A Victorian Mansion and A Medieval Castle

CRAGSIDE HOUSE


ALNWICK CASTLE

Today we drove north to visit two notable dwellings: Cragside House, an impressive Victorian mansion and Alnwick Castle, the largest inhabited castle in England. The weather was rather chilly to start and we met a bit of rain while roaming around the grounds of Alnwick castle but the day cleared up, as it often does, and we ended up with blue skies over Cragside.

Alnwick has a long history that goes back to the 11th century and is the home of the Duke of Northumberland. The castle fills in as Hogwarts School of Magic in the Harry Potter films and has been the setting for numerous other films and tv shows. We were able to wander throughout the castle grounds and gardens and through a few of the rooms, though most of the castle was off limits to visitors.

I was more impressed by Cragside House which was the home of William Armstrong -- scientist, inventor and arms merchant. Armstrong, his wife Margaret and architect Richard Norman Shaw collaborated on the design of the house and gardens. Cragside featured many innovations and was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity. The house is now a National Trust property and visitors are allowed to explore nearly every one of its fully furnished rooms.

Another Yorkshire Gem

YORKSHIRE WILDFLOWERS


ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS CHURCH, LINTON-IN-CRAVEN

I walked with my hiking group through Grass Woods near Grassington. It was a lovely day with mild temperatures, blue skies and grassy fields dotted with colorful wildflowers. Our route brought us through the village of Linton where we took a slight detour to visit the parish church. I was bowled over by the quaint and ancient church that sits huddled in the village. Portions of the present structure date to the 12th century but there has been a place of worship on that spot since 800 AD.

Goodbye Miho

MIHO AND MINIATURE VILLAGE AT HARLOW CARR


MONKEY PUZZLE TREE

Miho's stay in England is fast coming to a close. She has been busy finishing up her studies and traveling to destinations on the continent. Recently Brad and I went to see her in a modern dance production performed on her campus in Wakefield. She came by to visit us this weekend. She arrived around mid-afternoon yesterday so we decided to run over to Harlow Carr gardens (after a stop at Bettys, of course!). We were all impressed with the Gardens through time exhibit and enjoyed the regular features at Harlow Carr as well. Miho stayed over and Sunday morning we dropped her off at Leeds Bradford airport. She's on her way to spend a week in Paris with a friend.

A Dog Of A Different Color

On my morning walk I spotted a man ahead of me walking a small brown dog. As I got closer I thought the dog breed looked somewhat familiar. When I got alongside them I was puzzled but almost convinced I'd identified the breed. I enquired, "Is that a schipperke?" The man replied, "Yes!" I couldn't believe it. I've only ever seen black schipperkes. When I mentioned that to the man he replied that it is only in the U.S. and Canada that the breed is restricted to the color black. In Europe, they allow other colors. His dog's name is Bella and she is truly a beauty. It was strange to see that familiar muzzle and stocky body in a glorious pale beige, almost the color of Taffy.