| Mary and Jack struck out for a few days on their own to the eastern coast of Yorkshire, England, to do some birdwatching and other exploring. |
| Burnsall ..... Appletreewick ..... York |
  |
 One of our favorite sources of lodging is the Farm-Stay program in the UK. That's where we discovered Field House Farm Cottages, and got a "short break" in the Old Dairy. |
 We were delighted to find out there were free guided tours by the RSPB at Bempton Cliffs while were there. |
|
 We got a really good look at a number of gannets during that visit. |
 This white rock pigeon was at Sewerby Hall and Gardens, in Bridlington, which was a nice walk in the afternoon. |
 These beautiful mandarin ducks are on display at the small zoo at Sewerby |
 ... as is this rhea ... |
 ... and these Magellan penguins. |
 There were a number of interesting mammals, including this rabbit .. |
 ... some grazing llamas ... |
 ... and a number of wallabies. |
 But the most spectacular part of the Sewerby property is the gardens, even in winter. Note the topiary "bluebells" to the right. |
 |
 However, the winter is nothing compared to gardens in the summer, according to Janet and Stuart (above) Howe, who we met there. The Howes provided these photos of the glorious gardens in the summer, shown at right and below. |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 The snowdrops were flowering in the yard of the Rudston Parish Church, where we stopped to see the Rudston Monolith.The view on the left is to give an idea of scale. For more information, click here. . |
 According to the plaque nearby, the 26-ft high stone (which may extend as far underground) dates to the Neolithic period, possibly as far back as 2000 BC |
Back to Burnsall ... or Appletreewick ... or skip to York