Five pounds, one month - the September charity shop round up

So what can you buy with a fiver in a month?  Not much? 

This is what I've picked up in the past 30 days from charity shops. 

M&S stripe top.  I love this style, and I love this colour.  Just 50p, it was in a basket of cheap summer tops outside one of my favourite charity shops.  Still creased to hell as I didn't bother to wash it before I took the photo.

The next two finds were from a charity shop which is closing down for a refurb, so I anticipate a complete dearth of bargains in there from now on! 

M&S knee length vintage skirt, love the colour, and the price, £1, was even nicer!

 I do find the old label amusing, this fits me but look at those measurements!

It's not all about me this month either, there's something for him indoors too.  This Great Plains knitted gilet must have been expensive when new but was on a pound rail too.

You can't go wrong with a bit of bling, I found this in one of those baskets of tangled jewellery on the counter in another charity shop.  There were quite a few (cheap fashion) rings but this one was the only one that fitted.  It was black, it isn't now!  Silver ring (real silver), 50p. 

This scarf was in another cheap box outside a charity shop.  If you want gold then you've gotta dig for it.  Viyella scarf, 99p.

This was an impulse buy, but I quite fancy a long denim skirt as an alternative to jeans.  The denim is very soft too. M&S new with tags size 8 skirt, £1.  I've mentioned the size as the measurements are almost the same as the vintage one above!

So there you go, plenty of bargains lurking around, you just have to look.  Now go forth and rummage in those charity shops and tell me what you've found this month!

Richmond Castle, Easby Abbey, Ripon and Fountains again!

Our last couple of days in the Dales and we spent the time on free visits to National Trust and English Heritage properties.

The previous day I had discovered that our sneaky little alarm clock had a family, but he continued to frequent the doorstep on his own, not wanting to share the treats.  I wandered out into the farmyard after I had seen two hens and assorted chicks at the door of the other holiday cottage.  They spotted me and quickly ran over to see what I had to feed them!

They were to call at our door every day after this until we left.

We set off towards Richmond, to visit the castle.  Again, the day started with mist, but sun was promised.


Richmond Castle was suitably grand, and imposing, must have put the frighteners on anyone when it was built back in the 11th century.  

Of course, there were steps all the way to the top, so I had to go and investigate. 

 Nice view from the top

 I even climbed up into one of these rooftop turrets

It was a long way down, over 60 steps, but obviously gravity helps with the descent!

Love the entrance through the wall

...and the castle walls in general

Some parts of the castle have deteriorated quite a bit

Lovely view of the river Swale from the castle, albeit a little misty

The Swale is a lovely river, it appears to be quite shallow, and babbles along over stones and slabs of rock so is quite accessible for paddling and general poking about in water type pastimes...

...or timer related photos, where we are out of focus because the camera is angled towards the river bed!

Gah!  I propped it up on my handbag and some other stones, not well enough it seems!

From the castle we drove the mile or so out to Easby Abbey.  The journey, allegedly, could be done underground many years ago.  I subsequently read a rather scary ghost tale of the little drummer boy who was sent to sound the way when the tunnel was re-discovered in the 1800s.  If you walk the official walk between Richmond and Easby, a stone marks the spot where his drumming stopped.  Thankfully, I was blissfully unaware of all the ghost stories attached to Easby when we visited.  It was also a blisteringly hot afternoon by the time we got there, so at least the atmosphere wasn't spooky.

The crack in that wall to the left on the above photo really is huge!  The whole wall is leaning away.

Another timer shot, his 'n' her arches

Easby is smaller than other abbeys we have visited, but has a lot of rooms

There were plenty of locals exploring the ruins, and enjoying the surroundings.  As Easby is free entry I'm not surprised, if I lived nearby I would be there every day! 

The following day, and our last day in the Dales, we decided to take it easy and stay local to the holiday cottage.

I've wanted to visit Ripon cathedral for a while.  Interestingly, it is supposed to be where a certain Charles Dodgson got the idea to write about a young girl disappearing down a rabbit hole!  His father was a canon of Ripon cathedral in 1852 and Charles Dodgson visited frequently.  Inside the cathedral are beautiful medieval carvings which include some depicting rabbit holes and mythical creatures.  I chose not to buy a photography licence to take photographs inside the cathedral, but as it is free to visit, we left a donation.  Read more about Ripon cathedral here

Ripon cathedral has a very interesting crypt.  It dates back to 672 AD, is the oldest Anglo Saxon crypt in the country and is from one of the first Christian churches in England.  St Wilfred, who built the crypt, modelled it on what he believed Christs tomb would have looked like.  St Wilfred is buried in Ripon cathedral.

We met a very interesting guide in the cathedral, who happily shared his knowledge with us and pointed out all the hard to find details which we would have missed.  He showed us the rabbit hole carvings on the misericords, and other little details.  We spent a good half an hour chatting to him.

Outside, we had a little wander round the cathedral, and I spotted the gravestone below.  

