Finally, after being in Manchester for three weeks, we decided to get out of town and explore. It took a tram and two trains, but two and a half hours later, we were in the picturesque town of Skipton, a place we knew from "The Calendar Girls." It's better known for Skipton Castle.
It was a lovely trip on the Trans Pennine Express, leaving the city behind and watching the green mountains (really just hills) roll on, dotted by pretty little and no-so-little villages and towns.
Skipton is a big barging town. It had canals with locks through the centre of town, and there were scores of longboaters enjoying the part-sunny, part-cloudy, part-rainy day.
The castle is situated at the top of the High Street. We arrived late, so we didn't have much of a chance to browse in the shops. they close pretty early on Sundays. We ate some great fish and chips and headed to the castle to get in the whole tour before it closed.
Skipton Castle was begun in 1090, and has been added on to several times. It is one of the best preserved Medieval castles in England. It was the last Royalist stronghold in the North during the Civil War, holding out for 3 years before surrendering to Cromwell in Dec. 1645, who removed the rooves. Lady Anne Clifford got permission to replace them as long as she promised they would not be strong enough to hold cannons. It was lived in by the Cliffords at least until 1900 (can't find a later date in the literature) and only updated it's kitchen accomodations once. We only found one toilet in the whole castle, a small room off of the old kitchen. Brendan models for us.
Before we left Skipton, we stopped for Cream Tea and Hot Chocolate, sitting outside by the canal, and then took the long train-ride home. All-in-all, a lovely day out. I can't wait to do more.
