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Round Yorkshire With A Knife: The Wizards Quest Part 13 Settle Down
Background: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-to-Jack-Black
Previous instalments -
Part 1: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-Knaresborough
Part 2: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-2
Part 3: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-3
Part 4: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-4
Part 5: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-5
Part 6: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-6
Part 7: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-7
Part 8: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...re-Be-Monsters
Part 9: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...t-in-Yorkshire
Part 10: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...hieving-Varlet
Part 11: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-Quest-Part-11
Part 12: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...The-Wizard’s-Quest-Part-12-–-Don’t-Tell-Titus!
Settle is a small old-fashioned market town surrounded by the rolling hills and high crags of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. According to this years tourist guide to the town, it also has a number of antique shops, so last Tuesday, market day in Settle, I set out to visit in search of a knife for the Wizard in Oz.
The train journey from Leeds takes about an hour, with pleasant scenery for much of the way, particularly once the Ribble Valley, where Settle is situated, is reached. The railway line running north from Settle to Carlisle is judged to be the most picturesque in England, but has twice been threatened with closure. A public campaign saved the line, and with the help of volunteers, the Settle-Carlisle line now runs at a profit.
I alighted at Settles well-kept station, and walked the short distance into the centre of town. Along the way I noticed one of the vintage shops mentioned in the tourist brochure, but it seemed to specialise in womens clothing and handbags, and was barely large enough inside to swing a small ferret.
Further along, I came to a jewellers, which I had thought might possibly be of interest, but apart from jewellery, the only thing they seemed to stock were pottery figurines of sheepdogs wearing human clothes, something which I have always found a little disturbing.
As the market takes place only once each week, and Settle is surrounded by isolated farms and small hamlets, the town was bustling with people picking up their weekly shopping, (seemingly ignoring the threat of rampaging killer shrimps). The market itself was busy, but I could very quickly see that it was not the type of market where I was likely to find anything for the Wizard; a scrubbing brush or some wet fish, a pair of socks or a meat pie certainly, but nothing in the way of pointy treasure. I consoled myself with a vegetable samosa, only to think that the vendor would have been tarred and feathered for trying to sell them in Leeds.
The locals I spoke to seemed very friendly, and I even met the Chairman of Settle Civic Council in the first junk shop I came across. The stock here was limited to furniture though.
Settle is small enough that I knew I would be able to explore every street, and so I did. Down one small snickelway, next to a second-hand bookshop, I found a shop that looked just the ticket. Unfortunately, it was closed for a few days holiday, exactly coinciding with my visit. The bookshop had a copy of The Quest For The Holy Grail, but I already have a copy of this rather depressing read, in which there is much misadventure.
Less than half a mile from the town square, the narrow streets quickly begin to wind across fields, rabbits played outside the local school, and new-born lambs frolicked on the green Yorkshire grass. Oddly, halfway up the hillside, an Australian flag fluttered in the wind. Perhaps the Wizard was sending me a sign of encouragement!
I came across what purports to be the worlds smallest art gallery, situated in a phone-box, or ex phone-box (Im unsure). Later, I saw a similar church, of which the town certainly has a great many.
I went for a pint in the Talbot Arms, and had a good natter with the landlord about beer and brewing methods. Afterwards I walked back to the market square, checking out every road for a hidden knife shop or cutlery emporium.
I walked along the banks of the River Ribble, passing the remains of an ancient snuff mill, and then crossed back into the town. I spotted a sign for an indoor market, and thought it might be just what I was looking for. However, once inside what appeared to be a village hall, there were just a few stalls selling jams and chutney, knitted baby clothes, and a surprisingly racy selection of second-hand literature.
I had not yet come across Rushworths Antiques Centre, which had a full-page advert in the tourist guide, with several photos depicting tempting display cabinets, so I set out to look for it in earnest. I walked down past Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe to the end of Church Street, only to find that Rushworths had recently gone out of business, and that the antiques centre was now empty.
My hunt exhausted, I consoled myself with another pint in the Lions Den, before boarding a return train back to Leeds. If Settle was not such a pretty town, I would not have bothered to write this episode up, but do so in order that you may see the photographs I took while there. My apologies for the lack of knife content.
