Yorkshire, England - Richmond Castle

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Richmond Castle is one of the oldest Norman stone fortresses in Britain, begun in 1070 by William the Conqueror's Breton supporter & Cousin Alan the Red. The Castle, which has a commanding view of lower Swaledale, was built to stabilize the population in areas north of York which had initially rebelled against Norman rule.

Norman rule began in 1066 when the French invaded and defeated English forces at the Battle of Hastings.    

The formidable Castle as a symbol of Royal Authority passed down over time to various Dukes of Brittany, who usually assumed the title of Earl of Richmond. It was occasionally used for protection by reigning English Kings, during turbulent times. 

It's always good to have a royal castle to hole up in, when you're a King & under attack, no?   

we had the Castle to ourselves, in a light rain. It was enjoyable climbing around the old structure on old stone stairs and reading historical displays. A lot happened here in the last 950 years, and it's great that so much is left...                 

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	Richmond Castle		a commanding view		above the River Swale		feasting room (Great Hall)
				heritage rainy day look		the Keep
			how it might have looked in the 1400s				doorway to nowhere
		once upon a time it went somewhere		view from the crenellations		castle & garden
	River Swale again		Richmond upper market		lower market		narrow slit for shooting arrows
				walk to the garden		somewhat slippery  pavement stones
			a rainy October day in Yorkshire		counting device

We had lunch at a cafe called the Cross View Tea Room, which had great food, service, and atmosphere, planned ahead from seeing so many positive reviews online. It was a quiet day in town & our table looked out onto the upper Market square. 

After lunch we took a short stroll around the base of the Castle, where we came across a friendly wall-sitting cat.  

Back at the lower market square, we perused a used bookstore and I found two books which I read during this trip while my wife (reading with a Kindle) didn't buy anything, but did engage in a discussion with the bookseller.   

	small cars fit the tiny roads better				Cross View Tea Room
		view of upper market		Linda's fish & chips and tea; note the tiny sprouts garnish		a great pasta dish & coffee
	walking at the castle base		we could hear (but not see) a  waterfall below		house in old neighborhood for sale
		a side-street bakery		neighborhood where we parked

Both Linda and I were attracted to this small Dales town, population 7,000, and agreed it would be a good place to stay (sometime) for at least a few nights, in order to explore the area.

Richmond is after all the gateway to Swaledale, some of the best-loved scenery in the Yorkshire Dales. The road main road follows the river Swale up to remote towns like Muker, or Keld, becoming increasingly steep & spectacular, the landscape becoming austere or even barren & treeless. 

Should someone stay in Richmond, they could take buses daily from market square & up the main road to the main trailheads, and back, throughout the day. A lot hikers these days use the buses, rather than drive, because the roads can be shockingly narrow. The OS map shows that this part of Yorkshire has many good day-hikes.  

upper Swaledale in August with Heather blooming, from Andrew Locking, link coming soon.

go to next page - week one, part seven - Bempton Cliffs

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