Friday, October 1, 2010

Askrigg, North Yorkshire, Part II

In our last travelogue, we were in the North Yorkshire village of Askrigg, which was often used in the filming of 'All Creatures Great and Small,' the TV series beloved by so many, including our family. As I said in the post 'Askrigg, North Yorkshire, Part I' we drove from Askrigg up the hills to the Askrigg Common (circled in red, above), then down to Low Row and Grinton, and eventually on into Richmond.


My favorite sheep, found on the Askrigg Common, an unfenced area where sheep graze freely. And true to the James Herriot stories, they simply wander about, crossing the road at will. I was totally taken in by these gorgeous Yorkshire/Scottish Blackface sheep and wished I could take a few home. Unfortunately, I only had one carry-on.



This is bleak countryside, especially in March. Look at those narrow, winding roads, a common theme we found throughout England, once we got off the A roads. It was definitely worth renting a car and following our Ordnance Survey or Official Tourist Maps.




Another of my favorites. I can completely empathize with this sheep.

Kevin kept saying, 'I think we have enough pictures of sheep.'
I don't know what he was thinking.
How can anyone have too many pictures of sheep, especially these sheep!



Heading downhill toward Low Row
There is a reason people drive small vehicles in England.




There is nothing quite so beautiful as the North Yorkshire Dales.  It is everything I wanted England to be.

Last, but certainly not least, a real true ear worm for you. I first heard this song on All Creatures Great and Small, and I think Tristan and James were singing it in the first episode of series one. (Not sure about that.) Once when we were staying at a B&B in Jackfield, a man from the area began visiting with us over breakfast, and we got to talking about this beloved song. I think he was surprised that we actually knew of it! :-) And for the past couple days, it's been constantly running through my brain!





This post is linked to New Friend Friday
and Friendly Friday
and Friendly Friday Follow
and Furry Friend Friday 
and I'm Lovin' it

15 comments:

Rebecca@This Present Life said...

What beautiful landscape! It looks like you're having a wonderful time!

Visiting from New Friend Friday!

Caution/Lisa said...

I'm intrigued by the colors on their backs. It that how they brand sheep?

Those roads look wonderful. I suspect that I might like to get lost there for a very long time.

Unknown said...

Beautiful landscape and great song!! I love it!

Mama Hen said...

That video put a smile on my face! The song was cheerful and funny! I always love when you post your beautiful travel experiences and pictures! Thank you for your comment. It was so true! Have a great day!

Mama Hen

Denise said...

I enjoyed the landscape sweetie.

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I love those hills, the winding road, the barren landscape and of course those sheep! Yes you are defiantly reinforcing my desire to visit England!

Judy S. said...

Nice photos! How long were you gone on this trip? Did you find any yarn from these sheep? Oh, and how was driving on the "wrong" side of these narrow roads?

Heide at ApronHistory said...

Ohhh! I love sheep!
I know how you feel. When we went to the Sheep and Wool Festival last year I completely fell in love with Shetland sheep! I love there wool too! I so wish I could have brought a few home. Can you see a bunch of them in our little yard?! Ah, well.. I also wanted an Angora rabbit..........

To answer Caution Flag's question, I do beleive that the mark on the sheep's back it to tell which have already had their lambs. If I am remembering James Harroit right........

J_on_tour said...

Thanks for this post, I've never been on this road before. It's strange how people get used to a certain breed of sheep, this is the variety that I grew up with. The rules of which side of the road that you drive on goes out of the window in these parts as you control the whole road..... until you meet a car coming the other way !! From your direction of travel, I get the sneaky feeling that your readers are going to love the next post and in the meantime, I'll look forward to it.

Jean at The Delightful Repast said...

Judy, I don't remember that song from ACGAS, but then it's been a long while since I watched it last. (It's in my queue for this winter!) I wonder if Bertie Wooster ever sang it?

As always, beautiful photos! And those are especially beautiful sheep.

Unknown said...

Wow! Such stark country side! I do think the sheep are awesome! (Shhhh.....don't tell my cowboy I said that!) ;-)

By the way... Today was Pet Blessing Day at our school (it's a Catholic school that I want to blog about soon!) Anywoo, Steve's cousin's wife brought a GOAT! Too funny. We had everything from a goat to the usual cats and dogs to goldfish to a parrot to rodents and the slimy amphibians that eat them! Sadie and Pumpkin stayed at home because we had our Walk-a-Thon (another event to blog about) right after, I am not walking, carrying, or pushing the cat for three miles. Not sure how Sadie would do on a leash that long with other dogs, so I just hope our two girls received some of the Holy Water Father was sprinkling on all the critters ;-) I'm Methodist (Steve is Catholic), so this whole process kind of makes me giggle sometimes, but it is nice to know the pets count too!

Nesty Girl said...

Great post! ACGAS is a great show! I actually just finished reading the book and it made me laugh out loud!

Visiting from Friendly Friday. Have a great weekend!

Candace said...

I don't think you could have too many photos of the sheep personally. They are great! The landscape is surprising to me...beautiful...but I wouldn't expect it to be so barren there. Thank you for sharing them with us. Have a great weekend, Candace

Pam said...

Obviously, Kevin was wrong. You can never have too many pictures of sheep. :) I had to laugh at your comment about the pins in the Amish clothing. I might be able to create clothing after all!

partialemptynester said...

LOL! K, so you say he was surprised that you knew OF the song...did you prove to him you actually KNOW it by singing together, then end with a rousing clink of the glasses? The whole time I'm listening to the video, I'm picturing two crazy Americans (well, okay, at least you, maybe not Kevin, lol) singing along with the locals, then being invited home to dinner to sing along with the rest of the clan! Or would that be more of an Irish thing?

Whate'r may be, I love the sheep :)

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