A brief visit to Skipton. Yorkshire.

 Monday 30th September - Wednesday 2nd October.

The drive from home to Skipton was horrible as the weather was shocking and the spray from trucks and vans made driving quite challenging. We were glad when we arrived on the bus station carpark in Skipton, donned waterproofs and headed off for a calming coffee in the very nice and spotless Caffe Capo. 

Then it was a short drive to the Skipton hotel for afternoon tea, an hour in the gym and then a swim and a sauna before a beer and dinner. All very pleasant and relaxing.

The hotel is right on the towpath of the Leeds- Liverpool canal and its roughly 30 minutes walk into Skipton. So that was what the plan was going to be for the following morning.

Following a lovely breakfast we set off in light rain, luckily this didn't persist for long and I was becoming overheated in my Paramo Adventure lite jacket. I thought I had brought my Pertex Windproof with me but when I decided to change layers I found out it was actually a rucksack cover I had inadvertently brought. so I had to wear the Paramo all day.

The towpath is well used by cyclists who obviously find it easier to get into Skipton centre rather than driving with all tourist queues.

The town centre was quite busy even though it was a damp Tuesday morning. It's a busy hub and the roads need care when crossing. We headed for the church at the top of the very wide Main Street. It's an affluent place and so nice to see shops which were shutterless and quite quirky too. The coffee shops were doing a roaring trade. I definitely would not consider a visit here on a lovely summer day or even a weekend for that matter.

The church, The Anglican Holy Trinity was open to the public and it is a fine building.

Thanks to the church web site for the image. 

The first church on this site dates from the 12th Century. This church dates from the 1300 and was extended in the 15th century. A number of changes have been made over the years especially after the Civil War in 1650 and after a lightening strike in 1853 and again in 1925.

Then it was onto Skipton Castle and the main reason for our visit.

The castle stands in a plot behind the church and commands great views. It is the most complete medieval castle in the UK and has been the home of the Clifford family.

The imposing front entrance to Skipton Castle.

There was a primitive fort built on this site around 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman Barron. However it was ransacked by the Scots numerous times and so a more substantial building was required.

The castle was granted to Robert Clifford by Edward 11 in 1310. Robert heavily fortified the castle but was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Skipton remained the Cliffords principal seat until 1676. Their banner flies over the castle today with the approval of the present Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, Devon.

On visiting the gate house and reading the information board, it tells you how strong the castle was and that it was the last to surrender the civil war and how important it was to the royalist cause. But this could quite easily be a one sided story or as we say now,"Fake News".

January 1644 castle garrisoned by the Royalists but owned by a Parliamentarian – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke. As a result Earl of Newcastle made Sir John Mallory (Mallorie)(Royalist) Royal Governor of the castle. Meanwhile Lord Fairfax (Commander in Chief of the New Model Parliamentarian Army) had been in contact with Pembroke asking if he had a problem with the taking of the castle. Pembroke responded that he did not but would take it kindly if he did not knock it about too much! 

Perhaps this was one of the main reasons why Skipton survived so long.

Many of the castles Royalist foot soldiers and officers had been requisitioned to fight on other fronts and many were killed. Leaving the castle garrison light.

After the siege of York only a few castles were left in Royalist control and Skipton was one. Skipton had so far been untroubled from the Parliamentary forces.

After the fall of Pontefract and Scarborough castles fell to the Parliamentarians only Skipton, Sandal and Bolton remained Royalist.

Next sandal castle surrendered tot he parliamentarians, and a little later Bolton surrendered. Leaving only Skipton in Royalist arms.

A rather curious incident occurred next. The York Parliamentarian Committee, wanting to secure the surrender of Skipton castle, started negotiations without surrounding the castle. It appears though that the trumpeter sent by Mallory got himself well and truly drunk and never arrived in York! I’m sure there’s a Living History scenario to be created here. The garrison had to apologise and restart the negotiations which went nowhere as Mallory’s requests were unmeetable.

November saw the re-commencing of the siege again under Colonel Richard Thornton with 2000 foot and 2000 horse.  It took three days of hard fighting to take the town as Mallory had learnt from the first siege and no doubt erected barricades and blocked alleys. 