I like Ripon, it is in most parts pretty, and a busy little place.  It is allegedly England's oldest city, having been one for over 1300 years.  There is still some Tour de France ephemera around, as you can see!

After a picnic lunch, we set off for Studley Royal again for a relaxing last afternoon in Yorkshire.  We headed up the hill from the car park at Studley Royal, to the beautiful church of St Mary.

 and then a final wander along the river Skell

Oh Yorkshire!

We didn't want to leave, but we'll be back.

   

  

Middleham, home of Richard III, Coverdale and Wensleydale

Our fourth day in the dales and time to go deeper inland, up to Middleham, the home of Richard III, last king of the House of York.

We awoke to cloudy skies, thinking our luck had run out with the weather, time to get the woolies out of the suitcase.

The alarm clock was outside on the windowsill, just in case we fancied a lie in!

Here he is in mid crow, cheeky little beggar!

I've never been this far inland in Yorkshire, and found the landscapes breathtaking.  It didn't take too long to get to Middleham, which is a big racing town.  We got stuck in traffic behind these beautiful race horses

We parked up on the cobbled market square, and headed into King Richard's home, his favourite residence, Middleham Castle

The castle is in the town, so it's difficult to stand back and photograph it.  It is run by English Heritage, so we enjoyed free entry with my corporate membership.

There is a small exhibition in the shop, and I spotted this, a replica of a fabulous 15th century jewel which was found just outside the castle walls in 1985.  The original is in the Yorkshire museum

  Excuse the flash, I hardly ever use it but had no choice in this instance.

I spotted this statue of Richard III as we entered the castle.  It is rather haunting and ghostly as it appears to be white marble, but honestly, I think this is a rather Shakespearean portrayal, and I don't like it.  There is a basilisk hanging on his back and around his neck, and he is standing on a dead boar (his own heraldic symbol I believe) whilst a rat winds round his feet.

 However, despite the statue, the castle is interesting.  You can climb all the way to the top (hurrah! I love a good climb).

Blue skies just peeping through, but what a great view

More castle shots 

 I do love the fact that the stone steps we walked on and the doorways we passed through were the very same ones that such an infamous king also once used

I've discovered the timer on my camera, it was touch and go whether I got to this window in time, OH had chosen the window nearest the camera

After a picnic lunch, we set off for a drive around the area, heading nowhere in particular.  Spotting signs for Coverdale, and being big fans of David Coverdale, we had to stop and take photos. We even bought Coverdale cheese at a local cheesemakers!

We ended up in the small town of Hawes, in Wensleydale.  A pretty little place with lots of tourists, expensive clothing shops selling real Harris Tweed (in fetching shades of purple too!) a ropemaker (we went in and had a look) and lots of eating places.  

 Unfortunately, we didn't think much of the cream tea.  It looked beautiful but was whipped cream, and the jam was very runny and way too sugary.  It was cheap though, and the tea was nice!  That Tweed jacket was £250 if I remember! 

That's it for day four.  

Mount Grace Priory, Cod Beck and Marmion tower

Day three in Yorkshire continued the sunny theme, thankfully, but with a hint of dew on the ground.  I took a few photos of the area around our holiday cottage.

With a packed lunch and some cake and biscuits, we set off for Mount Grace Priory, an English Heritage managed property around 20 miles from where we were staying. 

It was so quiet, we wandered around the manor house

 which was complete and decorated with William Morris wallpaper

Outside, we meandered around the ruins, mainly lovely high stone walls around the cloister with doorways into what would have been individual monk's cells (detached two storey houses with proper toilets, gardens, covered walkways and a glass walled room overlooking the garden, an early type of conservatory!) Those square holes next to each doorway are where food and other things were passed to the monks living in the cells, they lived solitary lives with no contact.

There is a rebuilt cell to show what the living quarters would have been like, and they were very luxurious by modern standards, I think.

Here's a photo of the information board from in front of the reconstructed cell.

The actual cell showing the garden and covered walkway to the loo (far left)

                    Him indoors, trying the loo for size (not literally, you understand!)

The conservatory area

Inside, and upstairs in the spacious workroom, spinning wheel anyone?

Gratuitous shots of the beautiful ruins

We headed back to the car for our picnic, in one of the most peaceful car parks I have ever parked in.  This hen turned up to scratch around by the cars

After lunch. we drove around for a while and I spotted an interesting body of water on the map. We arrived at beautiful Cod Beck, and walked through the trees to a picturesque reservoir

 Over the stepping stones

                                                          Through the trees, and

posed by the water's edge!

I even managed to flick my hair in this shot!

Driving back to the holiday cottage, him indoors spotted a brown tourist sign pointing to something called Marmion Tower.  We followed the sign.

We found a rather nice 15th century Gatehouse in pretty good nick.  Just look at the colours in the stone, not a bad oriel window either! 

With a nice twisty stone staircase that went right to the top, I insisted on climbing it, of course!

We have been so lucky with the weather so far, pity the suitcases were full of woolens.