Today, we're visiting Middleham Castle which holds a very important place in the life of Richard III. It was a lovely drive out into the Yorkshire countryside, with rolling hills and lots of sheep. The sheep are of the eating variety as their wool is not very soft. This is also horse racing country which means there's a constant parade of stable boys (and girls) exercising the horses up and down the street all day long.
The castle served as Richard's home in his youth when he was sent to live in his cousin's care, something quite common among the nobility. He also called it home after his brother, Edward IV, became King and became the Lord of the Manor so to speak. This was his wife, Anne's, home also growing up so this group was extremely excited to spend some quality time here.
The castle is in ruins which gives you a much better perspective of the size of the structure. There are walls and remains of fireplaces that are easily identifiable. A stairway leads to a point where the surrounding area is visible. The castle sets on a high point which would have made it an excellent point to see a great distance. It was cool and windy during our visit.
We had just enough time to grab a pint before climbing back on the bus. It was a quite cute pub and they were quite accommodating to open a little early for us.
Our next stop was at Sheriff Hutton near York where there's remains of a castle and also the church where it's believed that Richard and Anne's son is buried. Several of us opted to stay out of the mist and visit another pub (see a pattern here???). There was actually a patron there that had spent time at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. You just never know...
We had a little time when we got back to York, so we visited the York Minster. This church is the second largest in Europe and sits on top of Roman ruins. These ruins are actually viewable in the basement. The other attraction is the stain glass windows in the church, particularly The Five Sisters, which are indeed very old and very lovely.
Since we really had not eaten lunch, we stopped in at the Evil Eye where we caught a bit of Thai food and The Beatles' St. Peppers playing with a Reggae twist. Somehow it seemed right.
Tonight, Sharon had a reading and a reception where the newly re-released Sunne was on sale and available for signing. Some locals joined us for the event and seemed quite thrilled to get to meet Sharon (not so much the tour group since we bought up all the books!). I think several tour members may have to pay an overweight luggage charge going back with the addition of one or more thousand page books. I'm sure we all think it is worth it.
The castle served as Richard's home in his youth when he was sent to live in his cousin's care, something quite common among the nobility. He also called it home after his brother, Edward IV, became King and became the Lord of the Manor so to speak. This was his wife, Anne's, home also growing up so this group was extremely excited to spend some quality time here.
The castle is in ruins which gives you a much better perspective of the size of the structure. There are walls and remains of fireplaces that are easily identifiable. A stairway leads to a point where the surrounding area is visible. The castle sets on a high point which would have made it an excellent point to see a great distance. It was cool and windy during our visit.
We had just enough time to grab a pint before climbing back on the bus. It was a quite cute pub and they were quite accommodating to open a little early for us.
Our next stop was at Sheriff Hutton near York where there's remains of a castle and also the church where it's believed that Richard and Anne's son is buried. Several of us opted to stay out of the mist and visit another pub (see a pattern here???). There was actually a patron there that had spent time at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. You just never know...
We had a little time when we got back to York, so we visited the York Minster. This church is the second largest in Europe and sits on top of Roman ruins. These ruins are actually viewable in the basement. The other attraction is the stain glass windows in the church, particularly The Five Sisters, which are indeed very old and very lovely.
Since we really had not eaten lunch, we stopped in at the Evil Eye where we caught a bit of Thai food and The Beatles' St. Peppers playing with a Reggae twist. Somehow it seemed right.
Tonight, Sharon had a reading and a reception where the newly re-released Sunne was on sale and available for signing. Some locals joined us for the event and seemed quite thrilled to get to meet Sharon (not so much the tour group since we bought up all the books!). I think several tour members may have to pay an overweight luggage charge going back with the addition of one or more thousand page books. I'm sure we all think it is worth it.
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