Helmsley, Castle Howard and York

Today we packed up again and headed north up the motorway.

Our first destination was Helmsley Castle at the southern edge of the North York Moors (which are themselves breathtaking). This is another castle that is now largely in ruins, thanks to Ollie Cromwell and his henchmen. Even so, the ruins are quite atmospheric and there was an excellent audio guide that provided heaps of information about the castle and its owners. There was also an excellent display of archaeological finds from the Castle including from the siege during the English Civil War that ultimately resulted in its partial destruction.

From Helmsley it was only a short drive (made much longer by an extensive detour due to road closure) to Castle Howard. This is the stately home used in both the 1981 TV mini-series and the 2008 movie of Brideshead Revisted. Wow. What a house. What a collection of art. What else can I say?

We took a few hours to go through the house, so when we left we were hungry and much in need of a pub. Luckily we found one about halfway between Castle Howard and York so we were well-fed by the time we found our way to the guest house in York where we're staying for the next two nights. A very neat room about five minutes walk outside the Roman walls that enclose the centre of York.

With a few hours of daylight left we went for a walk into the city proper. We walked around a section of the wall...

...and then wandered around the streets getting our bearings for tomorrow. We then came across a place called Betty's Cafe that had been recommended to Petra by a friend, and had to stop for cake and hot chocolate, both excellent. We may try it again tomorrow for morning tea.