We've just returned from a short break in the North York Moors - a National Park we haven't been to before. We're more familiar with the nearby Yorkshire Dales but the two couldn't look more different - different landscape, different architecture.
One of the attractions for us was a particular house: Shandy Hall in Coxwold, the house where Laurence Sterne lived between 1760 and 1768 and where he wrote his two master works:
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.
The guided tour gave a great insight to Sterne's motive for writing (he just wanted to be famous) and the house and gardens both retain something of their 18th century character.
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| Shandy Hall from the garden |
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| Shandy Hall garden |
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| Hollyhocks in the 18th century garden |
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| Example pages from the eccentric Tristram Shandy |
When he was writing to become famous, Sterne was the vicar of Coxwold, a very pretty village which would not look out of place in the Cotswolds. The buildings share the same buttery yellow limestone
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| Typical stone-built house in Coxwold |
And the 15th century church was definitely worth a look.
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| St Michael's church with its ocagonal tower |
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| The unusual alter rail, said to be shaped so that members of an affluent family could take communion without leaving the comfort of their seats |
We stayed overnight at Byland Abbey Inn, a bed and breakfast in the grounds of the ruined abbey and run by English Heritage. After enjoying a delicious meal at the Stapylton Arms, we were treated to an amazing view as we returned to the inn: the setting sun was just catching the west side of the abbey.
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| Byland Abbey illuminated by the setting sun |
The next day we explored the abbey ruins in the unusually overcast weather.
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| Looking along the north wall |
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| Ornate tiles |
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| Much of the tiled floor has survived |
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| The north wall is largely standing |
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| Looking east with the Howardian Hills in the distance |
Still enjoying the cooler weather we moved on to Helmsley Castle which dates from 1186 and incorporates a later Tudor fortified house within. The castle was built on a flat-topped mound overlooking the town.
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| Part of the medieval castle |
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| The later Tudor house, built inside the castle walls |
Our final stop was Rievaulx Abbey, in its time one of the greatest abbeys in the country. Today the ruins sprawl across a huge area, giving some impression of the power and influence once held by the community here.
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| Much of the abbey was built from the local yellow limestone |
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| An idea of the scale of the buildings |
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| The neaby houses, with pantile roofs and stone walls, show the Norman influence |
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| Farms buildings |
And so our tour of this unfamiliar part of Yorkshire came to an end with - as always - a resolution to return and explore it further.
Our final stop was Rievaulx Abbey, in its time one of the greatest abbeys in the country. Today the ruins sprawl across a huge area, giving some impression of the power and influence once held by the community here.
