South Shields - Stalybridge (Ormesby Hall and Middleham Castle)

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This morning we packed our bags again to head back to Stalybridge. But, of course, we had sussed out another National Trust property that we could visit on the way! We headed down the A19 heading for Middlesbrough. As we drove south along the A19 we could see hills in the distance. I am 99 percent certain that the distinctive half-cone shaped one was Roseberry Topping that is near Great Ayton and was a popular childhood haunt of a young James Cook. If there had been anywhere suitable to stop, I would have had Bernie take a panorama of its Matterhorn-like profile! All too often there are fantastic views here, but nowhere to stop for a photograph.

When we left South Shields this morning, we were bemused at some of Syri’s pronunciation. We noticed it yesterday too when she was taking us towards Gateshead or, according to her, Gatt-ess-head?! Then she kept telling us ‘at the next roundabout take the second exit, towards Cruskit’. We eventually worked out that that was her interpretation of Crossgate. But when we reached Middlesbrough, she really cracked us up pronouncing it as Mid-less-brow. Funny!

Just to the south of Middlesbrough we pulled off onto the A174 before turning onto the B1380 to Marton-in-Cleveland. Oh, I said to Bernie, we were here in 2015 when we were on our Captain Cook pilgrimage, just along this road we are going to come to a sign for the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. Sure enough, I literally just finished the sentence and there was the sign for Stewart Park and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. Not bad for someone as geographically challenged as me.

Less than two miles further along the road we were pulling into Ormesby Hall. We cannot believe that we didn’t visit in 2015, but I guess we had a different agenda on that trip, to visit all the sites in North Yorkshire associated with Captain Cook! As we showed out National Trust card at the entry the attendant asked if we had visited before. No, we said, but we did visit the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum just down the road a few years ago.

The Pennyman family acquired the estate in the early 17^th-century with the 3^rd Baronet and his wife building the earliest part of the house in the 1740s. However, it was the 6^th Baronet who added substantially to the house and built the beautiful stable block and laid out the park with its plantations and main entrance lodge. He eventually joined the two wings together in about 1870 to create the Ormesby Hall that is presented by the National Trust today.

This is another home that was handed over to the National Trust when it was still being lived in, so it is a beautifully preserved home rather than just an empty shell. It is lovely to see these homes presented how they would have been lived in with furnishings and decorations. The interior features some beautiful plasterwork and carved woodwork in two different styles. Some rooms feature a bold Palladian style from the 1740s while the drawing and dining rooms are decorated with more delicate Neo-classical plasterwork that was commissioned by the 6^th Baronet in the 1770s. This lovely, delicate plaster decoration reminded me of the icing on a cake.

Seeing as we enjoyed free entry compliments of our Australian National Trust membership, we felt obliged to eat in the café AGAIN. It has generally been convenient to eat in the NT café and their offering is consistent and reliable. Today we had half a sandwich each and a cheese scone (each!) instead of crisps. We had been told more than once by the volunteers that the café’s cheese scones are legendary! They were very tasty.

As we were finishing off lunch the rain started. Damn, one fine day and now a pleasant morning and a wet afternoon. At least it started off nicely today as opposed to our first three days that started wet and ended fine. And they say Melbourne has four seasons in one day. I think Northumberland is much the same with its changeable weather.

Hmmn, decisions, decisions. Should we just set the SatNav for Stalybridge and take the motorway back to Kath and Albert’s or should we go home via Middleham Castle … because it featured in a book I read recently by Felix Francis – ‘Hands Down’? I told Bernie that he could decide as he was the one who had to deal with whatever the weather was going to do, be it improve or deteriorate. Bernie’s choice (he hasn’t read the book yet) oh, let’s go back via Middleham rather than go on the motorway. Besides it’s administered by English Heritage so that will get us even further ahead on our membership investment, ha, ha.

We headed in towards the centre of Middlesbrough to pick up the A66 heading west. We looped south around Darlington before merging onto the A66(M) which them merges onto the A1(M1). At Catterick we exited onto the A6055 towards Catterick Garrison. Oh, no, we are in a DANGER AREA again, this time it was clearly a military zone. It’s certainly something a bit different when you are passing signs that say, - ! Tanks Crossing. We didn’t see any tanks, but we did see a convoy of olive-green military vehicles returning to base.

Syri decided to take us over Hipswell Moor from Catterick Garrison to the A6108 to avoid a big northwards kink in the A6136 then south over the A684 to Middleham. Well, I have to say that Felix Francis may have rather over romanticized the castle in his book!! Or perhaps we’re just getting castled out? Felix’s book and the EH website both suggest that Middleham Castle dominates the North Yorkshire town of Middleham, but I thought it just sort of … blended in. Perhaps we were not looking at it from the best vantage point??

The castle does have a significant history being best known as one of the childhood homes of Richard III. The castle dates to the late 12^th-century and boasts a well-preserved Norman tower, one of the largest in the country. The castle was developed by the powerful Neville family into a residence fit for a family who dominated English affairs for over two centuries. Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) spent his youth at Middleham, and it later became one of his royal homes.

A short distance south of the castle is William’s Hill where it is believed an earlier timber castle (circa 1086) existed. I think that might be where we needed to be to look down over the castle, but I doubt the farmer would like tourists traipsing over his fields disturbing his stock.

Now, if I had been navigating, I would have taken us back to the A684, but Syri was in charge and, once again, she chose the most direct route over the moors. Oh, my goodness, that was an adventure. For a long time I thought I was going to be able to say that the only other vehicle we saw was the Royal Mail van! We did eventually see three other cars, but only as we neared the Kettlewell end of the very rural road we were on.

However, this was only after driving over cattle grids separating the long paddocks belonging, we presume, to different farmers?? We crossed the first grid and fortunately saw evidence of cattle on the road before we encountered the actual cattle on the road. Silly cows, they have acres of pasture but, where are they? On the road and not at all happy about letting cars through!

It was certainly a roller coaster of a ride with signs saying that some of the hills we were were driving down were graded at 25 percent. I think we were both relieved to turn right onto the B6160. Now if I had directed Bernie onto that route I wonder if he would have criticized my choice?? Thank goodness for SatNav. Bernie seems happy to drive the roads SHE chooses not matter how ridiculous and remote they are, ha, ha.

After that the rest of our journey was easy. At Skipton we turned onto the A59 and then the A56 to Colne where we picked up the M65. Just after Burnley we turned south on the A56/M66 before turning off onto the Manchester Ring Road. We exited at Ashton-under-Lyne and headed for Stalybridge.

Kath had made us potato hash for dinner. After so much eating out we both enjoyed a home-cooked meal.



Steps: 6,693 (4.55 kms)

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