Having taken the town Thornton now called for the siege guns to be sent from York. It’s not clear when the heavy guns arrived, but considering the weather conditions of the period it is likely to have taken longer than Thornton wanted. Thornton had wisely used the time waiting for them as his troops had built earthworks for the cannon on Park, Sod and Cock hills. As the artillery battered down the walls and the church steeple it was inevitable that the garrison would have to surrender. On 21st December surrender articles were agreed. The garrison could march out with the ‘honours of war’ and be provided with an escort to take them to Nottinghamshire.

So the castle had basically stayed in Royalist control due to being a lack of heavy artillery being brought to bear. When canon did finally barrage the castle it lasted only a short time before it surrendered. There was not massive damage done and even the castles cafe which is still open to this day looks to have escaped unscathed.

So was it fake news? It would seem so. 

To me the barrage also seems to have been done in the wrong place. If you look at the map of Skipton and see the "Battery" position to the NW of the castle, this is the castles most formidable face and hardly the easiest place to fight. The easiest place would have been from the south west. Maybe, as said earlier, the roundheads were asked not to do too much damage on taking the castle.

Here are some photos of the castle today and it is a pity that it isn't furnished at all.

The cold and damp dungeon.

The entrance doorway to Conduit Court.

Conduit Court Yard. Yew tree planted by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659.

Top and bottom, the medieval kitchen.

Banqueting Hall

The Withdrawing Room for the Ladies.

The Privey, or Long Drop. Placed high above a stream or cliff. A heap of soft spongy moss replacing todays toilet paper.

The Coat of Arms of John Clifford, ninth Lord of Skipton. 1461. He was known as "The Butcher".

                       

The curing room shallow sink. Used in the meat preservation process.

A Charcoal burning stove provided cleaner burning than wood in the new kitchen 

Trough in the wine cellar.

Unfortunately the bottle storage was empty.

The Castle and the connection to Lady Anne Clifford.

Lady Anne Clifford Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, 1590 - 1676.

Image by William Larkin.

Born in Skipton Castle on 30th January 1590.

In 1605 she became 14th Baroness de Clifford. 

She was a Patron of Literature and in the period between 1653-1676 she was High Sherif of Westmoreland.

Anne fought legal battles to regain her family estates from her fathers brother which she eventually did in 1649. This was a great win for her in those early times.

With her now fortune she did large building works on Skipton, Pendragon, Brough, Appleby and Brougham castles and numerous churches.

She was heavily involved with her tenants to the point of filing lawsuits against them and actively pursuing rents and debts owed to her. This was to be the demeanour of her power in later life, that of a direct landowner calling upon the traditions of the baronial class. 

After moving north, she rotated her residence amongst her castles, living in various ones for several months to a year at a time. She died aged 86 at Brougham Castle, in the room in which her father had been born and her mother had died.  

Her tomb and monument is in St Lawrences church, Appleby in Westmoreland.

There is also a long distance trail called, "The Lady Anne Way". Obviously put lots of thought into the title. It is 100 miles long and goes between Skipton and Penrith. It is classed as Challenging.

Around Whalley.

 Tuesday 13th August 2024.

This will be my first walk since getting back from Scotland. 

I have been having private CBT treatment in Didsbury, Manchester. It has been a huge help and although, as I posted previously, anxiety cannot be cured, only managed. 

I am now managing. A lot of the dread has been lifted and I feel in a better place so we decided to go for a couple of nights away. Not far from home.

The walk I picked started straight from the hotel we stayed at which was the Foxfield Country Hotel between Whalley and Langho.

From the hotel we turned left, passed the Artisan Restaurant where a track turns left through farm buildings with lots of chickens roaming free. Once over the railway bridge we came to gates with a stile on the right and on the left was this post planting machine. (Photo below).

Post setting Machine made in USA.

Woods Brothers Brick. Relatively modern as bricks go, founded in 1938. 

Zeter 7745 Tractor. 4 wheel drive, Made in Czechoslovakia from 1988-1972.

3.9 litre engine with 54 hp.

Railway Line from Manchester to Clitheroe.

