The trail led past an old alum mine and processing facility.  Alum, among other things, was an important mordant for fixing the color of dyes in clothing.  Some informative displays helped interpret the ruins of the buildings and the provided a way to imagine the historical landscape.

Sage took this amazing picture of a dead thistle.  We did have a bit of blue sky!

River tripped in a small hole at the side of the footpath.  Fortunately, she was not seriously injured.

But while she was recovering, I noticed this slimy character nearby.

We had lots of fun climbing walls and fences.

And running down hills…

We certainly enjoyed ourselves.

The view from the headland was simply stunning.

The unpredictable weather turned into a hot day and we took some time to kick back and relax.

Up close, heather flowers look very different than seen as part of the grand vista from the the tops of the moors.  They are so delicate and there is an incredible amount of color variation between flowers.

We explored for a while, taking the opportunity for a photo shoot:

We sang the lovely traditional Scottish tune Wild Mountain Thyme while wandering through the heather.

O the summer time has come
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather.
Will you go, lassie, go?

Riding in the mud in a nightgown – gotta love it!

We drove through the Dalby Forest where we discovered Pace Bike Park run by the Forestry Commission.  They have a course with table tops, berms, rhythm bumps and corkscrew bridge.  It looked pretty intimidating at first, but after the first run River seemed quite confident and couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she raced through the track.

Here she is coming underneath the corkscrew bridge.

There was a nice observation point at the top to watch the riders.  Sage went through once as well, though she needed some help getting over the bigger bumps.  I’m sure she’ll be ready for it soon, though.

This video shows a trick that River has been working on.

The kids loved this merry-go-round right next to Clifford’s Tower, a 13th century fortification.

After revolving rapidly for several minutes, we went into the adjacent York Castle Museum, which has some amazing historical recreations from Britain’s past. Among other things, the ladies had a chance to try on some Victorian undergarments.

We also spent some time wandering around York Minister. The majestic arches and towers of the cathedral truly inspire awe. I recently read Ken Follet’s The Pillars of the Earth, a historical novel about building cathedrals. While I can’t unreservedly recommend the book, it did give me a new perspective on the process that must have occurred here.

I took quite a few photos of the interior as well, but somehow they don’t capture the soaring nature of the building. You can’t help but look to the heavens.

The stained glass was incredible.

We happened to coincide with a choral service. The sound of the organ filling the church was quite amazing.

We returned to York on Monday morning for more. The Jorvik Viking Museum was very interesting. We went through a recreation of York as a Viking city complete with actors in costume. There was also a fascinating display of bones and a discussion of the types of archaeological details they can reveal. Some it was quite graphic – one skeleton in particular displayed a number of wounds, any one of which would presumably have been fatal. River is especially interested in archaeology these days, so our visit was apropos.

There are lots of other interesting things to see and do in York and we are hoping we will get another opportunity to visit again before too long.

Here’s what the finished product looks like: