Day 9 (July 23): An Abbey and an Animal Doctor

After a leisurely breakfast, Arielle and I set out before 10 a.m. on the short drive to Fountains Abbey. As I’ve been there several times, I elected not to pay the steep admission fee and instead sat in the grassy picnic area to read my book and do some writing. 

Thus Arielle was free to wander and explore these fabulous ruins. Here are some pictures I took of the abbey ruins three years ago on a trip with Ruth:

Well worth a visit!

As I waited, a woman sat next to me in the shade, feeding her dog ice cream (he wouldn’t eat it). We began talking, and it was one of those serendipitous conversations that will remain as one of the many pleasures of this trip. Our talk ranged over rescue dogs, the joys of owning a travel trailer (caravan), caring for our mothers, and ended in her invitation for me to join her at a choral concert at Ripon Cathedral the next day. I was crushed to have to refuse, as we were leaving for Scotland that morning. It would have been such a treat.

It was a hot day, so when Arielle was finished, we headed home for lunch and a toes-up. But soon we were on the road again, headed this time to Thirsk and the museum of James Herriot, beloved Yorkshire veterinarian and author of All Creatures Great and Small. It was a simple 20-minute drive up the A1, and we parked on the cobblestones of the market square. The museum was a short walk away, and we had it almost to ourselves. The Herriot home is preserved much as it would have looked in the 1930s and 40s, and it was a delight to browse through the rooms to recapture the feel of that earlier (simpler?) time.

Remember these?

Then, saturated with all things veterinarian, we returned home to finish up the soup and have a slice of bread with cheese. Yum! I walked back to Ripon Cathedral for evensong at 5:30, but it was more like “evenspeak.” No choir to sing, no music at all—but actually it was quite restful to simply recite the psalms responsively, to hear the lessons read, and to confess our faith together in the Creed. I was grateful for this quiet interlude.

I was greeted by one of the canons after the service, and we spoke of the “kerfuffle” in Minnesota recently, with ICE. I explained that this was not a clear-cut issue of good versus evil, though he seemed quite skeptical. Well, to each his or her own. 

Arielle and I agreed that we should leave Ripon early the next morning, as we wanted to stop in at Lindisfarne (“the Holy Isle”) and needed to get across the causeway before high tide covered it at 10 a.m. So to bed early, with hopes of a good night’s sleep. Here is a picture of my cozy bedroom.