Top Withering

Bronte Country

This has to be one of my favorite places I've been to so far. I love Haworth, the home of Charlotte Bronte (author of Jane Eyre) and her family, because of it's location on the Yorkshire Moors. The Moors are wild and untamed and they have such an amazing charm (at least for me). There are lots of trails out here and many of them lead to significant sites that are mentioned on the Bronte's books. This particular trail that we are rambling on today leads to Top Withering. It is said to be the location that Emily Bronte might have had in mind when she wrote Wuthering Heights and inspired her in the placement of the Earnshaw's home. When you wander out here, you can see why the Bronte sisters ' novels had so much passion and emotion in them. The moors just inspire that sort of thing. It was in their blood!As you can see in the background of these pictures, the moors are rather bleak looking at this time of year. When I was here in September, the heather was in bloom and the moors were all purple and lovely. For those of you familiar with the poem "The Highwayman" there is a part where the highwayman comes "riding, riding, over the purple moor." This is exactly the place the author was describing in the poem. This could also be the very place where Mr. Rochester, while riding his black horse Mesrour, slips on the ice and first meets Jane Eyre. I can see her sitting just under such a tree as I've taken a picture of at this exact time of day!
These next three photos are of the ruin Top Withering. The name Wuthering Heights fits just perfectly into this setting.
This photo gives you a really great look at the moors out in the distance. It's lovely, even though it is winter. It gets dark here at about 4:15 p.m., and these pictures were taken at about 3:30 p.m. Dusk comes early up here in the north!

St. Ives Estate

St. Ives Estate

Tasha, Heidi and I took a little jaunt northwest to a little place called Wilsden. It's out on the Yorkshire Moors and very close to Haworth and Bradford. Tasha's parents live there and were kind enough to let us spend the weekend with them and let us tramp around the area. St. Ives used to be one of those really large estates owned by a wealthy family. But, when the last mem ber of the family was a bachelor and he had no one to leave his estate to, he made an agreement with the local government and turned it over to them with the understanding that the grounds would always be open to the public for various outdoor enjoyment. So! That is why we are able to wander around here and enjoy the place. This first picture shows part of the trail leading into the woods. The trails cross cross all over the place and we ran into lots of others out enjoying the scenery. Today's temperature was really cold, but it was still enjoyable as long as you kept moving. One of the traditions they have on this estate is to hold an annual chainsaw carving competition. If you look closely at this next picture, you will see dwarf like little statues. There is one looking out behind the tree in the center top of the picture. You will also see Tasha imitating it on the other side of the same tree. The carvings are quite good and very interesting.
Here I am next to a large dragon carving. This was my favorite of all of the ones out there. You have to be careful as you are hiking along because the statues blend in so well with the surrounding trees that you can miss them if you aren't looking out for them.
This one is a rather friendly little guy, just begging people to sit next to him and take a photo just like this one.
And then, of course, you have to have something spooky out there in the woods. This one could be a dementor or even a hooded black rider if you're the Lord of the Rings type. Tasha told us it was supposed to be a Monk, but I'm not sure monks should look that eerie!

The Preston Temple

The Preston Temple!

As always, it's rather exciting to see a temple anywhere you go and it was really a fun day to come here. Preston is about 1.5 hours away from York and the stake made a coach available early one Saturday morning for us to ride in. We left at 7:30 a.m. and were home about 5:30. I haven't spent and entire day at the temple before, so it was new to me, but I enjoyed being immersed in temple work for so many hours in a row!

The temple is lovely on the inside and reminds me a bit of the Mt. Timpanongos Temple in many ways. We ate in the cafeteria for lunch and really had a nice day. There is also an MTC on these grounds as well as a Family History Center and a small Distribution Center.

Here is a portrait of myself, Christy Shields, and Lynette (can't remember her last name). They are all fellow students from the states and both of them come from various parts of CA. They are very nice and I got to know them a bit better on the bus ride up and back. I believe Christy is studying Art History and Lynette is in Medieval Studies.













