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Bedale

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Bedale (pronounced BEE-dale) is a small market town in North Yorkshire, about 11 miles north of Ripon, and just off the A1. The main street runs north to south, with the central section being Market Place, and the two ends being North End and South End. The church is sat at the north end of North End. Parts of the crypt date to the nineth century, but the visible sections are twelve century, with alterations and additions at various times since. On the other side of the road in Bedale Hall, built mostly in the eighteenth century, though parts are earlier. The district council purchased the building in 1951, and now features a library and museum among other things. There was a market in the grounds when we were there. The road is wide, about 130' wide, and would have been the site of the market, but much of it is now used for parking, which does not help the photos. However, this gives a good view looking south. This is from the west side, near the hall, which is notably higher. The...
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Penshaw Monument

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The Penshaw Monument was built between 1844 and 1845 to commemorate John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, who died in 1840. It resembles a Greek temple, specifically the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, on top of a small hill, and it is visible for miles around. This does mean it is a bit of a trek to the top, but there is a small town, Penshaw, to the southwest, and you can park there. Although it is further than the official car park, you are already halfway up the hill. This is the view looking towards Durham. The large flat green area of the left used to be Herrington Colliery. The town beyond that is Houghton-le-Spring. And towards Sunderland - the North Sea is just visible on the horizon at the right. The white spike middle-right is the tower of the bridge where the A19 crosses the Wear. Inside the monument. It never had a roof. The columns are hollow, and one has a door in it, allowing access to the top.  At one time visitors could walk around the top. I get the impression t...
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Prague Part One, The River

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Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, and former capital of Bohemia. I was there three days, and it is a fair-sized city, so this is the first of four parts. Other parts are here: Prague Part Two, East of the River Prague Part Three, West of the River Prague Part Four, Getting Around I was lucky enough to get a view of the city as my aeroplane came into the airport. So let us start with the river and its bridges. The Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, and flows generally northwards to join the Elbe at Mělník, which in turn discharges into the North Sea northwest of Hamburg. It is crossed by 18 bridges in Prague. In the image above, you can see four of them. The one at the bottom is the most famous; the Charles Bridge. Above it is the Legion Bridge, then the Jirásek Bridge and at the top the Palacký Bridge. The Charles Bridge is the big tourist attraction, and was packed with people whenever we saw it. This is a view looking east along the bridge. Co...
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Prague Part Three, West of the River

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On the second day we focused on the city west of the river. It was noticeably less touristy - even though the castle is on the other side; there were far fewer signs in English. This is also the hilly side - we got a tram up to the top, and made our way down. In fact, we started at the Břevnov Monastery, which is a couple of miles out, as there was a fair on. This in the monastery, the church on the left. Looking the other way across the courtyard. There is a brewery in the monastery, the Brewery of St Adalbert. The beer was served from here; I guess it is brewed there too. Inside the church was very ornate. Note the monks - this is still a monastery. But some of the fancy stonework was just painted on! The fair was just outside - I assume on monastery grounds. We got the tram back towards the centre, getting off at the castle. Prague Castle is the biggest ancient castle in world. It is sat on a hill, and has a cathedral in the middle of it. There was a fort, Přemyslid fort, o...
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