Sorry to disappoint, but we never did venture into the village of Robin Hood's Bay, so I don't have any photos to share its beauty...yet. But, I will share my breakfast view from this morning:
My breakfast choice was porridge with a fruit compote.
Pretty awesome, isn't it?
From here we hopped into the car to make the trip to Thirsk, which was about an hour and a half drive from the hotel. The experience was well worth the drive.
Thirsk is a lovely town and this is the actual place where Alfie Wight, aka James Herriot, practiced as a veterinarian.
It's worth sharing a little background information. If you've read the book "All Creatures Great and Small", or have seen the PBS series, then you are probably familiar with the storyline. The series is based on the book which involves a young vet who grew up in Glasgow, went to Edinburgh Veterinary school, and accepted a position in Yorkshire working for a vet living in the fictional town of Darrowby.
Filming for the PBS series took place in Grassington which was set up to be the town of Darrowby and Marty and I stayed there on one of our trips a few years ago. At the time, I hadn't realized that there was so much more to the story until I stumbled upon the World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk.
We love the series and we were both eager to find out more about the man who authored the books.
James Herriot is a pen name for Alfred Wight. Because he was a practicing vet, he was not permitted ethically to use his real name when writing the books. Alfred was watching a football game one day and the star player was Jim Herriot. Alfred thought that would be a great name for an author, making it James Herriot. His wife had encouraged him to write the books as he would come home, day after day, with extremely interesting stories that she thought he should put to paper. So, he was in his 50's when he began writing the All Creatures books as well as some other antidotal books.
In Thirsk stands the actual house where Alfred practiced his veterinary skills while living in the upstairs rooms.
The house has been preserved in Alfred's honor and actually holds the only collection of museum quality veterinary items from the early 1900's. Those are held upstairs in several rooms devoted strictly to that subject.
We were impressed with the effort that went into presenting the house as it would have been pre World War II, as well as the similarities to the series that we so enjoyed on PBS.
Walking through the front door, you see the storage place for hanging coats and stashing Wellies. The tile floor even seems familiar.
Around the corner is the waiting room, and you can spot Mrs. Pumphrey holding Tricki Woo in her lap.
You really can't miss her because as soon as you walk inside the room, you hear the dog barking, and it certainly sounds realistic!
The telephone, where the important calls were received, stands in the hallway.
There is the family room where the everyday living would have taken place. It held an old radio as well as a small television in the corner.
Vintage baby toys as well.
A collection of pipes adorned a piece nestled in the corner.
The dispensary was filled with remedies that would have been used to treat the animals.
This was the examination room for those creatures who were brought in by their owners for an ailment that needed to be checked. Certainly a bit different than the orderly ones we see in the series.
The kitchen was loaded with vintage supplies. Here you can see a stove, waffle maker and a pressure cooker.
The knit teapot cozy was entertaining.
And I have absolutely no idea what this is. Perhaps one of my blog readers can enlighten me.
On the back end of the house, there were cases filled with various collectors items attributed to "James Herriot". Here are just two that I found to be entertaining.
Just outside there is a statue of Alfred holding a dog in a lovely garden.
We then watched a fascinating video clip that featured interviews with the real vet, Alfred, and one could easily see what a likable personality he had been.
From here, the tour takes you to a recreation of the filming rooms for the original PBS series that was featured in the 1970's through the 1990's. It is set up as if one was going to film today, with cameras and small televisions hanging in various places.
The car featured in that series is preserved behind glass.
Walking upstairs, I couldn't help but admire these two hanging quilts.
as well as this lovely stained glass window.
There was a children's section, with lots of hands on games. This one made me chuckle: A Day in the Life of a Vet, set up like the game Chutes and Ladders. I'm sure that they did experience many days where it seemed like they were losing ground.
If you have seen the series, then you will certainly appreciate this photo.
I don't know how many scenes that we've watched where James had to examine a cow in this manner.
Just down the street stands the church where Alfred married his wife. It is easily viewed from the house.
And we learned that the real Drover's Inn was really the Golden Fleece, and that here was the pub where "James" would enjoy a pint with Siegfried and Triston.
How was that for fun! We certainly enjoyed it.
From here Marty drove us to Hutton-le-hole, a beautiful, quaint village where the sheep literally run free.
Here they are happily munching in the church yard.
In this adorable little village stands the Ryedale Folk Museum.
It's an open air museum designed to give the visitor an idea of the way of life in Yorkshire in years past.
There is a small village set up, with original housing that has been relocated here strictly for education purposes.
Several shops were set up to give you an idea of what life was like in the 30's, 40's and 50's, and sometimes far earlier.
There were some thatched long houses, each set up differently according to the year of use.
Here is a Croftor's cottage.
It was owned by the poorer population where the people and animals all shared the space under the same roof.
One house of interest was a photographic studio which had been set up by Wiliam Hayes. This is the oldest surviving daylight studio in England.
You can see just how bright the room is due to the large front window in the studio, and at this time of the day, it was actually quite cloudy outside.
Marty thought it would be fun to try out the set up, but we opted not to dress like the Edwardians.
And here's a shot where we look modern.
The film developing room was in the next room and there were cases with photographic equipment from the early 1900s that had been used by William Hayes.
In the back of the property is a modern building that features the history of Yorkshire in its connection to the food supply. The area is known for supplying milk for cheese, eggs, as well as honey. There was quite a bit of information to sort through, but we were running low on time so here are just a few highlights.
I thought the collection of egg cups was interesting.
and the mustache cup was certainly amusing.
It had a lip insert that kept a mustache from getting wet when the use was sipping tea.
Outside, there was a lambing hut, complete with a couple of sheep. The shepherds would sleep in the hut during lambing season. This one is set up complete with bed and essentials inside.
And we couldn't miss visiting with the piggies.
Although they were completely uninterested in us.
By now, it was nearly 5:00 and the museum was getting ready to close, so we headed out and back to Robin Hood's Bay. I captured this photo on our walk to dinner.
Isn't it so tranquil?
I hope you enjoyed today's adventures!
Until next time....
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