Wednesday, the trip continues with a cow licking our car..........

Have I mentioned that we had rooms at the Wellington Inn at Danby? (population maybe around 100?) The town was tiny but did have a railway station to our surprise. The staff was welcoming; the food good and the pub was cozy. Beth’s twin room had a terrific view. Every day as we journeyed out from our lodgings brought us back onto the moor or through some very picturesque countryside.

On Wednesday morning, Beth and I returned to Bradford’s National Media Museum to see Forces of Nature in the IMAX theatre. We asked the ticket taker which were the best seats for viewing (middle back!) and found we were the only ones in the theatre! We watched volcanoes erupt, tornadoes wreck havoc and earthquakes rumble but being Buffalonians we wondered why the blizzards were not included in the film!

Next to the exploding bird adventure our next encounter with wildlife occurred with what I called the Grassington Cow. We were driving through the Dales (and the town of Grassington) when we were forced to pull off the road by a large herd of cows. I made a mad dash for the camera in the trunk and got back in the car just as the herd began to surround us. We laughed uproariously when one of them began to lick the car. I swear this is true! Beth captured the event on her cell phone.

We would visit four ruined Abbeys on this trip and I think my favourite abbey was Fountains Abbey located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Located in a secluded valley it is the only World Heritage Site in Yorkshire. The magnificent ruins of Fountains Abbey date back to the 12^th century. The Cistercian monks who lived there were often called the White Monks because of their undyed wool garments. They were austere, committed to long periods of silence and eight daily services! Imagine that going to church eight times a day! The Abbey was dissolved by Henry VII in his move to destroy monasteries in the 16^th century.

The second abbey we would visit on that rainy day was Byland Abbey. Byland was once regarded as one of the three great monasteries of the north. It must have been huge at one time. I will never forget driving around a corner and seeing the west front entrance where a rose window was once was installed. It really grapped your attention, an outstanding example of Gothic architecture. Again this marvelous abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII in his dissolution of the monasteries in the 16^th century.