These next two shots are pictures I took while wandering the grounds. I know the weather looks really gray and it was REALLY cold outside. So, it wasn't too much fun to be blown about in the freezing wind as I tried to take pictures. But, I'm pleased with them and it was worth facing the cold to get them.

Castlehead Crags

Welcome to Castlehead Crags--a beautiful place to go hiking and enjoy the countryside. Here I am on a bridge that takes you to the many walks that are available.



This next picture is of the old mill that is there. It is now a hydrolic system and works just fine. They also have solar panels on the roof that store energy, whenever there is sun, which isn't that often around here. Obviously there is a real emphasis in England on renewable energy sources and when we took a tour of the mill, we were inundated with various instructions on how to be more "green" in our everyday lives. I think I'm getting better at that, now that I'm here.
This is the view behind the mill house. The pond is rather large and it's very lovely at this time of year as you can see! Fall is my favorite season and it was fun wandering here among the trees and fallen leaves.
There are hiking trails all over the area and we took one of them that ran alongside the river. From these next two shots you can see how beautiful it is back in the woods!

This last picture is taken from a location in front of the mill. Those square blocks you can see behind me are stepping stones and I actually went down there and crossed on them. They weren't as slippery as they looked and it was fun to be out in the stream!

River Ouse Walk

If you go out of my front door, take a right and then walk about 50 yards, you will come to the River Ouse (ooze). There is a lovely river walk trail there that goes up and down the river for many miles. For all of you Provo River-trail buffs, it's the same idea. Lots of people walk here, many bring their dogs along and many ride their bikes. I was very pleased to live so close to a place like this because the Provo River Trail was one of my favorite haunts and it was a wrench leaving it behind. The ducks you see below are all over the place and they are very interested and very brave if you bring bread crumbs along. The one on the left of the picture liked to nip at my legs when I didn't feed him enough. He even left a bruise!Here is a view of the trail along one of the loveliest spots. You can't see the river too well, but it's on the right hand side and very often there are rowing teams working out here. Their coaches will sometimes ride bikes along this trail and use megaphones to shout out corrections and other instructions to the rowers. It's very cool and I come here and watch them when I get a chance to. I might try some rowing if that is possible.
This is a view very close to my flat. You are looking at Lendal bridge in the far distance and the bridge close up is the for the railroad and for bikers and pedestrians. We are fairly close to the train station, so luckily the trains coming through here are going relatively slowly and don't make much noise. Thankfully, they are not required by law to toot their horns at every intersection, so we are not awakened by that sound at night!

Mt. Grace Priory

This lovely place was another day excursion out of York. It's about an hour north and a little west of York. It used to be the home of Carthusian Monks and of course, thanks to King Henry VIII is now a ruin. The picture below is an example of what is left of the private cells. The Carthusian Monks did not meet each other in communal activities, but they were each given a private cell in which they had a garden, a bedroom, a study, and a workroom including a fireplace and a latrine. They then would spend their entire lives in solitude. Their meals were delivered to them through a "cat flap" like structure in the stone walls. Very interesting.The picture below is the front of the priory ruins. They have a lovely garden and then some nice displays inside the building. I believe the building you are looking at was built by some Lord or other once he purchased the land. He was the one who saw to it that the priory ruins were protected and preserved, so I guess we owe him some gratitude!
This picture is the source of water for the priory. They had plumbing of sorts that went all throughout the priory. In fact, we learned that if you wanted to live with the most modern conveniences, becoming a monk was a good way of doing that. Most people did not have indoor plumbing at this time, but the monks did.

Here I am standing in one of the cells.
Here I am again, but this time I'm standing in what would have been the chapel. There is an interesting statue of the Virgin Mary behind me. I've never seen one that is so dramatic and more abstract in its style before.
Here is a picture of what is left of the chapel tower. Heidi and Tasha are on the edges of the group and a fellow student named Christy (from CA) is in the middle of them.

