Somewhere over the Dales

Just like Dorothy dreamed of going somewhere over the rainbow, I dreamt of going over the dales. Now I have.

Wow! Has it really been over two weeks since I last blogged? I have been very busy working very late hours and I lost track of time. So much else has happened and it all transpired in only the last five days. I waited till the last minute to book my train tickets and thought that I was going to spend one day in Bolton then back-track to Carlisle but, when I got to the train station, I decided to go to Bolton for both of my days off. I ended up with a ticket from Edinburgh to Carlisle, switching trains and heading south to Garsdale, then taking a bus from there to Hawes and finally connecting to a bus that took me to Castle Bolton. I would still have one more bus to connect to in Leyburn which would take me to my accommodations in East Witton. This entire journey would last almost 5 hours. All totaled it would cost me nearly 100 pounds in transportation expense. That's a lot just to get to my destination. It cost so much because as I would find once I got to the Dales, that it is a huge farming region with limited public transport. I also found out that I went the long way around. I should have come down the east coast through Newcastle to Darlington, near York, and connected with buses into Richmond and on to Leyburn. Leyburn is only 10 minutes bus ride from Bolton and is an actual village with shops, businesses, and more frequent and regular bus service to Castle Bolton. I'll go that route next time. Yes there will be a next time.

It is hard for me to be upbeat about what happened in Yoorkshire. It still hasn't sunk in yet. When I got on the train at Carlisle and headed into the Dales, I started journaling about my impending visit to Castle Bolton. What would Tom say, what would he look like, how will I be received? Could I believe that his kind words to me were genuine or was he just being polite. He said that he was keen to meet me and that when I arrived I should make myself at home. That his wife Katie would make a anything I wanted to eat and drink at no cost. Does he do this for everyone or am I a special visitor? Well I would soon find out.

I had dreamed of making this journey and have watched movies with images of the dales to suggest to me what I might see and experience. It is as beautiful as it looks but its a whole different experience when you do it on board the local bus that goes bumping and squeeking down the road. One thing it afforded me was an almost guided tour of the key towns near the castle. The bus route goes through each of them on the way in and out. If I were in a car I would have gotten lost or missed some of them. I am reffering to the towns of Hawes, Askrigg, Aysgarth, West Burton, Thoralby, Leyburn, Redmire, Preston, and Wensley. As we came along the road, I knew the next stop was for the castle. I pictured in my mind the images I had seen from the castles website and thought that I might see them as we approached. The pictures do not do the actual view justice. As I looked side-to-side out the window looking for the castle I saw it out of the corner of my eye and through the trees. My stomach jumped at the site of this amazingly tall structure set on the hill above. I thought I might cry at that moment but I didn't. I kept my perspective and approached this moment as Adina Rubin the girl, not the re-enactor "coming home." It was amazing. As we came up the main road the castle is ahead to our left and it gets taller as you get closer. The bus passed by the main gated portcullis and stopped. I stood up, took a deep breath, grabbed my bag and stepped off. My view of the castle was momentarily blocked by the bus so I waited for it to pass by before looking up at the castle with a clear view. I lowered my head and pictured the tall walls, windows, and the rooms inside. The bus pulled away, I looked up, and saw...the entire back half of the castle destroyed. There was so much destruction I could see into the back walls and see only the outlines of windows where rooms would have once been. The broken walls were covered in grasses and flowers growing in the rubble and the breeze was blowing them about. All of my enthusiasm just went out of me as I stared at the damage. This is going to cost so much more money than I had planned, I laughed to myself.

As I moved inside I took on an objective perspective. My hopes of imagining myself as Baroness Scrope now too difficult to comprehend for practical and emotional reasons. You no longer enter through the portcullis at the front of the castle, you enter through a new made hole in the side of the building to the right.

