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| Pear Tree Farm |
The first stop this morning was at Castle Howard, one of England’s finest historic houses. I read somewhere that if you were only going to see one historic home in England then this is the one. The buildings and grounds were truly amazing. Most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh. Although Castle Howard was built near the site of the ruined Henderskelfe Castle, it is not a true castle, but this term is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era (c.1500) and not intended for a military function.
Castle Howard has been the home of the Howard family for more than 300 years, one wing currently occupied by the Hon Simon and Mrs Howard and 9yr old twins Merlin and Octavia.
The castle will be familiar to television and movie audiences as the fictional "Brideshead", both in Granada Television's 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and the 2008 remake for cinema.
The house is surrounded by a large estate which, at the time of the 7th Earl of Carlisle, covered over 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) and included the villages of Welburn, Bulmer, Slingsby, Terrington and Coneysthorpe. The estate was even served by its own railway station from 1845 to the 1950s.
After lunch in the camper, we set off for Robin Hood’s Bay via the North York Moors. Camped at a camping area in Fylingthorpe (more expensive and nowhere near the character of last night) and then walked a couple of kilometres to Robin Hood’s Bay.
This place is straight out of Robert Louis Stevenson and any other story that involved smugglers, press gangs, dingy alleys etc etc. Built on a steep slope down to the beach it has all sorts of odd little houses and tiny streets. Had a drink at a pub overlooking the ocean and dinner at a different pub further up the hill.
The origin of the name is uncertain, and it is doubtful if Robin Hood was ever in the vicinity. Despite this, there is an English ballad and legend which tells a story of Robin Hood encountering French pirates who came to pillage the fisherman's boats and the northeast coast. The pirates surrendered and Robin Hood returned the loot to the poor people in the village that is now called Robin Hood's Bay.
The town had a tradition of smuggling, and there is reputed to be a network of subterranean passageways linking the houses. During the late 18th century smuggling was rife on the Yorkshire coast. Vessels from the continent brought contraband which was distributed by contacts on land and the operations were financed by syndicates who made profits without the risks taken by the seamen and the villagers. Tea, gin, rum, brandy and tobacco were among the contraband smuggled into Yorkshire from the Netherlands and France to avoid the duty.
