The sun shone brightly through the windows of the 1840’s Yorkshire brick cottage as we said goodbye to your hosts Kay and Andrew at the Oower House B&B. Driving a bit north again we came to the village of Thirsk. Why you might ask would we go to such an obscure little Yorkshire village? Well, perhaps the following book title might help solve the mystery: All Creatures Great and Small. Thirsk is the real Darrowby mentioned in the famous books by James Herriot. Actually Herriot is the pen name for the real veterinary surgeon Alfred Wight.
Wight was born in 1916, studied animal veterinary medicine in Edinburgh, and settled in practice with Donald Sinclair (Siegfried Farnon in the books) in Thirsk in the late 1930’s. Wight married a local girl Joan (Helen in the books) and had two children. It wasn’t until he was in his 50’s that Joan suggested to Alfred that he should write down stories about veterinary life in the rural Yorkshire Dales. His first book was a success. Since then Wight has written several more books and children’s books. Though a millionaire, Wight remained a humble rural vet until his retirement. The local farmers in the Yorkshire Dales continued to value Wight’s abilities to understand them and their way of life.
For those who love the books, the characters of Siegfried Farnon and his younger brother Tristan Farnon are based directly on Donald and Brian Sinclair. Donald owned the veterinary surgery in Thirsk and had posted in the newspaper an advertisement for an assistant. Brian also became a vet and the three men remained lifelong friends.
Robert has read the first book in the series, but for me in particular it was lovely to see Kirkgate House (Skeldale House in the books) come alive! I have read all of Herriot’s (Wight’s) books and the All Creatures Great and Small series remains my favorite literary works. I even have seen all of the BBC television shows based on the books. They were filmed back in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s.
The home not only featured items from Alfred, Donald, and Brian’s time there, but also was a museum about rural veterinary techniques and developments over the past century up until modern times. It was fascinating learning about the development of veterinary studies and practice.
After a nice drive through the winding hedge rowed roads of the Yorkshire Dales we headed south and found ourselves in another legendary literary spot…Sherwood Forest! Just east of Mansfield, England is the town of Edwinstowe, home to the Sherwood Forest Nature Preserve. We grabbed a hiking trail map and took off on the 1.5 mile long hike to the Major Oak, an 800 yr. old oak tree said to be the spot where Robin of Locksley (Robin Hood) gathered with his Merry Men. The kids had a grand time hiking with large sticks they found on the ground. We met a lovely older couple at the Major Oak, Gloria and David Bowdler. Their daughter, Jemma, was the head forester for the centre. The Bowdlers were very friendly and we all enjoyed chatting as we continued the hike through Sherwood Forest. Mrs. Bowdler was quite impressed with our children and complimented them on their interest in nature, literature, and overall manners. She also loved seeing photos of our front porch and swing. She loves the American ideal of the “Southern wooden porch and swing”!
Once back to the centre we said our goodbyes with hugs and walked about a quarter mile into town and had dinner at an authentic English Pub called “The Royal Oak”. As we walked down the street up on the hill was a sign stating that legend held that Robin Hood and Maid Marion got married at the old St. Mary’s Church sitting on the hilltop.
As the sun set we drove another 2 hours south and checked into the Hathaways B&B in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Camellia's Travel Blog 