At Easter we decided to visit the ancestral home of the Felvus family (of which I am a member) - Yorkshire!
The photo at the left is of my great-grandfather, Clifford Felvus, who died aged 25 sometime between 1910 and 1914 in a coal mine at Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He had been rescuing trapped miners and was awarded a medal posthumously. My grandfather James Clifford Felvus grew up in Rawmarsh, and even though my Dad was born in London and has lived for most of his life in Australia, the ten years he spent living in Haworth, West Yorkshire, made him the man he is today - at the very least, riding his bicycle up Main Street Haworth nearly every day during that time has made a permanent mark in the shape of his calves...
On Friday 25 March, we set off at 8.30am on the start of our great Northern Adventure. We took the road that leads through Essex the A1(M), meaning for the first time since we've been in England, we had to pay a toll, which was to go through the Dartford Tunnel. If you're Austrlian, think of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, and make it a little longer and deeper, and you have an approximation of what it was like.
Essex is lovely - green countryside, thatched roof houses here and there - unfortunately it has a reputation for yobbos and "easy" girls. Don't know why...
Not far into Essex we passed a sign saying "Welcome to East Anglia". This
gave me an opportunity to talk to the
children
about Queen Boudicca of the Iceni, who came from the Colchester area
(named after "Old King Cole", believe it or not), and rode south to
Londinium with her chariot and warriors to avenge herself and her
daughters, as they'd been violated by the Romans. Unfortunately
they were completely wiped out by the time they got to
Londinium... East Anglia is also important to me because my Nanna's family came from Suffolk, a county within this area. We plan to make a proper trip there another time.
About an hour and a half down the track, after going through several more counties, we decided to stop for lunch at "Peterborough Services". The motorways in England are very similar to those in Australia, and so there's places you can pull over and have lunch, refuel etc. Unlike Australia though, these tend to be "mini-malls", so you can have lunch, refuel, and do all your shopping/buy clothes etc. We had a couple of baguettes (mmm...ham and brie...) and drinks for morning tea, as it was only 11am, and then set off again after about half an hour.
A few more countie
s, and a couple of hours later it was
about 1.30 and
we reached Leeds, the city where our accommodation was booked. We
were not staying in the city however, but on the eastern outskirts, in
a suburb called Whitkirk. We reached the "Premier Travel Inn"
after about 1/2 an hour of fruitless circling the city. Upon
arrival, we were able to check in, then we went to the pub next door
and had their lunch. All Premier Travel Inns (and Travelodges,
and basically all the "budget" hotels) are situated on
major roads with restaurants/petrol stations nearby. East Leeds
Premier Travel Inn is located next to "The Brown Cow"
Public House, which serves a mean Yorkshire Pudding... As Alex was weary from all that driving, and Liam also wanted a nap, Eilis,
Maitias and I decided to go for a
walk. We went around
several blocks, but there wasn't a lot to be seen. There was a
picturesque church and graveyard across the road from their hotel, but
not a lot else. As we couldn't find a way into the churchyard
that was accessible by "pushchair" we decided not to go in there.
Half an hour later we returned to the hotel, where Alex and Liam had
been resting. At 4pm we decided to watch some TV, and were very excited to discover that "The Railway Children" was on. The Railway Children was filmed around the Keighley-Worth Railway line, which was on our itinerary. Very exciting to know that you are close enough to actually visit somewhere that you have seen on the telly...
After going to ASDA (a discount supermarket) for some supplies, and McDonalds (a nasty "restaurant") for "dinner", we returned to our hotel and to bed.
Saturday was a miserable day, but we had come a long way, and so we set off after breakfast (pre-paid for at The Brown Cow) for York, the capital of Yorkshire, and the situation of the ancient Viking Settlement of Jorvik.
Eilis, Liam and Ma
itias met a "viking", and Eilis and
Liam had their
photo taken with him. We visited the Jorvik Viking Centre, where
we had a "ride back in time" and experienced the sights (and smells!)
of old Jorvik. Very much a lot of fun! After
that we had lunch in the centre of town, where they were having a
"Yorkshire Food Festival". We bought some lovely cheese
(Wensleydale, made in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, and a blue
cheese of some variety). I set off to f
ind some guide books, and
managed to get horribly lost. Fortunately I found my way out
again. We then visited "Cliffords Tower", the last
remaining tower from York Castle. It was very good.
Unfortunately there were a lot of stairs going up, which we also had to
go down, and the gradient was pretty steep... We then went to the York Castle Museum, which was built on the ruins of York Castle (funnily enough), and saw lots about life on old York/Yorkshire. I was amazed that people survived past childhood in the "olden days". After a couple of exhausting hours there, we went home to the hotel, where we had dinner at The Brown Cow, and hurried back to our room, because the first episode of the new series of "Doctor Who" was starting at 7pm. Doctor Who was fantastic, and as we'd preset the VCR back in Chislehurst, we had a permanent record of it. When Doctor Who finished, we went to sleep...exhausted!
After a restful sleep on Saturday night, we woke an hour earlier, as it was now "British Summer Time" (ie. Daylight Saving). This was welcomed most especially by me, as I'd been unable for several weeks to have a full night's sleep as the birds in the bushes outside our bedroom would wake me at 3.30 every morning...
Today was the day
we were to visit Haworth, home of the
famous Bronte family, and quite co-incidentally, the
childhood hometown of my father, who lived there between the ages of
5 and 14, after which he and his family emigrated to Australia
as "£10 Poms". Before we went to Haworth
however, we visited the Embsay to Bolton Abbey railway
line, where we had "A Day Out With
Thomas". Our journey took us through many picturesque villages, including Ilkley, made famous as the home-town of the senior Minister at our Church in Chislehurst.
After about 3 quarters of an hour's journey, we arrived, underdressed, as
we hadn't anticipated how cold it
would be, but happy to "meet" Thomas the Tank Engine
and his friends. We went for a ride on "Percy" between stations,
and the children received a present each from "The Fat
Controller". After a couple of hours of fun, it was
decided that it was an appropriate time to make our way
to Haworth. Haworth is famous not only for being the home of the Bronte and Felvus families, but also for it's very steep main street, called, oddly enough, "Main Street", which has a gradient of about one in seven, or one in eight. Very steep, in any case!
We visited the Bronte Parsonage
Museum, where 
were were devastated by the living
conditions in Haworth in the early 19th century. For instance, the only
sewerage facilities were a couple of channels cut into Main
Street, and there was only 1 toilet per 4 and a half
families. Not to mention the fact that the cemetery
was at the top of the hill, meaning that as the bodies
decayed, toxic waste seeped into the water system...no
wonder it was so common for children to die in infancy! In fact,
it was amazing the
Brontes lived as long as they did (Emily and Anne lived
to
nearly 30, Bramwell died at 31, and Charlotte lived longest of all,
dying aged 38). The average lifespan in Haworth at
the time was 24...my goodness! Fortunately things had
changed when my father lived there...Speaking of my
father, he lived in Sun and Wood
Streets during his time in Haworth. We didn't find Wood Street,
but we took several photos of Sun Street, which adjoined the bottom of
Main Street. Why don't I share a few of them here!
Monday saw us refreshed, as today was
the day we were to return to Chislehurst. After
breakfast, we packed up and set off. Instead of
returning the way we had come, travelled down the M1, which took us via
Sherwood Forest, once home to Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Merry
Men...
From there we set off once again, stopping for lunch at about 2.30 at Leicester Services, choosing not to stock up on groceries and clothing...
After having to slow down several times due to accidents further up the road, we eventually arrived back at home in Chislehurst at 6pm...absolutely exhausted!
THE END