England, Life of adventure, Road Trips, Travel

Roadtrip – Surrey to Nth Yorkshire Pt 1

Suzanne

Another sunny day in Surrey.  It was also the day we had finished another housesit, our 31st with TrustedHousesitters.

Best of all, we had a few days free.   To roam as we please.

It was time to hit the road, to our first destination:

Dorchester-On-Thames

Heading out the gate, we turned right toward Dorchester-on-Thames for no particular reason other than that it was on the way. We saw the sign and thought, “Why not?”  We could have ventured over to Oxford, then remembered we had visited there once before, though not once to Donchester.  So, it was a no-brainer, Dorchester-on-Thames it was to be, to stretch the legs and gawk at even more buildings and an abbey.  Which, by the way, are worth the time to find that hard-to-acquire car space alongside the road to stop and explore this small town on the way to somewhere.

The whiff from masses of scented, wispy wisteria flowers growing proudly amongst old, snarly wood was beautiful.  It had a relaxing effect on me as we passed the numerous buildings covered with said wisteria, unlike the Squire, who had an ungraceful sneezing fit.

Dunchurch

It wasn’t a long stretch of road between our first stop and our last one for the day.  Which brought us to Dunchurch village to rest our heads on a fluffy pillow and a mattress, not so fluffy, in a room within an ancient building that happens to be a pub called Dun Cow.

Dun Cow – The Dun Cow is named after a local myth. Legend has it that the Dun Cow was a “monstrous beast four yards high and six yards long” which provided milk to the locals. A witch made it go on a murderous rampage until it was slain by Guy, Earl of Warwick. In 1605, the Gunpowder Plotters also stayed in Dunchurch.

Once we had sorted out a different room due to a significant water stain on the ceiling, no one seemed to know anything was wrong with the room.  Really?  The staff and manager were excellent about it, and we got an upgrade.  We were happy.  Time to check out this historic village named Dunchurch. 

I wonder how many of you realised that a man called Guy Fawkes lived here?  Well, he did.  In a lovely, posh-looking house, though I have a feeling that it has had one or two spruce-ups with a paintbrush.  That is one of the historic buildings, another is where we are staying, and the other is The Thatched Cottage Restaurant [yes, it does have a Thatched roof].  With the last one being The Green Man [where did these names come from?] The pub has a connection to Guy Fawkes in the form of a secret tunnel leading to his house, where Mr Fawkes hid some explosives.

Sherwood Forest

Set in Nottinghamshire, this royal forest is famous for its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood.

What fascinated us was that it has been wooded since the end of the Ice Age which is backed up by pollen sampling cores.  This National Nature Reserve encompasses 423.2 hectares, surrounding the village of Edwinstowe, the site of Thoresby Hall.

It was one forest; if we chose to, we could stand still, with only the sound of our breathing and that of nature taking its.

It was indeed a mostly quiet space, not even the twang of a bow or an arrow whistling by could be heard, just the chirping birds, the rustling of leaves and moving branches as squirrels move quickly like a bolt of lightning. 

As with most things in life, it didn’t last.  The chatter of people behind us broke our peace.  Oh well, the silence was grand while it continued.  We began chatting as we waved the girls past us, as they seemed to be in more of a hurry than we were.

After yesterday’s walk through Sherwood Forest, we awoke from a good sleep, eager to see a part of the UK we had yet to explore.

The Peak District

On arising, we soon discovered that our happy, smiley-faced, sunny days had come to an end. We had a cold wind and cloud with no rain accompanying us through the Peak District.  Though the weather wasn’t ideal for sun hats and sunscreen, it was favourable for long walks without overheating.  With that in mind, we set out to explore what, for us, was a new part of the UK.

Here are a few places we stopped to enjoy the scenery.

Ladybower 

This area reminded us so much of Clyde in the South Island of New Zealand.  Both places lost land and part of a town or towns due to the construction of a dam.  It was the beginning of a long day of exploring a few places we wanted to visit, so we only ventured out for a short walk along the lake.

To read more about Ladybower’s lost towns, go here.

Chapel en le Frith

chapel en le frith 3_edited

We enjoyed strolling through this vibrant and busy village.  Had to laugh as we were standing alone, muttering to ourselves what the name of where we were was; it suddenly escaped us, and a local passing by replied that he was trying to forget where he was.  What a funny man, we thought as we wandered off in the opposite direction.  I wonder why he would want to forget living in such a picturesque countryside village.  Each to their own, as the saying goes.

Glossop

Passed through quicker than we anticipated due to not finding a carpark when we did. It was too isolated for our liking, as we had all our luggage and, more importantly, our computers in the car!  Looked intriguing and noted for a return trip sometime down the line.

Edale

Hope Valley walk_edited

The gateway to many walks around the countryside.  Enjoyed the quietness of our walk here, though not the wind whistling past my ears. We ventured to Mam Tor, where we encountered a breed of cows we had never seen before that day.  Must say they were rather cute with their motley woolly coat. Check out my Instagram said the cow.

