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Rudston Mololith – Circa 2000 BC

I checked something else of my bucket list!  The incredible Rudston Monolith.

The Rudston Monolith is situated in the churchyard of the village of Rudston in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The Rudston Monolith is the tallest megalith (standing stone) in the United Kingdom, standing at over 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height.  This impressive prehistoric standing stone is nearly 8 meters tall, almost 2 meters wide, and around a meter thick – and investigation has shown that it extends a long way underground as well. The stone’s estimated weight is about 40 tonnes.

It was erected around 2000BC, and was brought to the site from Whitby – over an hour’s drive even today!

I will write more about the monolith later, but at least wanted to get this post up.

Oh, and the rusty gates?  I just saw them along the way and thought they were beautiful…

~ Bella

Bell Hotel in Driffield

For many reasons, my evening at the Bell Hotel in Driffield was one I will remember for a very long time.  If I could, I would have stayed and probably never left…

 

This beautiful coaching inn feels like one is stepping into another time and place – a time when things make sense, when the world seems somehow lovelier and sweeter…

 

~ Bella

(Scotland) Peterhead to Rosslyn Chapel to Rudstone (England)

Leaving lovely Peterhead, I drove south to my next stopover – the lovely old coaching inn, the Sun Inn in Dalkeith.

The following morning, the plan was to go to Rosslyn Chapel.  I have been before, but wanted to spend some more time there… well, that was the plan…

Unfortunately, this was all I was able to see as, since covid, they have drastically reduced the number of people who can be in the chapel and there was a two and a half hour wait to get entrance…….  Oh well…

Then headed south to England…

~ Bella

My Fishy Birthday

My birthday this year was ever so lovely.  One of my dearest friends took me out for the day exploring and in search of something I haven’t had for years – fish and chips by the sea!

On our way, we spied a huge statue of a man standing in the middle of a field – as one does, I guess?

We chatted for ages about it, whether it was wooden, or cast, or what?  Even zooming in, it was difficult to discern…

OK, so the tube coming out of his leg was a bit of a give-a-way…

Turns out it is called “Yoxman”, and was created by Suffolk artist Laurence Edwards.  The sculpture took four years to create, beginning with a six inch high model, and is made up of 52 separate pieces.

Apparently, “It is hoped to be a beacon of local identity and a frame of reference for an evolving relationship with the landscape.”

Swimming?  Seriously???  The water must have been about ‘shrivel everything degrees’ Celsius!

This (below) is my favourite shot of the day – and sums up how much fun we had – oh, and the ice-cream was delicious!

It’s not easy to tell from these photos, but there was a very strong current – we were surprised this little outboard made any progress at all.

…and time for dinner!  It was so good – freshly caught, freshly cooked, great company, great view – what a fabulous birthday!

Oh, and the following two photos are not related to my birthday, but they don’t really fit anywhere else, so thought I’d put them here.  The first is of one of the local birds – for some reason, he enjoys walking down the road – he does fly, so he’s not injured – he just likes to walk!

…and this is actually a photo of the moon behind that tree!  It was early hours of the morning, around 2:30am-ish, and I thought I heard Ray call my name from outside my window.  I woke up, opened the window to look outside – no Ray (he didn’t know anything about it until I told him later), but the most amazing moon!

All in all, this birthday was just wonderful, and one I will always remember.

~ Bella

Lytham and Thurnham Hall

Headed out first to Lytham, then up to stay for a few days at Thurnham Hall – part of the building dates to the 13th century, but most was built in the 17th century.

 

Whalley Abbey

Heading back down from Ashington where I had been staying, I spent a couple of nights near Clitheroe and spent ages exploring and wandering around the ruins of Whalley Abbey.

 

Gretna Green and Hadrian’s Wall

Wonderful day of exploring.  I first headed to Gretna Green, however when I saw how touristy it had become, decided to head for my next stop – hiking along part of Hadrian’s Wall!

 

Scottish Road Trip

We headed off for what was only going to be two nights in Scotland, and ended up being almost a week!  It was ever so lovely…

Blackpool Zoo

Alan needed to go into the lion’s den (literally) so we three girls went exploring around the rest of the zoo…