20260512 - 13. York to Ripon. A rare two-nighter. That means laundry!

York is located on the northen edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, or Plains, with gently rolling hills and lovely towns.

We stopped at Allerton Castle along the way. It’s an inspiring restoration, funded by a generous American philanthropist who happened on the castle and saw a need for an infusion of cash as well as of passion for honouring what came before. The castle was used by the Royal Canadian Air Force during the second World War. Luckily, we were there on a Tuesday because that is the only day that the castle is open to the public!

As we headed North, the hills became bigger and more abrupt, and the Yorkshire Dales area rose on our left. About nine years ago Patti and I and a couple of friends – Morag and Jim Mottram – rode the ‘Coast-To-Coast’ route, or the ‘Way Of The Roses’ – with Craig Tweedie from “Wilderness Scotland”, a fine Scottish cycling and hiking touring company – from Morecambe on the West coast to Whitby on the East which includes a spectacular high elevation crossing of the Dales. The route got its name from the 15th Century civil wars between the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose). The war, fought in this area, lasted thirty years, and resulted in the emergence of the Tudor dynasty, a York and Lancaster union.

Patti and I thought we were being pretty extreme riding this 300 kilometre route in five days back then, with a guide and a backup van. Now we’re doing 1,300 kms on our own, no guide and no van. That crossing, though, gave us the confidence to tackle long distance European rides we now do on our own.

Ripon is one of the smallest,and oldest, of the ‘Cathedral Cities’ in the United Kingdom. Cathedral Cities were established by Henry VIII, and are granted the title by Royal Decree. A Cathedral is simply a church with a Bishop’s Seat. A city may have a Cathedral without being a Cathedral City, although the term is quite loosely used today.

We saw two Evensongs in Ripon. They were excellent. The first – with boys and layclerks – was excellent, espeially Purcell’s “Thy Word is a Lantern”.

Take a close look at the photos of the pulpit in the gallery below. It’s Arts and Crafts, and on one side it features two of the northern Angle Saxon saints, women, a reminder that women played an important role in the development of Christianity. The cathedral also features many whimsical carvings of animals, some of which inspired Lewis Carroll in his writing of Alice in Wonderland. This is reflected in some of the needlepoint “kneelers”. (See photos.)

The city of Ripon is small – about one-tenth the size of York. We stayed in the Ripon Inn, a great hotel on the northern edge of town. A ten minute walk took us downtown, past the soon-to-be-restored-and-turned-into-luxury-hotel Ripon Baths, and to the Cathedral. A ‘Brewery Pub’ got in the way, though, and beckoned with a pint. Our pre-Evensong pint in the hotel was free, exchanged for foregoing room housekeeping. Fair trade. Bonus!

Our meals in Ripon were great – a ma and pa Italian shop for night one, and a very funky and entertaining Tapas meal on night two. (See photos of our host – kind of like the Antony Bourdain of Ripon – in the gallery above. He was highly entertaining.)

For our full day in Ripon we used the trikes for a short ride to the UNESCO World Heritage site Studley Royal Gardens and Fountains Abbey. A truly remarkable place, it features the ruins of a massive abbey, one of the most magnificent – and large scale – water gardens ever created, and St Mary’s, a beautiful Victorian church.