walk to Kilburn

Yorkshire, England - Walk to Kilburn

On our first day in Yorkshire we slept in, had breakfast, and went for a walk.

The UK Ordnance Survey map indicated two, or possibly three, public access foot paths heading uphill to the tiny village of Kilburn, population 200, where the Mouseman furniture store & manufacturing center are located. The iconic White Horse of Kilburn can be seen on a hillside just above the village.

Being a Saturday, the furniture factory was closed but the sales room was open. We learned that 30 furniture makers work here, full-time. Mouseman furniture is made of exceptional quality English oak, and prices are high, for instance, a single oak napkin ring was 100 pounds, or $155 at the time.

Larger furniture pieces, like dining table & chairs cost 3,000 - 5,000 pounds, x 1.5 = lot of $$.

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

at home		2nd floor view of the White Horse of Kilburn		a public access trail was a few minutes away		Linda & tall hay stack
	farm to the north of the cottage		looking back at Kilburn Park		first view of Kilburn
Mouseman furniture store				air dried oak only; kiln dried is never used		it must dry slowly in this climate
	small park out back w/traditional wall construction		view of the White Horse of Kilburn, see note		Mouseman Oak table
banger on Yorkshire pudding w/red onion gravy		little creek in town		the well-kept English garden		pyracantha around the door
	thistle and creek		Kilburn church		old Kilburn houses & the White Horse

note - the White Horse of Kilburn is 228 ft. high x 314 ft. wide, and is made of placed limestone; it is not a natural limestone outcropping, like many White Horses across the Country.

In 1857 a Kilburn school Headmaster and some of his students created the White Horse, and fresh limestone has been applied every 25 years or so since then.

Local furniture maker Robert "Mouseman" Thompson (1876-1955) lived & worked in Kilburn. The story is that his carved mice, integral to large furniture pieces, relates to the use of the phrase 'as poor as a church mouse', an idea that somehow inspired him. Thompson was part of the 1920's Arts & Crafts revival movement.

On our Yorkshire travels, we found this high-quality oak furniture in many different places, such as the tea shop at Byland Abbey, and, the Choir pews in York Minster.

Kilburn Church, shown above, built in the 1100s, was fully restored in 1869.

We found an old lane with well-established hedgerows on the walk back to Kilburn Park, which lane gradually narrowed into a walking trail. We saw new crops emerging from great-looking soil. The walking path terminated at the tiny road that is the driveway to our cottage, only a few minutes walk to the north.

So today we saw 2 of 3 trails between Kilburn & Kilburn Park, as shown on the Ordnance Survey (OS) Explorer map. On our last day in Yorkshire I went in search of the third trail.

	a different way out of town		ancient muddy lane & hedgerows		October harvest		new crops emerging in October
		farmers must keep an established trail open		Cottage driveway >		Holly & Nellie

Eleven year old Holly was friendly and told us that her family, from Scotland, moved here recently after her father, upon retirement, purchased the only Pub in nearby Coxwold.

Holly's Dad bought Nellie for her, only a month before we arrived. Nellie is a trained show horse and can perform many tricks, Holly said.

Nellie boards here & we saw Holly & Nellie many times during our two week stay.

go to next page - week one, part two - Fountains Abbey

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