A day in Skipton

Saturday and it's 21C at home and only 17C here and raining! But, not for long. 

Much noise coming from the canal as we were getting ready to go shopping. 

Two rafts of children making their way through the bridge. Much fun and chaos when the trip boat decided to set off. 

We are close to both Morrisons and Tesco so we didn't have far to go for our basics. After that we wandered around the town and, guess what, it's the weekend of clogfest. Many groups of clog dancers converge on Skipton this weekend and we went to watch some of them on the town quay. 

It is believed that clog dancing started with the girls working in the mills tapping out rhythms in time to the noise made by the machines. 

After the clog dancing we made our way up to the castle via the market in the High Street. 

The castle dates from 1090 but was massively strengthened in 1310 and restored by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659 after the Civil War. 

The yew tree in the Conduit Court was planted in 1659 by Lady Anne. 

Her coat of arms is above one of the doors. 

Outside the castle is the remains of a Chapel which, like St Peters, was used as a barn for many years. 

Back to the boat for a supper of smoked haddock, mash and courgette. 

If ever you come to Skipton, it's worthwhile spending a few days to see all that the town has to offer.