Easter Excursion Day 1 - Castles, Moors, and Walls

On what may be our last multi-day excursion before our return to Canada at the end of July, we sampled three more medieval castles, many miles of stone walls–most of which were rather too close to the side of the road for comfort–and some breath-taking views. Our destination on Monday was an AirBnB in Walton (“Wall Town”) in Cumbria, but instead of heading straight north on the M1 as Google directed, we took a few roads less-traveled by.

Our first diversion was an early lunch break at Pontefract Castle, the site of Richard the II’s death in 1400, under suspicious circumstances, and one of three castles on S’s bucket list. 

According to our road atlas, the castle is not far from the highway, but it was more difficult to locate than I anticipated. Locating parking was more difficult still. Entrance is free, which is good, because there was not much left after Oliver Cromwell finally crushed the Royalist forces who had withstood a four-month siege in the winter of 1648-49.

Cromwell's troops also ruined the nearby All Saints church:

The 19th-century restoration--creating a church within a church--is striking:

Since it was more-or-less along our route, we decided to make another stop at Middleham Castle, the long-time residence of Richard Neville, the king-making Earl of Warwick, and one of the favourite haunts of “King in the Car Park” Richard III (1452-1485).

From Middleham we opted for one of Google’s lesser alternatives that would, I thought, shorten our trip by seven miles and let us see more of the Yorkshire Dales to boot. So instead of returning to the main highway, we set out northwest into the national park. I neglected to consult our road atlas, which labeled the route across Redmire Moor from Leyburn to Reeth a DANGER AREA. Now, however, we know what a moor looks like; we can also confirm that moors are indeed prone to  impenetrable fog.*

From Reeth we abandoned Google for what our atlas indicated was a more established road through the villages of Healaugh, Feetham, Low Row, Gunnerside, Satron, Muker and Thwaite, among others. The one-way lane bordered on each side by stone walls was certainly scenic.

Unfortunately, since we were anxious to get to our destination before nightfall we didn’t stop to take pictures, but pictures wouldn’t do justice to the experience.

*Full disclosure:  The "Danger Area" sign is to let passersby know they are driving through a military shooting range not to warn them about unsafe roads or treacherous fog. Does that make you feel better?