Skipton: the chateau du jour...

[fajrdrako]

Skipton Castle. Catherine and I went there by bus from Harrogate, and it was a gorgeous view all the way. We went through classic Yorkshire farmland and dales and moors, and I said, "Should I be imagining Heathcliffe calling to Catherine?"

"That would be about twenty miles that way," said Catherine, pointing.

Close enough for me.

When we got to Skipton, we went for a ride on a canal boat. Fed ducks and swans while waiting for it. Then went down the canal, under the walls of the castle rising high above us. One of the men on the boat was using a net to pick floating conkers out of the water for the children. Many flowers.

Then we went up to the castle and I was thrilled to see we could get the printed material about the castle in any number of languages, including Esperanto. So Catherine took the English version and I took the Esperanto, which begins:

Bonvenon al Skipton-Kastelo! Jen la cxefa pordego, kiun defendas kvar fortikaj turoj. Alte super la krenelaro staras cxitie en sxtono la fiero defio de familio Clifford, DESORMAIS (normand-franca por Ekde nun!).

I wondered if the Cliffords of Skipton were related to Rosamund Clifford, the Fair Rosamund who was the lover of Henry II. The oldest bits of the castle were Norman, dating to 1090, and of course the oldest bits were my favourite part.

We wandered all the rooms and it was gorgeous. Unlike most castles, this is well preserved, with floors and ceilings. It was not destroyed by Cromwell's armies - the Royalist troops surrendered after a three-year siege, and little damage was done. Much of it was done over in Tudor times, and we saw the famous yew tree (taksuso) planted by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659. Looking good for its age.

Then we sat eating ice cream in the gardens till it was time to catch the bus again.