Rest Day - Richmond

"He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth." 2 Samuel 23:4

When I woke this morning, the rain was gone and the stars were shining brightly in the clear night sky. It was a cool 36 deg with a forecast high of 52. Birds were once again singing their morning song  

We set our breakfast time for 8:30 since we don’t have to hit the trail this morning. 

This is the full English - not what I ordered. 

Jo Anne got what I ordered

One of the greatest joys of a rest day is not having to repack our bags and haul them down multiple flights of narrow staircases. 

One flight of the stairs 

And the next flight  

We’re wearing our “out of breath hiking society, I’ll be there in a minute” shirts today. 

Jo Anne said last night, I’m on my own today for my little history walking. She needs to rest her body, mostly her knees, legs and feet, so she can make it the rest of the way. Thankfully, we are staying in the center of town so most of the history is right here. I think the furthest thing I want to see is only a 10 min walk from the hotel. 

View down the street of our hotel. 

Richmond is the largest town (~8,000 pop) on our walk across England - in fact, it is the only 'town'. We have been walking through rural England. 

A view of the castle from our window. The ruins are to the right of the photo. The clock tower is the only part remaining intact. 

Richmond and the Adjacent Vale of Mowbray have been totally dominated by the Castle since 1071. This was when the first earl, Alan of Richmond, commander of the Norman rear-guard at the Battle of Hastings, received from William the Conqueror the (not inconsiderable) possessions of the Saxon of Earl Edwin as a reward.

The castle was a formidable fortress. Two kings of Scotland, William the Lion and David II, were imprisoned here.

The name Richmond comes from the French 'riche-mont', meaning strong hill, and many of its first inhabitants were French. 

The obelisk bears an inscription: “Rebuilt AD1771 Christopher Wayne Esq Mayor.” But it doesn’t say that it hovers above a 12,000 gallon reservoir, a large stone chamber that apparently still exists beneath the ground.

In 1583, a pipeline of hollowed out elm trunks was created to channel the water about a mile from Aislabeck springs to a wellhead on the north side of the Market Place. These elm trunks were bored out using a hand-turned drill that looked like a giant corkscrew.

Elm was used because, unlike other wood, elm does not decompose even if it is left permanently wet.

The elm pipes were replaced by lead in 1749 (I think they were better off with elm than lead), and in 1771 they were connected up to the new reservoir dug out of the top of the Market Place with the obelisk marking the spot.

Physalis - ground cherry or gooseberry

The Chapel of Holy Trinity, which stands in the center of the market place, was founded in 1135. It has been altered and repaired many times, and has seen service as a court, prison and school. It now houses the museum.

Richmond's marketplace is the largest horseshoe market place in England. It was re-cobbled in 1771 when Matthew and Mark Topham were paid sixpence a yard to find stones and set them in place. No thank you!

As we walk over these cobblestones, which try our tender feet, I’m reminded of a time when Mother and Jo Anne came to New York to see me. We rented a little transport chair for Mother so she could go everywhere we went. She wasn’t really happy about the chair, but we wanted her with us to experience the city and she loved it. I was pushing her across a street when we hit a pothole. The chair stopped and Mother kept going. I grabbed her from behind and a man who saw her going down grabbed her from the front, keeping her from face-planting in the street. She and Jo Anne never let me forget the time I tried to dump her out on the streets of New York. I was just so relieved that she wasn't hurt and we could all laugh about it later. That last trip together was filled with memory-making moments and so special.

Below the castle walls, lies a network of narrow alleyways and back streets, formed by groups of quaint, haphazard buildings that would give modern day city planners apoplexy. 

I mentioned earlier that the furthest thing I wanted to see was about a 10 min walk away. What I didn’t know is it was straight down the hill, then straight up the hill to the tower. Then of course, it was down the hill and back up the hill to the hotel. I’m certain my toes were touching my shins at one point and heels to calves on the downhill.

Wrought iron gate entrance to Culloden Tower

Culloden Tower, built in 1746 to mark the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie by the Duke of Cumberland.

In keeping with the English history lesson, this building was a former post office, across the road from the friary founded by Ralph Fitz Randall in the 13th century. 

The Friary

Friary gardens 

Randall’s heart is buried at the friary in a silver casket. I wonder where the rest of him is buried.

The whole town is a tribute to those people of Richmond who have helped to preserve its unique character through the centuries.

I came back to the room and collected Jo Anne for lunch. We wanted to go to the restaurant that was serving shepherd’s pie but it was a special for yesterday only. 

We settled on Cross View Tea rooms. 

Jo Anne ordered steak and ale pie 

I had the chili. Both were specials today and neither of them were very tasty. Mine doesn’t even look good in the picture. We didn’t eat much of it. 

But there was a bakery across the street calling our names. 

Chelsea bun

Mini Bakewell tarts 

Mini makes it ok in my book. 

We were back in the room, blogging and plotting by 2 pm. 

"Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!"

Psalm 99:9