Skipton and Bolton Abbey

The front of Skipton's Castle.
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Today we left the University at 11am and headed straight to Skipton. There we were give two hours to look around and have lunch. Josie, Ramsey and I went straight to the castle. It was fun to walk around. According to the information we were given it is one of the most complete and well preserved medieval castles in England. It was very nice. We read that at one point the castle was under siege for three years and we kept trying to imagine what it was like to live inside those walls for three years.

Me inside the castle walls.
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After the castle we went and walked down High Street, which is the main street. There was a street market going on while we were there. Ramsey bought some small red peppers stuffed with feta cheese, that we absolutely delicious. Josie bought some Turkish Delights, which seemed kinda like marshmallows to me. I bought some yogurt covered banana chips. They are very sweet and I now have them in a spaghetti jar on my desk.

To get to the the Abbey ruins you have to walk from the car park across the little village and through the "Hole in the Wall".

Ramsey and me inside the Great Hall in the Castle.
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As we were walking down the sidewalk I could hear someone speaking into a microphone a ways up. It sounded to me like an auction was going on. I couldn't really tell what it was. As we moved closer I realized that it was a butcher selling his meat out of a trailer. I haven't had a good piece of meat since I left home so all that meat looked pretty yummy to the three of us. We watched him sell three big pieces of steak for 10 pounds. Then he started cutting up stakes and throwing them into the scale, offering more and more steaks for 10 pounds. We were standing in the back debating on whether to split it and go for it or not. I couldn't take it any longer. I threw up my arm and said I'd take it. So for the rest of the day I was walking around with seven steaks in my purse.

Josie, Ramsey and I inside the ruins of the church in the Castle.
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We stopped in a little sandwich shop to order food to go because we were running out of time. On the sign outside they advertised "sandwiches and savories." I asked my British flat mates what a savory was and they described it as something not sweet. For example we eat French toast with syrup and powdered sugar. They eat it savory, with nothing on it.

We only had a short ride to Bolton's Abbey. Bolton's Abbey was once the Yorkshire Estate of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and covers 30,000 acres in the Yorkshire Dales. I really enjoyed this part of the trip. It was relaxing to get away from the city and be in some wide open spaces. To get to the the Abbey ruins you have to walk from the car park across the little village and through the "Hole in the Wall". As soon as  you step through the wall you are met with an unbelievable sight. In front of you flows the river and to the right is green grass. The Abbey ruins and the Priory Church are to your left across more green pastures.

front of Bolton's Abbey
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We walked along the path over to the river and sat and ate some of the treats we had purchases in Skipton. It was what we would call a very nice day, saying that I mean that occasionally you could see blue sky, but it was somewhat warm and not raining. Across the river from where we sat the bank rose straight up a cliff.

When we finished eating we went to explore the ruins. We walked through the ruins and looked out from the walls. The walls formed a kind of picture frame for the countryside to be viewed through. The back of the ruins is still in use today as the Priory Church. We were able to go inside and walk around as well. After visiting the ruins we still had a while before it was time to leave so we went for a hike across the river. There was a wooden bridge crossing the river or stepping stones for those who wanted to get their feet wet. It was a nice walk. We found a tree where there were all these coins hammered into it, not quite sure what it meant or the point, but it was cool. After the hike we sat by the river and just relaxed on the grass and watched the ducks. It was very nice.

This is the main street in Skipton where the market was going on.
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When we got back to school we took a short rest and then went over to Ramsey's kitchen to cook our meat. It was fun over there. We met some of the guys who  live on his floor while they were making dinner. We baked the meat with diced up garlic. We also cooked up some potatoes and canned corn. I was a little sad that we didn't have better spices to use, but no one wants to spend money to buy them.

Here are links about the places I visited: http://www.boltonabbey.com/index.htm or http://www.skiptoncastle.co.uk/