We walked down to the shops with Barbara and checked out the local church before driving to the nearby Lanercost Priory. With a similar history to Rievaulx, but not on such a grand scale, it was another opportunity for us to get free entry with our NZ Heritage cards! Started in 1169, it had its ups-and-downs (literally) due to the regular raids by the warriors terrorising this area (the Border country). This was also the first Priory closed down by Henry VIII in 1542 and most of it was converted into a house by Sir Thomas Dacre whose family lived here until 1716. Part of the Abbey remained as a church and is still in use with the ruins surrounding it.
We then popped back to Barbara's for lunch and then went to Talkin Tarn for a bit of fresh air. This is a small glacial kettle lake not far away on the other side of town. They hire kayaks and small yachts plus there is a rowing club based there. The weather was overcast with a cool breeze blowing but we walked around the lake (about 2.5km) for a bit of exercise.
Tomorrow we are planning to drive over to Newcastle to visit a Roman site and go to a concert in the evening.
Miriam has finally had a chance to catch up on our washing so all is well in the world!