Hi Dreamers! :)

Today I just want to share with you some of the North parts of England, which is the true old England as some would say, because it is the surroundings of York - the ancient capital of Britannia Inferior, as proclaimed by the Emperor Severus. Did you know, btw, that the Emperor Constantius I finished his days here? And then his son Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus) was proclaimed the Emperor Augustus in 306 by the troops of Eboracum fortress (Latin name of ancient York).

Well, enough of ancient history, let's turn to my main subject - ancient and not so-ancient architecture and landscapes of Yorkshire area. Of course, York itself, with its Minster and castles surrounded by the defensive fortress wall, are the primary representatives of the old English tradition and culture. However, there is a lot more to see and enjoy shooting around in other small towns and villages.

BTW, check the search results for "York England" and you will be surprised how few and common images are yet there (only 4 pages!), isn't it your time to visit York and make more sense of it? Some of my pictures are being in the queue too. ;-)

So, when you are done in York, next town I suggest to visit is Knaresborough... When I first visited this small "chessy" town (derived from "chess", not "cheese"! :)) on high cliffs around river Nidd, I did not want to leave, or better to say I wished I lived there on the bank of river Nidd, but then the rain started and spoiled the moment...

There is something very charming about this place, which is full of woody shades in the well-maintained Mother Shipton's park on one side of the river and the village of luxury homes on the other side. It all combines in its colorful contrasts and idyllic peacefulness.

At the same time there is something that does not allow this place to appear well on photos, most of the time. This might well explain the very few images of it found currently in the database. You may laugh, but we visit Knaresborough practically every year, most often in May-June when the green is fresh and the days are long, yet only recently I managed to produce sufficiently good pictures which have been accepted by DT. I gather the major difficulty is due to the snowy white houses (some with the chess-board pattern on the walls) on the background and in the surroundings of shadowy old trees and dark river waters, as you can see it for yourselves... I found it particularly difficult to keep contrast and chromatic aberrations in photos under control, even when using sophisticated methods for dealing with those.

OK, forget about the technicalities and even stock, and simply go there for romance and enjoying the moment... if you are lucky with weather, of course. ;-) I bet this is truly the most romantic place in the entire England, and here is why. The famous local attractions are: 1) The Mother Shipton's Cave, petrifying wall and woody park along the river, your walk finishing by the Mother Shipton's wishing well - your good-will wishes do come true, believe me!; 2) The impressive World's End Viaduct bridge, which is believed to fall during the day of Doom (whence it is very well maintained!); 3) The ancient fortress and castle on beautiful rocks (most of the images present in the DT database have been shot from the castle hill); 4) Adding extra charm to the views and spectators' perception, the reflections in mostly calm and dark surface of river Nidd.

After York and Knaresborough, you will definietly enjoy walking along the streets and canals of Skipton. Then, apart all the ancient walls and Victorian-style houses, there are many ancient Abbey ruins all around the Yorkshire, which are a special niche of photographic inspiration by themselves. Check out the region of Yorkshire Dales, e.g. Bolton Abbey, and even within cities and towns there are some, like in Leeds.

I am sure you will find travelling over Yorkshire even more interesting than visiting London. What is really nice about it is that if you are bored by one place there is always something different to see in another nearby town/village and you don't need to fly miles away! :-)

Well, have fun and good weather!