We planned another lovely walk in the Dales today. This time a circle route, which we have done years before, that starts at the beautiful Aysgarth Falls and then walks through woodland and farmers fields to Bolton Castle, returning through Carperby.

Aysgarth falls is made up of three significant sets of falls. The Upper, Middle and Lower Falls. Our walk started at the Aysgarth middle falls. The path followed the river for sometime, weaving in and out of woodland at the beginning.

Parts of the woodland was filled with bluebells and other wild flowers. the recent rains and cooler temperatures have held back some of the flowers, but we are getting our first whiff of the wild garlic that s also beginning to bloom here.

We soon came to the path to the lower falls. The guide book had said the best time to visit the falls is on a sunny day following rain, and we got to see them in their full splendor.

Along the path, I discovered a lovely bench that someone with talent had the time to carve this for the enjoyment of all!

We soon left the woodland and started crossing pastures as we made our way east and north towards Bolton Castle.

From open fields, we then followed a bridle path that led us to another short walks in the woods before opening once again to green green pastures.

Well, after a quick cup of tea, it was time to begin our circle back to Carperby and the Aysgarth car park. This time our journey took us through picturesque fields, before woodlands once again.

Back in the car we headed for home and an early dinner. We had a friend of Glenn and Gwen’s from their last trip coming over to visit in the evening and enjoyed many stories of his travels.

Day 29, Durham Cathedral

Today, Glenn, Gwen and I headed to Durham to visit the historic Cathedral there. Dan missed out on this because of other obligations, but I’m sure he’ll catch up with the blog!

Durham Cathedral was founded in the 11th century along with many of the other monasteries in the north of England. This cathedral began as a Saxon church which was built at the resting place of St Cuthbert. As legend has it, the body was carried away from Lindisfarne in order to keep it from the marauding Norse invaders. Legend also has it that St Cuthbert’s body was dug up 11 years after his death in order to put his bones in a reliquary. To their surprise, his body was found just as it was on his deathbed….so the entire coffin was moved. It traveled to Marsk and to Chester Le Street until the monks carried it along to a hill top in Durham where the weight became so heavy, they could no longer lift the coffin. They decided that this would be his final resting place, and they were able to finally put St Cuthbert to rest.

The Cathedral features 2 great saints. St Cuthbert, as I referred to above, and the venerable Bede. Bede is recognized as an incredible scholar and wrote the first book of the history of the English. It tells the story of the establishment of Christianity in England and the development of the kingdoms within.

We were a little early for our Cathedral tour,so we went into the visitor’s centre, located in the library of the university. And , of course, Durham University is housed in the former Prince Bishop’s castle…lots of history to be seen!

After some orientation, we went in to the see the Library, first opened by Bishop Cosins in 1669. This was the first “public” library in England. Let me qualify “public” as being open to the clergy and the aristocracy. However, having said that, the concept was created for future use and expansion!

Our next visit was to the cathedral itself. The entrance intrigued us right away with doors that were 10ft high and a knocker that would spook anyone! Apparently, as legend has it, if you had committed a great offense, you could touch the knocker and be granted sanctuary for 37 days, during which time you chose between trial and voluntary exile! The hideous face was to ward off evil from this place of sanctuary.

Upon entering the cathedral we walked by the baptismal font. This was created after the reformation, and was the first thing in which the bishop of Durham wanted to invest. It’s the first sacrament, and should be something that leads the child towards a life bound for heaven.

Looking down the nave, I was struck by how similar this cathedral was to those that we had hiked by that were destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in northern England. Apparently this church survived because it was an “urban church” (most likely built around the pilgrimages for St Cuthbert and St Bede). Clearly this church aligned itself quickly to the Church of England and saved itself from ruin. It was an amazing place that, all but for the grace of their oppressors, could have ended up like so many other abbeys in the district.

An interesting story that we were told happened during the Blitz when German bombers were sent to bomb Durham. When they arrived, miraculously a heavy fog laid across the city, and it was spared from bombs that would have destroyed the cathedral. it is the belief that St Cuthbert saved them all from destruction.

When our touring of the church was done, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed outside to tour the town.

It was soon time to leave Durham and head back to Richmond. Only one full day left to explore the Dales before we head north to Scotland the the out islands. Just as things are getting quite warm at home. We are heading to even cooler weather. Summer temps on the Orkneys are reported to be 15C on average….and it’s not summer yet!!! Oh well, we’ll enjoy another day pf green dales before heading north. Until then.