Saying goodbye to our latest host Andy, a musician, bar owner and all around nice chap with whom we had some great conversations with over the past two days, we headed east on the A64 to the town of Pickering and it's 13th century castle. This crumbling place, a mere shadow of it's former self, was once used as a royal hunting lodge and stud farm by a succession of medieval kings. It was built by the Normans as part of the suppression of Northern England and although it saw little military action it was a popular location for English Kings due to the proximity of the adjacent Royal forest. It eventually fell into ruin by the 14th century. (By the Tudor period it was being plundered for its materials). The only thing we could recognize was the Outer Bailey Towers built by Edward II between 1323 and 1326, the chapel, the only surviving roofed building begun in 1226 and the The Coleman Tower added by Henry II. There were a few people about so we had the place to ourselves, the North York Moors off in the distance, just the sound of a few playing children and pigeons nesting in the surrounding trees.
Whitby Abbey, set on a headland high over the popular seaside town overlooking the North Sea was our next stop. A 7th century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey it was a centre of the medieval Northumbrian kingdom. The abbey and its possessions were confiscated by the crown under Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries around 1540. Since then these ruins have been used by sailors as a landmark at the headland. I found it had the most atmosphere of the many ruins we had seen up till now and the gloomy skies and scudding clouds only lent a Draculian air to it. Perhaps this is why Bram Stoker set his 1897 story here among the brooding stones. But once the sun came out we had grand views of the town from the Church of St Mary graveyard adjoining the site. We could see small boats making their way out of the River Esk past the Whitby Harbor East lighthouse into the deep blue water of the North Sea. We reluctantly had to leave so headed back to the car park for our two hour drive into Newcastle upon Tyne where we were staying for the next two days.
 |
| Whitby Abbey |
 |
| Whitby, Yorkshire |
We were now further north, almost at the border of Scotland, but the weather was holding and it felt very springish here in Newcastle. This city on the River Tyne was once a major shipbuilding and manufacturing hub during the Industrial Revolution but is now the centre of business, arts and sciences. We weren't sure what to expect of a city we knew little about but so far everyone we met here was very friendly. Next morning we took the closest Metro from our AirBnB and started exploring this old Roman settlement, starting at the Priory in Tynemouth, a twenty minute ride on the train. It was a lovely day and almost summerlike when we arrived in Tynemouth, just north of Hadrian's Wall frontier. The old Roman fort of Arbeia stands almost opposite it on the southern headland of the Tyne. Tynemouth Priory, a once magnificent monastery sacked by the Danes in 800, was rebuilt and destroyed again in 875, then rebuilt again. Jump ahead to the early 16th century when the Priory was a rich and powerful monastery, but like other religious sites we have visited recently, this priory fell victim to the nationwide Dissolution of the Monasteries and monastic life at Tynemouth came to an end. It was used as recently as WW2, one large gun placement still facing the sea. The views were lovely and the sun warm as we walked back into the town. After a light lunch of delicious chips and vinegar (in a fish shop that Jimi Hendrix ate at in 1967) we took the ferry over the Tyne to South Shields and then the Metro into the city centre. We visited the Castle, an old Norman fortress in the city heart, the most prominent remaining structures the Castle Keep, the fortified tower and the Black Gate. A lot of history passed through these walls but too much to get into here. Well worth a visit though. Before returning to our AirBnB we walked along the river to the Millenium Bridge, the first tilting bridge ever to be constructed. From our vantage point back towards the city we could see most of the other bridges that crossed the Tyne here - the Tyne Bridge, Swing Bridge, High Level Bridge, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and just beyond that the King Edward and the Redheugh Bridges. Quite a sight. From here tomorrow we will follow the 73 mile long Hadrian's Wall to Carlisle and discover the wild northwest frontier of the Roman Empire! GWS
 |
| Waiting for the Metro to Whitley Bay |
 |
| Tynemouth Priory |
 |
| view of North Sea from Tynemouth Priory |
 |
| ferry to North Shields |
 |
| Millenium Bridge, Newcastle |
 |
| atop Newcastle Castle |