The Hunt Continues!
Jack
Background: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-to-Jack-Black
Previous instalments -
Part 1: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-Knaresborough
Part 2: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-2
Part 3: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-3
Part 4: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-4
Part 5: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-5
Part 6: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-6
Part 7: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...s-Quest-Part-7
Part 8: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...re-Be-Monsters
Part 9: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...t-in-Yorkshire
Part 10: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...hieving-Varlet
Part 11: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...-Quest-Part-11
Part 12: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...The-Wizard’s-Quest-Part-12-–-Don’t-Tell-Titus!
Settle is a small old-fashioned market town surrounded by the rolling hills and high crags of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. According to this years tourist guide to the town, it also has a number of antique shops, so last Tuesday, market day in Settle, I set out to visit in search of a knife for the Wizard in Oz.
The train journey from Leeds takes about an hour, with pleasant scenery for much of the way, particularly once the Ribble Valley, where Settle is situated, is reached. The railway line running north from Settle to Carlisle is judged to be the most picturesque in England, but has twice been threatened with closure. A public campaign saved the line, and with the help of volunteers, the Settle-Carlisle line now runs at a profit.
I alighted at Settles well-kept station, and walked the short distance into the centre of town. Along the way I noticed one of the vintage shops mentioned in the tourist brochure, but it seemed to specialise in womens clothing and handbags, and was barely large enough inside to swing a small ferret.
Further along, I came to a jewellers, which I had thought might possibly be of interest, but apart from jewellery, the only thing they seemed to stock were pottery figurines of sheepdogs wearing human clothes, something which I have always found a little disturbing.
As the market takes place only once each week, and Settle is surrounded by isolated farms and small hamlets, the town was bustling with people picking up their weekly shopping, (seemingly ignoring the threat of rampaging killer shrimps). The market itself was busy, but I could very quickly see that it was not the type of market where I was likely to find anything for the Wizard; a scrubbing brush or some wet fish, a pair of socks or a meat pie certainly, but nothing in the way of pointy treasure. I consoled myself with a vegetable samosa, only to think that the vendor would have been tarred and feathered for trying to sell them in Leeds.
The locals I spoke to seemed very friendly, and I even met the Chairman of Settle Civic Council in the first junk shop I came across. The stock here was limited to furniture though.
Settle is small enough that I knew I would be able to explore every street, and so I did. Down one small snickelway, next to a second-hand bookshop, I found a shop that looked just the ticket. Unfortunately, it was closed for a few days holiday, exactly coinciding with my visit. The bookshop had a copy of The Quest For The Holy Grail, but I already have a copy of this rather depressing read, in which there is much misadventure.
Less than half a mile from the town square, the narrow streets quickly begin to wind across fields, rabbits played outside the local school, and new-born lambs frolicked on the green Yorkshire grass. Oddly, halfway up the hillside, an Australian flag fluttered in the wind. Perhaps the Wizard was sending me a sign of encouragement!
I came across what purports to be the worlds smallest art gallery, situated in a phone-box, or ex phone-box (Im unsure). Later, I saw a similar church, of which the town certainly has a great many.
I went for a pint in the Talbot Arms, and had a good natter with the landlord about beer and brewing methods. Afterwards I walked back to the market square, checking out every road for a hidden knife shop or cutlery emporium.
I walked along the banks of the River Ribble, passing the remains of an ancient snuff mill, and then crossed back into the town. I spotted a sign for an indoor market, and thought it might be just what I was looking for. However, once inside what appeared to be a village hall, there were just a few stalls selling jams and chutney, knitted baby clothes, and a surprisingly racy selection of second-hand literature.
I had not yet come across Rushworths Antiques Centre, which had a full-page advert in the tourist guide, with several photos depicting tempting display cabinets, so I set out to look for it in earnest. I walked down past Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe to the end of Church Street, only to find that Rushworths had recently gone out of business, and that the antiques centre was now empty.
My hunt exhausted, I consoled myself with another pint in the Lions Den, before boarding a return train back to Leeds. If Settle was not such a pretty town, I would not have bothered to write this episode up, but do so in order that you may see the photographs I took while there. My apologies for the lack of knife content.
The Hunt Continues!
Jack