I have to share my disappointment. The reality of the conditions of the castle and how it is maintained were nothing as I had imagined them. How could I have known that after over 500 years and major damage that the walls would be moss covered and moldy. That the floor supports would have given way and now each level sits one full foot lower than it did originally. That because of this lowering of the floors you have to sort of climb down into and up out of rooms. That none of the ground floor is level or even smooth. That due to English Heritage Society regulations, very little can be done to fix these issues as that would alter the history of the building.

There is more about the building I need to share but it is best done when I can post images. I have taken more than 60 shots and once they are developed I will try to post them or send copies to the states with notes.

I have more to tell. Don't forget I have a meeting with destiny at 12pm.

I go in to the gift shop and pick up a souvenir tour guide. I open it up and inside the cover is a picture of Tom and Katie with a personal greeting. Turns out they are about my age or maybe a bit younger. As I look around at the staff, I see Katie in an apron running back and forth to the kitchen. Suddenly I see a man in camouflage pants and a grubby grey t-shirt. As he comes up the steps we make eye contact and he says, "Hi, are you Adina? I'm Tom, it's nice to finally meet you." He went off to change his clothes as he had been working outside. We went in to the tea room/guest hall to talk. Surrounded by other visitors and seated by the fireplace we talked for two hours. As I shared about how my interest in the castle got started I think Tom began to realize that I was more than a crazy tourist from America. I found out that Tom is not just the general manager for Lord Bolton, he is the son. So when we shook hands, I was basically touching Baroness Scropes blood relative.

Feeling that this was my one and only opportunity to meet with Tom I told him all my hopes and aspirations for my business concept. He listened to me intently and was very nice when he said that there would likely be no money to be made in a venture such as I described due to the current condition of the castle and the type of visitors it receives. I told him that I wanted to do whatever I could to get involved and help. I had not come 6000 miles, spent 10 years of my life and over $70,000 in education to stop now. I would start small and see what happens. I had thought about what could be done at the castle right now that would not cost any money. We could improve the website to include the history of the women who lived at the castle. We can also write the story of what happened when Mary, Queen of Scots was in residence. I had been thinking about starting a blog that was written in the voice of Baroness Scrope. Tom was thankfully open to my ideas. He stated that anything I was willing to do on a volunteer basis was welcome. I asked if I could be added to the website as the new Renaissance historian, he agreed. We talked and walked around the castle the rest of the day and Tom let me go behind the ropes to see all corners of the castle including Baron Scrope's garderobe, that's toilet to you all. Tom even took my picture in Baroness Scrope's bedchamber. We seemed to have such a good time that Tom offered to drive me to the inn where I was staying so I wouldn't have to wait for the buses. He drove me by his house and I got to go inside. I met the dogs and got to talk with him about Sustenance. When we got to the inn I let him know that I wanted to come back on August 17th to see the castle with re-enactors around. That day they are having a Spanish Armada themed gathering. He said that would be fine and he gave me a kiss on each cheek as a goodbye. Everybody say AAAHHH. That is really sweet.

I went back the next day and was there from 10am till 5pm. I was going to just take pictures but as visitors began to arrive and ask questions that no one else could answer, I volunteered to give guided tours of the castle. So I spent the day giving tours and talking to people. I shared my ideas of what I hoped for the castle and asked the visitors what they would want to see when they return. They were impressed with my ideas so I asked them to take a brochure and email Tom that they had met me and how much they enjoyed the tour and my ideas. As the day progressed I began to think about offering Tom my services as the on-site tour guide. I also though t about seeing if he might be hiring for staff and if I could help run the tea shop as well. He let me know that his secretary had recently left. I am still thinking of how I could start working at the castle sooner rather than later. The challenges of changing jobs and locations right now are more than I want to deal with right now. I will give Tom and Katie the time they requested to review my marketing plan and consider my ideas before I talk to them about joining them at the castle. I hope by then I can come up with a way to afford to move and live in Yorkshire, England. I am giving us till August 17th. Wish me luck and send my your thoughts family and friends.

Deep down I am screaming with excitement even though on the surface I am calm and rational. How are you feeling?