When I planned this trip, albeit pretty much last minute, I had no idea that this was the weekend that the Coronation of King Charles was scheduled to take place. We certainly had no idea what to expect, and I must say, today was really such a fun day for us! We didn't stick around to watch any of the festivities this morning, but we certainly weren't lacking in entertainment as the day pursued.
Our morning began with this scrumptious breakfast at our B&B.
That certainly was an excellent start, don't you think?
We then headed out to Nunnington, tuning in on the radio to hear the events of the Coronation as we drove along the winding roads of the Yorkshire Moors.
Along the river Rye, adjacent to this village, stands Nunnington Hall.
The original rooms of the hall date back to the mid 1500s. The paneling and floor boards distinguish these older rooms from the newer ones added on over time.
I found it a bit amusing that every piece of furniture had a hand made cross-stitched request to refrain from sitting upon it.
The hall was inherited in 1920 and the family undertook a major renovation, adding many modern facilities to it. But the original character of the rooms remains.
In 1685, this room was the Master Bedroom for Lord Preston, but in 1922, the inherited owner, Colonel Fife, converted it into a smoking room.
A small alcove off to the side holds this very unique pencil drawing of James II, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. I must admit, that in all our travels throughout Scotland, I have never seen James II referred to as the king of all of these countries in one memorial.
In this hall, Mrs. Fife treated the local Land Girls to tea once a month, organizing an "evening of fun" for them.
If you are not familiar with the concept, the Land Girls were women who were conscripted for war work at home to replace the jobs that had been worked by the men who went off to war. Colonel Fife, himself was a distinguished World War I veteran.
Mrs. Fife's rooms were elegantly decorated, and continue to be maintained.
As interesting as the interior of the house may be, the gardens are a real delight.
Can you spot Marty?
There were even kitchen gardens, already planted and secured from predators.
And a male peacock intent on impressing us with his plumage.
We took one last photo, at a distance,
then took a quick walk through the quaint village.
From here, we decided to head to Helmsley as our B&B hostess had suggested that it was a lovely town to visit. There was an Norman Castle to add to the atmosphere,
and the sun was kind enough to treat us to a spectacular view.
We popped into an outdoor cafe where Coronation enthusiasm was abound.
The garden set up was very entertaining, with the king and queen featured.
and the shop windows were equally entertaining.
It was really all quite fun!
By this time, we decided that it was time to head to Ripon, where we planned to attend evening mass. We arrived a bit early, so we once again set out to explore the city. It didn't take long to realize that Ripon was bursting with coronation fun as well. Market Square was filled with people being entertained by female vocalist singing songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
There was an abundance of hand made crocheted memorabilia adorning a variety of items: the postal box
outdoor fences
and even traffic barriers scattered throughout.
And store windows reflected the significance of the day.
We ventured to a park that stood near the old Baths of Ripon,
There was a large statue of George Frederick Samuel, Marquess of Ripon.
If you are interested, here is the list of his accomplishments.
The park had some lovely floral gardens
as well as a war memorial.
But the one unique feature was this Alice in Wonderland Sculpture that was carved out of an old Chestnut tree. It certainly was entertaining and not difficult to identify.
This tree that stands within a few feet, gives you an idea of what was used as the sculpture.
From here, we attended mass at St. Wilfrid's Catholic Church, where we were asked to pray for the King and Queen of England. We then headed to dinner at a lovely restaurant. It ended up filling up within short time, but I managed to capture a photo that shows the decorations in the window featured across the street.
We had been told that on Saturday night, at 9:00 pm, a ceremony featuring a Hornblower is featured in the market square. We had hoped to witness that event, but we finished dinner far earlier than expected, and it was beginning to rain.
We quickly walked back to the square, where the entertainment was still going strong, now replaced by a female trio. When they started singing "Burn Baby Burn", we decided that it wasn't worth standing in the rain for another 45 minutes in anticipation of the Hornblower.
We arrived at the B&B just as thunder was clapping nearby. We had once again escaped the wrath of the storm. And, to top it off, this was waiting for us in the sitting room.
How's that for a delightful surprise!
We'll see what adventures await tomorrow!
