Harrogate, Yorkshire: land of beauty...

Today I was able to indulge in references to several of my greatest loves.

I saw the chapel of St. Wilfrid at Ripon Cathedral, a link to the Anglo-Saxons and the Venerable Bede and a thread of history I have loved since I was a teen.

I saw another castle - the castle of Knaresborough, where Edward II lived with Piers Gaveston. It's as dramatic and gorgeous as any ruined castle I've ever seen, looming above the River Nidd.

I saw innummerable places - spas, hotels, hot springs and hot fountains from about two hundred years ago - from the era I so love when Harrogate, like Bath, was a place for the genteel to visit for the waters. Shades of Georgette Heyer.

I saw Fountains Abbey, beautiful and fascinating. Catherine took me in through the Deer Park and then along the paths around the ornamental lakes, and up to the "Anne Boleyn Seat and Surprise View", as the map called it.

"What's the surprise?" I asked Catherine.

"You'll see," she said.

And so I did. From that spot on a hill in the woods, in a Georgian folly, is a magnificent view of the ruined tower of Fountains Abbey. A sight to thrill the heart of a Romantic such as myself.

In the evening: a birthday dinner at Pizza Hut what was actually delicious but didn't go as planned, and I think the establishment owes Catherine a balloon. Then cake and Harry Potter entertainment at Catherine's parents place, the cake made by the talented twelve year old Evelyn.

If I cheat a little, I can say I've visited five castles in five days. Yesterday's castle was built last week, made of wood, and is only a few metres across, in a kids' playground, but it's by far the best playground castle I've ever seen. Made me wish I was eight years old, to appreciate it properly.