Day 8 Nunnington Hall in the Yorkshire moors


Today we went to Nunnington Hall, a property managed by the National Trust in the North Yorkshire countryside.  Not quite as dramatic or impressive as Castle Howard, but to be fair, that set a very high bar.  It was donated to the National Trust by the owner back in 1952, as she wanted it the be shared with the wider community.  It is set in lovely English gardens and grounds, and the entrance to it is via a lovely bridge over the Rye river.  Shame there is always a poxy tourist getting in the way.





The house was not as well appointed as Castle Howard, and some rooms looked incomplete, as if they had been stripped back and not yet fully restored.  Fiona and I speculated about the cost of upkeep and how much money there is in the pot for these kind of places.  Entry was 10 pounds each, though free if you are a member of the National Trust.  Based on the number of people there (not that many) it’s hard to imagine how they can sustain the buildings and upkeep of the grounds.

However in one of the "unfinished" rooms, they had a display of wallpaper, these were rolls that they had found in the ceiling, presumably a spare from earlier times.  In the way wallpaper goes in and out of fashion, some of these patterns wouldn't be out of place today.





 We had lunch at the café (scones with clotted cream and jam for me – yummo) and then headed back to Harrogate for a spot of grocery shopping.  Fiona is out of cat food and Sky and Aura are eyeing up limbs as potential food source.

The drive through the Yorkshire moors was gorgeous, and not at all what I had imagined.  To me, moors are bleak places, perhaps a few bits of scrub clinging to life but not much else.  Instead we saw rolling green hills and hedges, and it was very lovely.  The weather has been warm and alternately sunny and a bit cloudy.  Very little rain to speak of so far.



We had lovely dinner, Italian style, grazing on cold meats, cheeses, olives, grapes and chatted for the rest of the night.

Fiona has two Abyssinian cats, and an Everhot.  An Everhot is a bit like an Aga, and is, well …… always hot.  Which the cats love.  This is Sky on the left, and Aura stretched out full length on top of the Everhot, warming themselves. Yes it is summer, and it really is warm enough, but they are cats after all.


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