Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
A day out in Cheshire. Lunch first at The Roebuck Mobberley. I had read good reports and it proved very good food and very good prices, a combination that is not always easy to find. The thing that struck us most was how quiet and entirely rural it was. mobberley is quite a large village, but this could have been in the middle of the Auvergne. Our first glance of Peover Hall was at the end of a very long drive. We were booked on a tour and as usual there were no photos allowed inside. Before I got that message I just managed to get a pic of the Runnymede buffet made in Jersey for the Great Exhibition. Tremendous detail and very impressive. After the usual war use by the Americans the house was in a very sorry state. Randle Brooks the son of a wealthy Manchester entrepeneur got permission in the 60's to knock down the Georgian wing ( in fact the main part of the house ) and restore the original Tudor brick house. Nearly all contents had been sold off in a previous ownership. Brooks started buying back what he could and also bought from auction houses and salvage merchants what was appropriate to the period. What a brilliant job he did. A good use of commercial monies if ever there was one. The tour was a little bitty and twice as long as scheduled (tours had only just resumed) but was nevertheless informative and enjoyable. Afterwards we had a quick look at the amazing stables a gift from one of the original owners in 1654 to her son - 13 cobbled stalls in a finely decorated building with a fine plaster ceiling and much else. Lucky boy! After a nice cup of tea and slice of victoria sponge, we then looked around the extensive gardens..... .........basically a series of 'rooms' with a white palette prominent.... and lots of good topiary work....... In the wilder part of the gardens I did like this jumble of azaleas, one growing through another in a most unusual way. There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile....he must have ended up at a crooked door like this! The next day we had a lunch booked at La Locanda, a family Italian restaurant in the nearby village of Gisburn. It proved a genuine Italian treat.
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Yet again we took the bus to Blackburn to experience gourmet eating at Scholar's. Four courses for the unelievable price of £12. Amazing. Yet again we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Above, the first course - treacle cured salmon (after a lovely pre-starter of cream of celeriac veloute with hazenut and apple). Delicious. Then below, aged short rib of beef, beautifully presented and melt-in-the-mouth. And finally, strawberry cheesecake, many elements and light as a feather. It's great to support an institution like this. We walked through town then past the Barbara Castle statue (no eggs)..... and past the old maestro Gladstone ( perhaps due to be taken down due to political correctness gone mad....let us learn from the past, not try to take responsibilty for it). The town hall like many others in this area is super impressive........and reflective of huge local pride in times gone by. Now not that many museums have an aquarium, but Bolton has one. In fact it is recognised round the world for some ground-breaking research. We talked happily for quite a while to Peter a 'fish-head' as he calls himself, who is one of those looking after all the fish, which all seemed in excellent condition. We teh looked round the museum and art gallery. We were taken by the staircase 'Faces of Bolton' which mixed up notable Boltonians past and present in a striking and very interesting way. This oil of Clive Myrey was full of character..... and Sir Richard Arkwright seemed just the man to get the Industrial Revolution under way. Bolton was a huge centre of textiles and this survived through to the Eighties, often relying on incomers from India and Pakistan. St Helena Mill built in 1780 was the very first mill hereabouts and still survives. Our ancestors loved to mix practicality with good design. The tiled wall has lovely Lion tiles...... ...one of which is on display and is artistic and powerful at once..... You never know what to expect in these regional museums.........from advertising objects..... to Nat Lofthouse's shirt..... I loved this short video installation which featured someone cycling round the Bolton of today and interposing this with how everywhere she passed looked yesteryear. It was fascinating. Just a little bit of imagination but a great result. And lastly, like other museums Bolton had a Miscellanea of museum objects, theirs in the form of a chandelier........ The back of the town hall was just as impressive as the front...... And how about this? Would not be at all out of place in Bath, but has anyone outside Bolton heard of this wondrous crescent? To end, a little local flavour from the bar of the Swan and Royal in Clitheroe.......
Richard III is one of my heroes. He shouldn't be as I am Lancastrian! However his power base was the north of England which I like a lot. So off we went to Middleham Castle to see where he was brought up, under the Earl of Warwick (Kingmaker), and which became the centre of his estates just before he became King. We had a superb journey through beautiful Yorkshire scenery encompassing the Dales field walls down the valleys........ and wonderful moorland on the top. On our journey of 15 miles we saw only about three other cars. terrific. We dropped down from the moors through very isolated but charming hamlets to arrive............... ...at Middleham, a famous horse training centre with its castle dominating proceedings. It proved very impressive. This was a castle that wasn't slighted like many others at the end of the Civil Wars, so you do wonder how on earth it reached this state. Interestingly, there was a lone round tower on the outer defences....... and, in the inner bailey, plenty of signs of all the stores and workshops which would have been a hive of activity at all times. Here we are in the kitchens and cellars with the remains of five massive columns which would have supported a double barrel vault. Above was the great hall, and what a hall it must have been. It was difficult to realise standing in the ruins how palatial this building would have been. with its frescoes, tapestries, and fine walled gardens round about. On this giant stone you can just about see a mason's mark. We were able to ascend to the battlements where we could see what a fine lookout was available on all sides (and appreciate the Yorkshire countryside). Just off to the South we could see the remains of the motte where the original wooden Norman fortress stood., and in between an area which once had magnificent walled gardens. Needing refreshment we walked through the characterful stone-built market town, very quiet and very pleasant. and found refuge in one of the three or four pubs. We travelled back on a different road. We saw numerous of these signs. I wonder how many horse drawn vehicles the roads in these parts see? Virtually every field had its own barn or cow huss as the locals used to say, winter quarters for cattle and straw. Eventually we came to Hubberholme, which is where I had done a triangular walk with friend Malcolm linking it with Cray and Buckden many moons ago. What a wonderful little place it is. the church was full of character with its Mouseman pews and medieval interior..... and a very rare rood screen which survived Elizabeth I's edict to destroy all such objects. JB Priestly was exactly right. At Hubberholme there is just the church, the George Inn where he liked to drink, and a farm. Here is The George..... and an old bridge over the still nascent Wharfe completes the idyllic picture. We passed the huge, overhanging limestone cliff of Kilnsey Crag, a challenge for all the rock climbers drawn to it from far and wide. The severely overhanging South buttress capped by its enormous roof was first aid climbed in the 50s, but shot to prominence in 1988 when it was 'freed' by Mark Leach. It was called 'Mandela' – so named as ‘they said it would never go free’. (Sport First Ascents). My old mobile giving up I have acquired a Redmi Note 10 Pro with a much better camera (one of the best) so I am still experimenting with it.......
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August 2023
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