First stop was Knaresborough where I visited Mother Shipton's Cave and the petrifying well and then walked up to what's left of Knaresborough Castle.
I also met a lady with one of the best job titles - Her Majesty's keeper of Ravens at Knaresborough Castle - and held Gabriel, one of the two ravens out today (the other was called Izabella). Gabriel is descended from the Tower of London's ravens and she arrived in Knaresborough as a chick fifteen years ago. Getting close to the birds was the highlight of my afternoon in the town!
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| Gabriel |
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| Izabella |
Later in the day I visited Brimham Rocks, somewhere I've been wanting to explore for a long time!
These rocks are on National Trust owned land and are part of the Nidderdale AONB. I felt at home here - moorlands and millstone grit - as it's similar to places in the Peak. The rocks have been sculpted over thousands of years by glaciation, wind and rain into all sorts of shapes.
I also climbed a tree and ate bilberries :)
Brimham is definitely somewhere I need to return to - with a picnic and a whole day to explore the moorland and the rocks!
The evening was also spent outdoors, cooking dinner beside the camp fire, listening to oystercatchers overhead and the crackling of the logs as the light faded and the bats came out.
