuesday 15th June
We travelled up Wensleydale to Middleham to explore the town and the castle. It has many fine buildings and is famous for its race horse training stables, some of which are in the centre.

We were amazed by the size of the castle ruins and learned of the importance of this 'Windsor of the North' up to the time of Richard III.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/middleham-castle/

We were able to climb the spiral staircase up to the top of the tower and were rewarded with magnificient views of the surrounding countryside.

On our way back we called in at Jervaulx Abbey which we discovered is privately owned.

http://www.jervaulxabbey.com/history.php

Little remains of the actual buildings but it has obviously been extensive in the past.

Sunday 13th June
We were staying with Malcolm in Shrewsbury this weekend and on Sunday we visited Powis Castle.


The garden terraces were at their best and we explored all the different levels.


The amazing clipped yew hedges are huge and you can walk into the middle of them.

Wednesday 2nd June

This afternoon we had a stroll along the banks of the River Wharfe starting at Addingham.


We stopped opposite Ilkley Golf Club to enjoy watching the birds and stayed by the river as the path turned inland here.


We saw two herons fishing at different places and lots of swallows just skimmimg the river. This was a great place to be on a hot sunny day.