Day 14: Richmond to Danby Wiske

The first of two rather boring days; uneventful and the landscape was quite similar to areas of Iowa or Wisconsin. 

Only highlights were:

1. Our hosts at the Arandale B&B in Richmond were giving a wedding for their daughter that morning at 11, so we had a very early (7AM) breakfast and took off by 8AM.

2. We had a devil of a time finding our way out of Richmond and weren't really clear of it until after 10 AM.

After that, it was all pretty boring. A couple of new sheep breeds...

...a rather major diversion due to constructon of a pedestrian bridge over the super highway...

... a huge quarry of some sort (gravel?) with a rather amazing conveyor belt

...tractors blowing up incredible hard cly fields and planting them with some sort of winter cover crop...

...some lovely gardens...

...a memorial to Henry Jenkins who was said to have lived to the age of 169, dying in the year 1670...

Peter, touching Henry Jenkins' memorial, according to the custom, said to lead to a long life

The interior of St. Mary's Church in Bolton-on-Swale

A very long, very quiet paved road, one of several we walked (for 15 miles all told)

Sam, what do you say to the size of these hay bales?

Huge fields of newly planted winter cover crop

A young rider

A farm plaque, showing the ubiquitous Yorkshire tractor, a Ferguson

Ponies (not sure fo the breed)

The Ferguson tractor once again

An amazing tree house with huge tree branchs growing through its roof and sides

A very small car

The only pub in Danby Wiske; the owners were off to a wedding, so the only meal being served was chili and mashed potatoes, so the thoughtful hostess of Ashfield House B&B (Jean) cooked a family style dinner for the 6 guests (us, a couple from Ottawa and the Australian couple we'd met along the way several times before. Steve is "a coppa" and Anne and Therese are competing for slowest person on the trail. The meal was quite good and the talk... well, lets just say that Peter wasn't the only one at the table who likes to talk. The Canadians were pretty quiet but the Yanks, the Aussies, and the Yorkshire B&B hostess all had plenty to say on all sorts of topics.