Over the stile we handrail the fence on the right into the corner of the field where we crossed another stile into a field containing lots of sheep at this time of the year. The sheep were mainly sheltering as it was quite a warm windless day but as we approached they do what sheep do and got up and scattered.

We followed the left hand fence round to the far corner to another stile. Once into the next field ignore the stile on the right and head up hill. Continuing to a gate where we joined the Whalley Old Road. 

Turning left we continued until we came to Hollin Hall and a footpath sign post on the right. The road is not too busy but the cars were going at a fair old pace considering it is a narrow road.

Stoneyhurst College.

View West towards Longridge.

The path up hill is quite steep but the views open up as we made progress. We had a good view of Stoneyhurst College and across to Pendle Hill.

We crossed a small wooded area which led us to a gate stile and onto Moor Lane which is also part of the Ribble Valley Jubilee Way. It is a pleasant "road" to walk with hardly any traffic at all except for local farm community. Again the views were excellent. Along here we met a lady day walker who lived in Langho. We walked and chatted for 10 minutes until our paths diverted. 

When we came to a "T" junction we turned left with Brierleys farm in front of us. The driveway to the farm was particularly pleasant with all the flowers in bloom. The road downhill is steep and I was looking for a footpath sign on the right which would keep us on the Jubilee trail. Good views can be had of the railway viaduct and its 48 arches. Known locally as the Arches.

Drive to Brierley farm.

Whalley Arches, built between 1848 and 1850. 600yds long. 6 million bricks and 12,000 cu yds of stone were used in the construction. There were 3 deaths also.

We came to a very nice detached house with a footpath sign pointing up the drive. I checked the map and we were in the right place but we pondered about whether or not the sign was right as the right of way would take us right through their garden with patio furniture and right infront of the house windows. 

There was a robot lawn mower working as we passed the house and I thought we might be told we were on the wrong path but no, there was a gate with a Jubilee badge just passed the house. I cannot say I would be happy with the weekend hikers or us for that matter walking through my garden whilst I was eating al fresco. But I guess the people knew there was a right of way when the house was built and good on them for not making it difficult to find our way through. 

Looking down to Whalley.

Anyway, into the next field we contoured the obvious line round to our right where we picked up a good track leading to a wooded area. At the fence we turned left down through Nab Wood to the main road and bridge over the River Calder at Whalley.

Whalley Main Street was quite busy and we spotted many high end motor vehicles. Porsches, Bentleys, Mercedes etc. Obviously the money people live here. We crossed the bridge and turned right down a side street which led to a vantage point to view the weir. Across the river was the unusual house called  The Marjoire, it looks ecclesiastical in design but it seems to have posed a mystery for centuries as to where the name came from. It was a farm with a dairy at one point.

The Calder Bridge at Whalley

The Marjorie farm house.

From here we made our way further down the high street until we spotted Holdens Coffee shop and Deli where we stopped for refreshment. Very nice too. (we didn't have cake).

On our way again we crossed the main road taking a side street on the left which winds its way passed the entrance to Whalley Abbey. Before the Abbey is reached we had a quick look around the Church.

St. Mary's and All Saints Church, Whalley.

The foundation stone for the building of the Abbey was in 1330. We didn't go in and visit the Abbey as we had done it on previous visits. The Abbey now has accommodation and is a Retreat and Conference centre.

The old gatehouse was infront of us and The Arches were behind it. We stopped off briefly to have a look in the gardens of the English Martyr's RC church. Beyond The Arches our route turns left and crosses the river but today and for the foreseeable future the path is closed to all for refurb work. There was no detour provided by the council whilst work continues so we had a dilemma. What do we do.

The closed footpath alongside the Arches covered with white plastic sheeting.

I checked the map and to the west was an "A" road which crosses the river and the path we were on led to it. We walked along until we came to the road but there was no access at all from the path to the road. So we had to turn back.

Along the way Sheila asked a local if there was an alternate route across the Calder but there was only the bridge in Whalley which we had crossed earlier. It was a disappointment to have to retrace our steps but there we go.

We backtracked and had a pretty boring road walk back to the hotel. One good point was that we passed the Old Abbey Corn Mill site built 1837. Now apartments but the water wheel still functions.

It was 12km and took us 4 hrs with plenty of stops.