Castleton

I was enthralled with the many blossom trees scattered alongside the attractive stone buildings. To be honest, the trees in the UK are beautiful in spring and autumn and very plentiful in this part of the world!   As we walked up to see the castle, we found the gate closed for a tree-chopping exercise, which we thought somewhat inconvenient for us.

Didn’t they know we were arriving that afternoon?

Hope Valley and Town

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What is not to like about a town with a gentle name such as “Hope”?  We found it amicable, not much that we could see wrong with it on our short visit.  Though I am sure the locals could find a few things to point out.

The Hope Valley is outstanding and definitely worth a visit to walk its many hills and valleys.

Next stop:  North Yorkshire, Part 2. 

 

 

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Published by Suzanne

I'm a lover of creativity and movement, expressed through photography, words, travel and sports. . . . . . .

44 thoughts on “Roadtrip – Surrey to Nth Yorkshire Pt 1”

    1. Thanks for the information April. It’s the first time we have come across a Pub named after The Green Man. A bringer of good will? As people must think it is something positive or else they surely wouldn’t use it to name a pub.

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        1. Well, that could be a positive association for a pub especially in rural areas. Thanks for the link April, very information

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  3. Your photos bring back so many memories as we used to holiday in Castleton and Hope regularly. Fantastic walking country all around there. Congrats on 31 house sits too.

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  5. What a lovely meander. I lived very close to Dorchester for many years. The Abbey is a delight but the best pub of all run by an extremely eccentric ex wing-commander of the Royal Airforce who served good ales and wines and cooked wonderful truly British delights like HotPot and Beef Stew and Mutton and Pearl Barley casserole, Shepherds, Cottage and fish pies has gone now. I spent my honeymoon second time around in the Peak District and got poisoned by a Bakewell Pudding (never a tart if you want to speak of it authentically in it’s native area) and my mother-in-law’s maiden name was Duncalf (Scottish) ….. as ever your pictures and ramblings are a delight and since you are on familiar turf bring memories flooding back. Thank you, Suzanne 😊

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    1. You are most welcome, Osyth. Bakewell I remember those not tarts very well!! Nothing like a good stew, us kiwi kids were brought on those. Look how well we turned out 🙂 Thanks for sharing your interesting knowledge of the area, Oysth. Brilliant!!

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      1. I find it hard to resist eulogizing on my home turf … and you are right – nothing beats a good stew and your Kiwi kith and kin do seem to be pretty good evidence of their value!!

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        1. Well, to be honest, I am sure it came from the Motherland! No doubt economics had a lot to do with what we ate. Stews went a long way with a large family.

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    1. It was good Janis, blew a few cobwebs out and we were ready for a bit of relax before the next one starts. Wonderful weather, well apart from the last two days. Lots of walking!

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    1. Anabel, The Peak District is a gorgeous part of the UK. I love the small villages. So pretty!!

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        1. We are in North Yorkshire until the 31st then it’s Devon for a week visiting. Then housesitting in Chichester for nearly a month. The well dressing season sounds interesting.

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  8. What a lovely post and visit to North Yorkshire. The church windows are beautiful and I do love cherry trees and wisteria! Fabulous photography Suzanne. The whole of Yorkshire has some beautiful towns, villages and scenery, but we are being treated to some amazing weather at the moment too 🙂

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    1. Thanks Sam. Our golden weather finished a couple of days ago. The temperatures dropped by half!! Not too worry it is supposed to return by next week 🌞 Good time to catch up on travel plans etc. There are some lovely villages around the area.

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  9. What an epic road trip, Suzanne! You saw a lot. I love the story about you standing on the street trying to remember the name of the town and the local walking by saying he wished he could forget where he was. So funny. You have some beautiful photos here, especially the stained glass windows in Dorchester-on-Thames and the cherry blossoms 🌸. I’ll link this to my next “on journey” post in June. Thanks for participating! Look forward to reading the second half of the trip. 😊

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    1. Thanks, Cathy. We have had quite a few amusing conversations with locals, especially in supermarkets 🙂

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        1. Thanks, Cathy. At the moment I am having a break from a different encounter – the lawnmower 🙂

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  15. Some very lovely very English looking ‘postcards’ here Suzanne. I love the thatch under the horse chestnut tree in Dunchurch. I haven’t really explored Oxfordshire or the Home Counties at all. But when I worked in Sheffield I was able to escape into the Peak District for long lunches on occasions. A most beautiful part of the country. You must be in Chichester now? Another lovely area.

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    1. Thanks, Jude, we always seem to find new places worth a visit on our journeys up North. The Peak District is lovely, enjoyed wandering around the small villages. Each place has something worse seeing, some more than others. It’s the unspoilt countryside of the area that is priceless!

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