Travel: Passing on your pride and heritage
MAYBE you’re wondering what to buy your grown-up children for Christmas – or you’re an adult struggling to find the perfect present for your parents.
The easy solution is to think of experiences instead of physical gifts.
While few of us could afford to buy a whole holiday for a close relative, there is an easy, low-cost alternative... an English Heritage pass that will last the whole year long. In the West Midlands region alone there are 30 properties listed on the English Heritage website from Leigh Court Barn in Worcestershire to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire and Halesowen Abbey.
For those who live on the north side of Birmingham, Shropshire is a particularly rich source of sites including Boscobel House, Buildwas Abbey, Stokesay Castle, Acton Burnell Castle, Wroxeter Roman City, Ironbridge, Clun Castle, Langley Chappel, White Ladies Priory, Old Oswestry Hill Fort and Haughmond Abbey.
Even the most dedicated days out ‘activist’ would be hard pressed to get round all of these in a single year.
But there’s another reason for becoming a member.
Take a holiday in another part of England and you will probably be able to use your pass enough in one week to cover the initial outlay – while at the same time discounting the cost of your vacation.
We recently took a short break in North Yorkshire and on successive days comfortably visited four marvellous attractions where our children were able to listen to audio tour versions of their histories.
Helmsley Castle in Helmsley was first established in the 1120s by prominent nobleman Walter Espec – aka Wood the Woodpecker.
By the 16th century, the chamber block was being converted into a Tudor mansion.
A huge ditch and various gates and towers still exist today and our children were able to dress up for the part, too.
As well as a fine visitor centre, complete with various displays illustrating the castle’s social, domestic and military history, the car park is low cost and there are plenty of nearby pubs and cafes, too.
Standard castle admission prices are adults £4.50, children £2.30 (family tickets £11.50). More details from 01439 770442.
Within easy driving distance are Byland and Rievaulx Abbeys.
We visited the latter on a day which, like Helmsley, had very ‘atmospheric’ weather conditions.
Built 900 years ago, Rievaulx is on a beautifully-still valley hillside.
An all-day fog had deterred many other visitors so we almost had the place to ourselves.
Gardener Sid Carson was relaying some turf in the near drizzle.
“You can bet there would have been a few deaths from workers falling off the primitive scaffolding when they were building it,” he mused.
Admission is £5 for adults and £2.50 for children, with a refundable £4 car park fee. Details: 014239 798228.
Before leaving the Helmsley area, we took advantage of improving visibility by visiting the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.
We went on a two-mile return walk along the escarpment where Yorkshire Gliding Society members were being towed off the edge – a fantastic sight.
Our next stop was the east coast... via the Vale of Pickering!
Scarborough Castle overlooks two bays with dramatic seaside views. Its history spans the Iron Age, Romans, Vikings and even World War Two when it was given a strategic role.
