The Yorkshire Dales

Hope you all had a lovely St Georges day? I have posted about it on my school log blog here if you want to see what our school got up to yesterday and on the same day in 1904.

Today was such a beautiful day. We went for a drive to the Yorkshire Dales.

First we went to Skipton. We didn't go into the castle today but walked around the town and along the canal.

We bought some lunch, salads and chicken and some tasty bread and apple juice and drove to Appletreewick to eat our picnic.

It was busy in the tiny village because the Craven Acoustic Festival was being held at The Craven Arms. Groups of musicians playing various acoustic instruments playing some fantastic music.
The Craven Arms dates back to the 16th Century and contains many of it's original features such as fireplaces, gas lighting, heavy low beams and stone flagged floors. Built on the back is the Cruck Barn. This is new but build using the same materials, tools and methods used over 300 years ago.

Oak crucks, stone quarried and shaped by hand and thatched using ling heather which grows on the moors.

The Craven Arms is named after Sir William Craven a local lad born to a pauper family who went to London, worked hard and became the Lord Mayor of London. His story is better known as 'Dick Whittington'.
This is the weather stone that hangs outside the door. A bit of Yorkshire humour! (Paul Hudson is our local BBC weather man.)

We saw lots of lovely lambs in the fields (I have added a new button on my sidebar about the rescue sheep, by the way!)

Then it was time to make our way home.