Google Street View Virtual Walk: Chapel Haddlesey to Selby

My first six virtual walks have featured the areas of the Peak District that I could have reached by travelling on the X71 bus rom Sheffield. I would have been able to get to the start of today's Google Street View virtual walk by catching a bus from Doncaster. When I was planning this walk it wasn't my intention that in some way it would become another of my featured walks, but when I noticed on the map that towards the end of the route there were several farms with names featuring trees or bushes I had to include it.

The plan would have been to travel on  the Selby bus to Chapel Haddlesey and head west out of the village, first taking the road and then a footpath which crosses over the Selby Canal. I'd then be walking in a northwesterly direction  until I reaching Gateforth and passing near to the hall, which is now an hotel; a few yards further on is Hambleton Hough, a wooded hill.

I would have walked down the road to Hambleton, same as is the case with Gateforth there doesn't appear to be a parish church there. There's a complicated railway junction just north of Hambleton and the footpath has to cross three busy main lines - it would have meant walking for nearly a mile just to get a few yards closer to Scalm Park, my next intended destination.

It was then over a mile down the road to Wistow and then a rather indirect minor country road to Selby, passing by Sycamore House Farm, Ivy Grange, Laburnum Farm, Mulberry Farm, and Lilac Farm. Surely these names can't be a coincidence? There's also an Elm Tree Farm at Wistow, and the name 'Selby' means 'a farm by the willow tree.'

Selby Abbey is a magnificent building, both inside and outside...this was the only angle of it I could lift from Street View though.

Selby Christmas Market 2019

I went to Selby Christmas Market on the bus with my brother and my friend Justin today. We all decided to go our separate ways in Selby. I went straight to the Christmas Market, most of the stalls were set up inside the abbey as usual; this meant that I concentrated on photographing the ceiling and the vaulting, pointing my camera upwards and frequently holding it above my head - not always being able to see what was being captured by the viewfinder.

This blue plaque doesn't refer to the abbey.

A couple of hours later I bumped into Justin for the second time and he told me that he needed to go to the toilet. There are public toilets in the abbey and so we went inside. I took a few more photographs but also took the opportunity to have Justin take a few shots of me among the magnificent surroundings. So that I'd be looking my best I removed my rucksack and put it on the floor...but I forgot to pick it up.

It was ten minutes later, after leaving the building, that I realised that I'd left my rucksack behind and so we immediately returned to the abbey. Fortunately someone had handed it in.

As I was waiting for it to be returned to me we were having a chat with the verger and the fact that the status of the abbey is merely that of a parish church was brought up and that although it relies totally on volunteers yet is open every day of the year.

Justin had to chip in with a question - he asked if the abbey opens even on Christmas Day...

Selby Christmas Market 2017

Another visit to a Christmas market with my friend Justin, and my brother joined us today. I enjoyed today much more than yesterday at Matlock; I haven't been to Selby Christmas Market before and it was a wonderful seasonal atmosphere - most of the stalls were set up inside the abbey.

A Visit To Temple Newsam House, Near Leeds

Another day out with my support worker.

It all  started with the saga of the two hand-written notices. The first one was on the parking ticket machine at the car park. I followed the instructions as best as I could, but after a dozen failed attempts my finger was sore and so I gave up and we returned to the car and placed our own hand-written notice on the dashboard....I don't think anyone paid to park there today though.

I soon noticed that Temple Newsam House isn't the prettiest stately home as you approach it, but once inside it turned out to be one of my favourites to visit so far.

I've never seen so many beautiful paintings and items of furniture in one property. It's a large house, and there are a lot of stairs and I think Siobhan, my support worker, was quite tired after exploring the building. There was only one thing that I didn't like, some garish modern paintings by Grayson Perry hung on some of the walls; neither of us liked them and we told one of the volunteers who worked there that they were inappropriate and intrusive...she said that many more people had also gone out of their way to make the same point.

Next up we walked over to the stable block and had a pot of tea in the café, and then explored the courtyard.

There's also a farm at Temple Newsam that's fully accessible to the public. It's quite extensive and includes a couple of dozen buildings housing livestock, or displays and exhibits, and a large area of enclosed paddocks with a winding path allowing access to many areas to view the animals. 

After leaving the farm we would have spent an hour or two walking around the grounds of the estate but by now it had started to rain and turned quite cold, so we decided to stop off at Selby on our way home; a pleasant market town with an impressive abbey.

We had time for a pot of tea and toasted teacakes...and a quick look round the charity shops.