6. Jun, 2021

6. Jun, 2021

6. Jun, 2021

6. Jun, 2021

SUNDAY 6-06-21

Another peaceful night, though having told our new neighbours, out for a weekend in their campervan that the sheep will start baahh-ing at 08:00, they let me down and had a lie in, what with it being Sunday morning I suppose.

I needed to put some air back in the air suspension, but with us being on an uneven surface I had to guess at it, and hope that within the next day or two we'll find ourselves on an even surface where I can check the levels.

We didn't have too far to travel to our next destination the Rose & Crown Hotel at Bainbridge in Wensleydale (N54.308695° W2.102842°) a 'Britstop' establishment. The journey took us further along the B6255, a narrow twisting road which was like a rollercoaster taking us continually up and down through some wonderful scenery. When we reached Hawes we turned right and travelled to Bainbridge along the A684, the main road running east to west through the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

When we arrived at the 'Rose & Crown' The Chef popped in let them know we had arrived, my having booked it months ago, and asked if we could change our table booking to 18:00, our thinking being that if there was any leftover roast dinners from lunchtime then if we got in at the beginning of the evening service our portions should still be warm. The barman, Willie Ekerslike, was quite happy to change the time and so we parked up and got ourselves settled before going for a walk around the village.

So a bit about Bainbridge then:

At the time of the Norman invasion there was no village, and hence no entry in the Domesday Book of 1086. The site of the modern town was at that time covered in forest and known as The Forest of Bainbridge, alluding to the bridge crossing both the river’s Bain and Ure at this location. The lands after the Norman invasion were in the hands of Count Alan of Brittany.

Between 1146 and 1170 Conan Earl of Richmond granted the wardship of the forest to the lords of Middleham. It was they who built the manor and village of Bainbridge.

Bainbridge followed the descent of the manor of Richmond till 1413, when Henry IV granted to Ralph Earl of Westmorland the manor, town and bailiwick of Bainbridge. The Neville family were also lords of Middleham at the time and followed its descent until 1628 when it was granted to the City of London. The City sold it in 1663 to eleven of the principal inhabitants, who held the manor in trust for the freeholders.

Bainbridge is served by a local inn, the Rose and Crown, reputed to be one of Yorkshire's oldest having been in operation since 1445, a small village shop with post office and a local butcher. An equestrian centre offering riding lessons and local trekking can be found a short distance away at Gill Edge. There are a number of tea shop facilities for tourists.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has its headquarters in the village. The authority is an independent, public body within the local government structure, created by the Environment Act (1995). The authority's two main purposes are to protect and conserve the National Park and to help others share in and enjoy it. It employs around 120 staff.

A local custom in Bainbridge is the sounding of an ancient horn which was once used to guide foresters and travellers safely to the village from the surrounding Wensleydale forests. The horn is still located at the Rose and Crown public house and used to be sounded every night at 10 pm from the Feast of Holy Rood (27 September) to Shrove Tuesday.

We were looking for a small shop selling newspapers, only so that we could make use of the TV guide inside, but sadly the tiny shop was closed, never mind, next it was a stop at the tearoom where The Chef bought three fruit scones and a couple of sausage rolls as part of our lunch. We wanted the scones because we still have some Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam left over from our last cream tea.

Passing the village green we came across four caravans of pikeys camped on the village green. There were only three petrol generators between them, so I guess the fourth caravan had succeeded in tapping in to the National Grid. Still they were doing no harm there so who cares.

After our lunch we put our boots on and went for a walk following the dismantled railway line, which remains dismantled until Castle Bolton where, according to the map, it looks as if it becomes part of the Wensleydale Railway, presumably a heritage steam railway. My thinking was that even we couldn't get lost if we followed the track.

The weather forecast for today was for cloud and sunshine with a maximum temperature of 17°C, but it was considerably warmer than that. We walked to the next village, Askrigg which is a considerably larger community, where we sat outside a pub where I enjoyed a Theakes 'Old Peculiar Speckled Hen', or whatever they called it, whilst The Chef enjoyed a cold mineral water with ice.

Upon our return to the main road at the edge of Bainbridge we again passed the wedding in progress at a hotel by the river, so I took a couple of pictures. I think it's a great time to be getting married as the guest list has to be limited to just thirty due to Covid-19 restrictions. This gives the parents of the bride the opportunity to say "You know how much we would have loved to invite all two hundred and fifty of you, but sadly we are limited to inviting just thirty of you, and the huge amount of money we will be saving as a consequence is not important on such an important day".

When we returned we put our feet up for a while and cooled down, before getting ready for our evening meal in the pub. I made the effort and changed and decided to use a dab from a bottle of 'Old Spice' I've been dragging around for ages. Never let it be said I don't rise to the occasion when ultra sophistication is required.

The meal was fine, and the glasses of wine we ordered with it were very nice indeed given that we expected pub glug.

This evening we're watching a bit of television, the BAFTA Awards were on. What a load of old tosh. Talk about positive discrimination. After people of colour in the world of showbiz began bleating after all the awards ceremonies last year about their under representation, this year it's swung right the other way, which completely devalues the whole process. I just hope that next year things get back to normal and winners are selected because they are the best, whatever their colour.

Tomorrow we are popping down the road to a campsite at Aysgarth Falls for a couple of nights.

5. Jun, 2021