Tuesday 14/5/19

Today we packed up and left the Yorkshire Dales, we have really enjoyed this area and are excited to now be heading for the Derbyshire Dales, which is South of Yorkshire.

Another bright sunny day today and on the way we planned to stop and visit Rievaulx Abbey at Helmsley, which was recommended by one of the staff at Whitby Abbey and is well worth a visit if you get the opportunity.

Interestingly we spoke to one of the staff who told us that her cottage has Rievaulx stone in it, so this practice seems to have been widely adopted.

After we left Rievaulx we made our way South and along the way spied a castle at Helmsley.

We decided to take a look and found a 900 year old castle turned Tudor mansion!

Behind the castle was an estate so we drove up for a look and found Duncombe Park, a very fine example of an historic house and still owned by the Duncombe family. Would have been great to view but no time today unfortunately as the day is getting on. Interesting how it’s the things you stumble across some days that grab you.

The drive to Wirksworth in Derbyshire was enjoyable and didn’t take too long. Our accommodation at “Cosy Cottage” a tiny 3 story dwelling looked comfortable and functional so we headed out o explore…