War Extravaganza in Pickering

Welcome to the small town of Pickering. It's about 1/2 hour northeast of York. My flatmate Heidi, our friend Tasha, and I went here one fine Saturday in October. They were holding a War Extravaganza there. I had no idea what that was until I showed up and was ashamed to find myself in 21st century clothing. This is because a large number of people there were dressed in either armed forces uniforms or clothing from the 1940's. It was absolutely charming and I was a bit sad that I did not have a 1940's outfit complete with a fur stole with the animal's head and legs dangling from my shoulders. (I really think those things are rather gruesome with the head and feet hanging on them, but that was the style back then.) The above picture made me laugh because it looked so very British with the tea cups.

As you can see in the picture above, this was the train station and only those dressed in period clothing were allowed on that side. My favorite were the little kids dressed up with tags on their clothes and little suitcases in honor of the relocation of the children during air raids of WWII.
Here is an example of the cars that were driving down the street and you can see some more dressed up people in the background.


And here we have my flatmate Heidi (on the right of the picture) and Tasha (on the left). If you look into the background you can see the large numbers of people in the street. It was amazingly crowded! But, I was impressed with people remembering the terrible price of war and for honoring those who have lost their lives in all of the various wars.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is worthy of a post all by itself. It truly is a one-man kitchen. Our refrigerator is underneath my left hand there and I'm leaning on the hob (stove). There is a microwave back in the left-hand corner, a sink and a few cabinets. Learning to work with such a small fridge has been rather entertaining, but I'm getting better at it. Our freezer is about the size of a shoebox and is easily filled up with one or two things between the pair of us. My side is currently filled with one bag of frozen corn! How's that for food storage?

While we're on the subject of food, I'm learning all about the supermarkets here. They have very different things than I've been accustomed to at home. The baking aisle is very meager and it's been quite an adventure figuring out how to make my recipes work here. American Hot Dogs come in cans (they taste a bit like vienna sausages), there's no such thing as monterey jack cheese (but all sorts of other kinds I've never heard of or tasted), no such thing as corn meal, nothing like mapleline flavoring (for all of you homemade syrup buffs) and on an on. But, the cheeses and breads are really good and I'm learning how to work around everything else. You should see the "Mexican" food aisle. I about died laughing when I saw a very tiny can of refried beans--about the size of a condensed milk can. They seem to think that fajitas and tacos are the only things in the Mexican menu.

Inside the Flat

Are you ready for this? A virtual tour of our flat? Get ready for small spaces, old furniture, and lovely carpets!

Like all good tours, we must start in the entrance. This is a view of the stairs and the hallway. Got to love the carpet, ey? Right out of the 60's I'm sure. The stairs are narrow and very steep as well. Heidi's bedroom is to the back and mine is to the front.

Let's view our living room/dining room. That brown thing under the window is actually a table, but we don't really use it. Thus, we eat our food sitting in a chair or on the sofa. There is also a gas fireplace and another chair that you can't see in this picture. It's not bad, though the lighting is a bit dim which makes the room a bit hard to read in.


Have a gander at my bedroom here. Luckily for me, I have a double bed which is lovely for my elbow being able to be straight while I sleep. If you look carefully into the back corner behind the bed you will see, yes, a washing machine! I've never shared a room with a washing machine before, so this is a new experience. I'm glad to have it, however, because washing clothes in the bathtub like I did for the first few weeks living here got really old after a while.

I'm in York

Welcome to my life in England! More specifically, my life in York. When I left the U.S. in August, I came without having any permanent lodgings. However, I have been truly blessed to find suitable lodgings. I live in a flat that is located about a five minute's walk from York City Center. It is conveniently next to the river Ouse (pronounced ooze!) with its lovely trail walk. It is also close to the museum park where you can find squirrels, pigeons, people and lovely ruins of an old cathedral.

The top picture is our street. Most of the other flats (not apartments here) are Bed and Breakfasts, so our neighborhood is safe and usually nice and quiet. If any of you want to come and visit, I'm sure you could all stay in one of the B&B's right next to us. Unfortunately, our flat isn't that big and there isn't a lot of room for tons of overnight guests. The bottom picture is the outside of our flat. Our door is the left one and our windows are the upstairs ones.