http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , United Kingdom , England , North Yorkshire en-us Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:03:14 BST Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:03:14 BST Visited Yorkshire for the weekend spent the day in Castle Howard on Saturday and took it easy on Sunday.Checked the Oz tickets and found a few discrepancies time to contact the tour operator to iron things out.Also practiced my photography for Oz. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-329890.html For the last few days we have been visiting Whitby in Yorkshire. My family history is from here. My great great grandfather Edward Greenbury was from Whitby. We found a tombstone of Richard Purvis and Elizabeth Bell who were my great great great grandparents.Bram Stoker wrote Dracula in Whitby and the book is based here. We havent seen any vampires around though.ill write again soon. Love Max. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Whitby/blog-329006.html Friday night I went to the Campus Bar with some friends to catch some local rock bands. It turns out that the headliners Hungover Stuntmen are rather renown in this section of the UK particularly because three of the four members are graduates from the university. All the bands were pretty great especially the second act Little Comets. They sounded a lot like a British version of Vampire Week http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-328472.html Sept. 20 Saturday Castle Howard and York splendid weatherBkfst kind of marginal did have fried eggs available whites overcooked and yolk kind of okay not as greasy as some have been and the same kind of bacon that's not like American or Canadian bacon it was not as salty as some has been. No pastries out and fruit marginal. At least we had gotten to sleep in til 715 or 30 or so. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-327539.html Friday Sept 19 Leaving Scotland for Harrogate EnglandI went down right away for bkfst hoping for hot food but no joy it was already cool from coming from across the street. We loaded up and headed out of Edinburgh driving by more plain sootstained limestone buildings Georgian some people think they're beautiful I think they're kind of homely especially since there are so many of them http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Harrogate/blog-327538.html When I lived in Northern England circumstances transformed me into a bit of a social chameleon. Thrown together into a 6 bedroom house with 5 other outcasts had me wearing button up shirts and nice shoes to bars that played bad Britpop or attending Drum and Bass shows in seedy warehouses. These experiences in combination to my daily exposure to British Teenagers clouded my impression of the coun http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Knaresborough/blog-327116.html A Weekend In YorkAugust 2008Having visited York earlier in the year my girlfriend Deb and I decided to spend 2 nights in York in August. York is a historic city at almost 2000 years old and is located in North Yorkshire England.We spent the weekend at the White Horse which was located just outside the city walls a stonersquos throw from York Minster. The pub offered a superb full English b http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-324200.html It took longer to get to York than what it was supposed to due to flooding in various places along the railway but we made it York is beautiful a majority of the city wall built in the 13th century is still standing as are a majority of the 13th century buildings. The biggest and most ornate was York Minster one one the greatest cathedrals in the world. We went to the Evensong service at 4 an http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-321034.html Back in time to say thanks to everyone who wished me well in my leaving week.Here are some pictures from my lovely meal in Oscars even if there was a meat incident with my Chilli Gaz you didnt even notice http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-319898.html Day 3 Wednesday 27th AugustThe wonderfully bizarre experience that is the Glebe hotel continued when one of the biggest man Irsquove ever seen think 6 foot 6 inch WWE wrestler served breakfast and poured cups of tea hysterical.By now itrsquos just a ritual breakfast load bus get on bus count off. Yes we have our own numbers and have to call out in numerical order to ensure everyone i http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-317707.html Thought I might write a quick entry on how we are settling into Yorkshire life for all our pals in London. We've been in our flat in Harrogate for 3 weeks now and still enjoying the novelty of driving to work leaving the office before 6.30 at night sometimes leaving time starts with a '5' and being amoungst hills greenery dogs and breathing fresh air. Harrogate is lovely and much bigger tha http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Harrogate/blog-314586.html Had a day booking campervans for New Zealand camp sites for Easter Island and looking into tour companies in Bolivia. Travelblog very helpful for hints and tips so thought this would be a good way to keep our friends and family well...my mum uptodate on our travels when they begin. Let's hope we are techsavvy enough to use this blog when we are away. Less than two months to go... http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Harrogate/blog-313931.html In the coming months september i'll visit South America for the first time with a few friends we'll be travelling to Argentina Peru and Bolivia. we've done all the preparations necessary and I look forward to it.One of the conundrums is deciding how to spend while abroad in the past i've opted for cash but that's risky there debit cards but some UK banks including mine charge you a fee every http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Harrogate/blog-304855.html Jorvic Viking ExpeditionWe caught the bus in and headed to the Jorvic Viking Expedition. Vikings had ruled York from 866 AD to 954 AD . The English briefly took control from 927 AD to 939 AD but the last Viking King Eric Bloodaxe was expelled in 954 AD and the town became a part of the new kingdom of England. Eric Bloodaxe what a sweet name. Maybe I should change my name to Geoff Murder Bow or http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-304253.html RiponSo today we went on a road trip to York with Dom and Christoph which is about 2 hours drive from Newcastle. On the way we stopped off in Ripon which has a