Bimbling along the River Wharfe

Good morning. The plan was to drive to Tadcaster and have a look around there. There are plenty of footpaths on the map to choose from. I managed to miss the turn off the A1 motorway, should have taken the A64. Never mind, go to the Wetherby turn off and head for Tadcaster on the A659. This passes through the town of Boston Spa. Looks nice here I thought. I spotted a car park next to the church. It was an ideal spot to park. No charge and close to the river. I can walk to Tadcaster from here, so off I went. 

It was a lovely walk along the river. Peeking into the back gardens of some seriously fabulous mansions. 

I had good vibes about this walk. As it turned out it was a good move to park at Boston Spa. The mistake could very well pay off. I got chatting to a woman who was going in the same direction as me. She turned off after about ten minutes to take a short cut up a track to visit her daughter who had moved into a new modern house on a newish estate. She told me about a nice tea room in Tadcaster. I found it but it is closed on a Monday. 

Two photo's of the same bridge, different angles. There are so many nice views along this stretch of water, it's hard to pick the best ones out. 

This viaduct was quite a distance away. Worth a zoom in I thought. 

The riverside path veers off to the right along the Ebor Way. It is a 76 mile long path from Helmsley to York, and beyond. I joined the road for a short distance and headed for Newton Kyme. These sheep were squashed together like sardines in a tin, under a tree to keep out of the sun, although it wasn't that hot. They had the whole field to play around in. 

On arrival in the village I found some beautiful period houses. The very strong smell of lavender hit my nostrils here. It was full of bees going about their buzzziness. 

There were quite a few examples like this one. 

I was poking around trying to find the remains of a castle, as indicated on the map. An elderly gentleman came out of a house with his his dog. I asked about the castle. He pointed down a lane which looked like the entrance to some private houses. He said there is no public access. He suggested I take the gate to the side of the church and follow the Ebor Way to the river. 

How about this then. An amazing sight greeted me as I headed for the church. When I spoke to the gentleman I was on the other side of this. it looked like the back entrance, a courtyard with parked cars. I asked him about it, is it one big house. He said it is split into three separate residences. I took a couple of photo's. No chance to get closer, it has a moat around this side. The sky looks menacing. 

I went into the churchyard looking for a bench to sit down. By this time I am ready for a rest and a bite to eat. No benches, I sat on a tomb stone. There is no name board here, and it backs onto a stone wall which is the perimeter wall of the big house. I think this must be a private estate church.

I took a sneaky peak over the wall and found this shot. Love the statue. 

Ten minutes later the dark clouds have blown over, it was very windy, and the blue skies were back. The sky makes all the difference to a photo. 

If you want to see more pictures of this, David Armitage Photography has some cracking shots on his web site. 

Time to move on. Carry on along the river to Tadcaster. It was turning into a perfect day for walking. As long as those clouds stayed away. 

I will finish this post here, and carry on tomorrow with some Tadcaster photo's. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona