On English Soil ... Easby Abbey and Richmond

With the Yorkshire Dales walking trip shunted aside once again, Emma decided that a sedate walk in Richmond would fill a mid-morning to late afternoon. Mali safe in childcare, we drove along little country lanes into the picuresque town.

Richmond is the epitome of a dreamy English countryside town. With the River Swale running clear and tinkling through it, the old  rsilway station has been converted to a cinema and a coffee spot, an 18th Century theatre in fantastic repair, it is indeed an idyllic feel that one gets from this small village that was in fact founded in 1071. I also got the feeling that there may be a few ghosts that call Richmond home too. Perhaps the Drummer Boy?

At the end of the 18th century some soldiers found a tunnel entrance under the castle keep. It was however too small for a large adult backside to enter, and so they sent in a regimental drummer. A child. 

'Drum' they instructed 'and we will follow your path above ground.'

And so the drumming journey began with success, but after three miles (yes the Brits still work in miles!) the drumming stopped and was never heard again. Nor did the boy reappear. Where did the drummer boy go? Can people still hear his drumming on quiet nights in the moors?

As you come upon the ruins of the 1152 Easby Abbey, you can easily imagine ghostly canons wandering in reverance about the stonework. I had never known the difference between monks and canons before and Emma took some time to explain. Monks are solitary, they move away from mainstream society and dedicate their lives to prayer and contemplation, either in complete solitude or in monastries. Canons on the other hand, are members of groups that follow ecclestastical rule. They renounce private wealth but they help in their towns, have duties and although they reside at the church they are able to work on the land in and around. 

A little girl with the dream of a fairytaile wedding would have found, in Easby Abbey, the perfect venue. The day we visited the sunshine graced the stonework and blue sky was framed by windows of history.

Families and dogs raced about the ruins playing hide-and-seek and interacting with the ghosts that call the old Abbey home. Perhaps dwarfed by the living beauty of York Minster that had held our facination yesterday, I found the Abbey warmer and more interesting. I can imagine though that in winter the moaning wind can whip up quite a collection of ghosts and raw emotions, as even in this sunshine the wind was chilly.

The Abbey ruins were actually composed of many different areas that ran from the late 12th century to the modern times. There was the cloister, the chapel, the cellar and what was probably the dormitories. Although the floor of what would have been the first floor is now gone, you can see the enormous fireplaces that would have warmed the cold stone rooms. A kitchen must have fed all the canons and their visitors and an infirmary must have catered to the ill, some of whom ended in graves outside.

There was also a Richmond Castle that towers over the town but sadly we were not able to visit this or the old cobbled market place as cake and tea called to us from the old Station Cafe.

Richmond was part of Normandy and it was a prosperous town that made its money from Swaledale wool and lead mining. It was hard to imagine these industries as Emma and I lay on the grass amongst the calls of grasshoppers and warmed in the sun. People would have teemed through the town, the Abbey would have bustled with ecclestial activity and sheep would have barged us off the tasty grass we were laying upon.

Tips for Erasmus students:

• Geocaching is a wonderful way to explore any new areas and to learn about the history.
• Couchsurfing is a great way to visit new places and make new friends. Many a couchsurfing host has insights into the local country or town that no tourist website does.

Photo gallery