A day of rest? in Richmond

The flower stall in the farmers market this morning.  Oh, how I wanted to buy!

 Silly hens that we are, we managed to walk as much today as many of the past few days.  Richmond is a wonderful place to wander around.  It's a bit like being in an historical recreation, except people really live and work here.  The TOWN's foundation is the castle, built by Alan the Red, an amazing amount of which is still standing strong after 1000 years.  A quaint (thank goodness for this word) array of houses and shops fan out from the castle, separated by wynds, tiny cobblestone streets.  The center of town is somewhat shell-shaped and reminds me of Sienna, Italy.  A giant obelisk dominates the plaza, hiding the 12,000 gallon water reservoir below it along with the former Holy Trinity Church which now houses the Green Howards Museum.  It has a wonderful clock that chimes the hours.

A view of the central cobbled marketplace taken from the castle.

If you look carefully, you can see that today there was a wonderful farmers market in the center with magnificent flowers, poultry (Now I know where all the rabbits are!), pies, meat, breads, etc.  As we had been warned, the town filled up like Carmel on a weekend, mostly with British tourists it seemed. Very fun and colorful.

The names of the pies are as fun as the hamlets.  Very Dickensian-sounding.

This is what the streets are like:

I think my passion for rocks comes naturally from my English ancestral roots.

I think the highlight of the day (It certainly wasn't finding out what the exchange rate was today!) was having a tour of the Georgian Theatre, the oldest still standing and operating theater of its kind in England. We discovered after the remarkable tour that our guide wrote the guidebook and so we got it signed by him, of course. Being in that theater transported us back over 200 years.  I could feel the energy of it almost as if I had been there.  The thrill of standing on the "thrusting stage" is indescribable.  So intimate you could actually talk to and touch the people in the boxes that are on the stage on either side. Tara and I got to sit in the box seats that Camilla and Prince Charles recently occupied!  I'll never be the same.  Here's the view:

I also got to pull the lever that created the sound of thunder for the performances by rolling a rock from one end of a long wooden box to the other. I have more photos, but I think I'm not supposed to post them. You'll have to come for a visit to see them.

After the theater, we explored the castle and got some fantastic views of the town:

The River Swale

These photos really don't do justice to this lovely town.  I took this photo as an example of the flowers early this morning and was reprimanded by a local passerby because it's a funeral parlor.  I noticed later that it was also formerly a hospital.  Funny how those two so often go together.

Here are a few more to give you an idea of the richness and variety of this place.  I wish we could stay longer.

If you're interested in castles, this one is quite substantial still.  Here are a few photos:

This part was used as a prison for Conscientious Objectors (absolutists) during WWI and there is quite a dramatic exhibit of their writings on the walls of their cells. The brave 16 from Richmond laid the foundation for passive resistance to war in the future.  Many were Methodists, some Quakers and at least one Jehovah's Witness.  They suffered greatly and most either died or lost their minds soon after the war.

On that cheery note I think I'll close for the day.  It's time for dinner and we have a 14 mile trek tomorrow. Wish us luck and be well yourselves,

Mary