Middlesmoor, a Druid Temple, and three Henges

A very good day out with MrM. First stop was Thornborough Henges, sometimes referred to as 'the Stonehenge of the North', now in the care of English Heritage. Maybe not as impressive visually as Stonehenge, they're three huge circular earthworks that were each surrounded by an earthen bank, and certainly impressive in their scale. They were built about 4500 years ago, and thought to have been part of a ritual landscape. We walked around each of the henges, and enjoyed the walk through a nature reserve to access the northern henge. Took lots of photos, but none did the henges justice - the first extra shows part of the middle henge.

Next stop was to Masham, where we enjoyed a late lunch at Johnny Baghdad's café which, I'm pleased to report, is much the same as it was 15 years ago, when it was one of our regular haunts. The food's still delicious too!

 A short drive after that to the Druid's Temple (extras), a 19th Century folly in a forest on a hillside. Apparently it was built to alleviate local unemployment, allowing William Danby, a wealthy landowner, to pay workers a shilling a day. It's an interesting place, and worth a visit if you're in the area. We walked around one of the forest paths, from where there were some lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

By then it was late afternoon and it would have taken ages to drive home through traffic around Bradford or Leeds, so we decided to wait a while and to explore the area. We ended up in Middlesmoor (main Blip), a very pleasant village which, as its name implies, is high up on the moors and where the road ends and becomes the Nidderdale Way!

Back home via a fish restaurant recommended by MrM's sister...