massive cathedral... which according to Dom in comparison to others around the place is actually incredibly small. The town itself was small and all the roads were real narrow. We struggled to find somewhere to park but eventually we ma http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Ripon/blog-303520.html Well looks like this entry will be shorter than I anticipated.... I only have 9 minutes of internet left YikesI spent today walking around the city. I did a free walking tour that for the price was good but I'm glad I didn't pay anything for it The man was full of information but not quite the type that I would have enjoyed. After a lunch of fish and chips I gave my mom a quick call so http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-301985.html Well the adventures have begun They started with a trip to the airport with my friend Greg using his GPS and new iPhone to find Hamilton International Airport and a stop for dinner along the way. We got there fine and I had three hours to kill in what is imo the smallest international airport in the world Though they did have a Tim Hortons both on the presecurity side as well as on the http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-301546.html Today we went to Fountains Abbey. It is Britain's largest monastic ruin founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks. It was sold in 1540 to a merchant following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII. It's a shame that so many of the beautiful abbeys were destroyed during that time period.I tried not to go overboard on the photos in this section. I took 57 photos of the abbey and http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Ripon/blog-297262.html This was the first day of driving without my aunt or uncle in the car. Considering my issues with left turns and my occupation I navigated instead of driving. I'm good with maps not so good with driving on the left side of the road. I did drive around the block once. After my uncle reminded me a couple times that I was getting too close to parked cars on the left I decided driving in the UK http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-297254.html Harlow Carr Gardens in located in Harrogate very close to where I was staying. You could actually walk to it from my Aunt's flat. It was a beautiful day. We sat outside in the sunshine and drank tea surrounded by all the flowers. A perfect way to spend the afternoon. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Harrogate/blog-297248.html We also traveled up to the coast on the 4th of July as well as visiting Castle Howard. We visited the town of Whitby which is nestled on the banks of the North Sea. There is an abbey there on top of the hill. You should be able to see it in some of the photos. I didn't feel up to climbing the 199 steps to the top to see it.We took a different path on the way back from Whitby on our way to Yo http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Whitby/blog-297244.html On Independence Day we drove just north of York and visited Castle Howard. This castle began constuction in 1699 and took over 100 years to complete. Today it's still used as a home for the Howard family but is open to the public to visit. The castle is beautiful and the grounds are lovely. There are peacocks that roam the grounds the gift shop sells peacock food The Howard family has an http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-297238.html Hello again everyone This year on vacation I visited my fabulous Aunt Uncle in England. I spent an entire week traveling around Northern England visiting abbeys castles and beautiful gardens. On the first day we took a drive through the Yorkshire Dales. It was rainy early but cleared up later in the day. The English countryside is breathtaking. It's like something out of a movie. The h http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Yorkshire-Dales/blog-297221.html Seems this area was a haven for pirates to smuggle in their booty. The village is supposed to have a network of tunnels linking houses and escape routes. We couldnrsquot find any but the kids imaginations were set off. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/blog-296963.html The rain has eased so we went into the old harbourside town of Whitby. Quaint little shops in quaint little cobbled streets around a harbour with old wooden fishing boats. If everyone would just dress in 1800rsquos style clothes I would feel like I stepped back in time. As it is there are a lot of lsquoGothrsquosrsquo around Bram Stoker centred a lot of Dracula in Whitby. Gothrsquos and http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Whitby/blog-296633.html First stop is Robin Hoods Bay a picture postcard seaside village. No cars allowed. It has one main very steep street and little cobbled paths winding up and down between the cottages all covered in beautiful flowers. The beach would have been a great place to explore on a summers day except for the cold wet weather. But wersquore not complaining yet thankfully our little cottage is so cozy w http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/blog-296622.html Many of you have been requesting that I hurry up and write a new entry for the diary. The politest request that I have received recently came from one of my fans in the mid East who informed me that should I fail to deliver something new within 24 hours another fatwa would be issued against me. You see this is why we don't advertise our address on the website.Being somewhat behind now my mem http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-296016.html This weekend was supposed to be Kirstynrsquos weekend of crazy things shersquos never done now shersquos 30 and getting old but the Adrenaline Gods had other ideas. We did the usual trick and took off straight after work first stop the Tackyarama of Blackpool. The main reason the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Europe is there and Kirst has never been on any roller coaster I http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/North-York-Moors/blog-288998.html Nostalgia reigned supreme during our time spent around Burniston Cloughton and Scarborough. First off we found ourselves a B B in Burniston which had beautiful views over the countryside and the sea with views to Scarborough Castle. I had particulary wanted to stay in Burniston as it was where my maternal grandparents lived and where I enjoyed staying with them as a child. Then it was off to http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/blog-288449.html