Richmond to Oak Tree Hill

Having a little trouble with connectivity tonight and also pretty pooped out so I’ll keep it shorter tonight. Had a long day today, at least for us- a 15 mile walk from Richmond to our stay at Lovesome Hill Farm, 2 miles past Danby Wiske if any of you are following on your maps (Tina). We also added a little bit more mileage with a stop outside of Richmond at the Easby Abbey ruins. Such an amazing place! So, the story goes something like this, an order of Catholics inhabited this abbey built in 1152. They lived and worked there, adding on to the abbey over the years and serving the community in the Richmond area until the 1500s when Henry the VIII decided to wipe them out and destroy the abbey. Members died horrific, cruel deaths that I won’t elaborate on here. Then, in the 18th and 19th centuries, a resurgence of interest brought English Romantic artists such as JMW Turner to the abbey to paint it and revive interest in the history of the site. (See Turner’s painting below and my photo standing at the same site below). Our walk today was so varied. After the abbey came a walk along the river Swale, through young spring trees, over old rail bridges, under highways, muddy, buggy and stinky sections through pastures, farms, and Canola fields of the brightest “highlighter” yellow your eyes have seen.. The second half of the day was wet as we got caught in a thunderstorm after out running another. Walking single file through mud with our hoods up made it difficult to hear. Once as I marched on, I heard Tom say behind me, “What I I need most right now is some art supplies!” Baffled, and wondering what possessed my husband to start dabbling in creativity, I turned and said, “Whaaaat?” Louder, from behind, came “What I need most right now is some arch supports!” Whew, ok-that’s much more in keeping with my man. Next came a cow field with grass, mud, grass with mud, water with mud and some cow patties on top of the grass on top of the mud. At that moment, it occurred to me: It really doesn’t matter where you step, it’s all the same.. We did find a nice lunch spot on river bank and had our first Wensleydale Cheese and crackers purchased from a little grocery in Richmond. “Cheese, Gromit! Wensleydale please!” I enjoyed pretending to be Wallace talking to Gromit over tea, cheese and crackers. Arrived at about 6pm to Lovesome Farm B and B, Mary, our host was a welcoming sight to our weary eyes and feet. She took all of our wet clothes and boots to dry and set us up with a big pot of hot tea and cookies. Tom drank 4 cups, I had 3. Dinner, hot bath and bed in a large room big enough to move around that wasn’t tilting in 12 directions was just what we needed! Ahhhhh!