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Day 8 - Monday 7th July

Started the morning with a drive to Dallowgill to visit Wen's dad.

Before we arrived Wen showed me all the spots as to who live where etc. She also showed me the shooters huts on the moors. I think I have this right ...the area is Dallow, where Wen's dad and a couple of other cottages are is Dallowgill and the moor is (I have forgotten). The moor was high with views that go on forever. It was covered in heather. Wen explained that this was her father's part of the moor where he was a beater during the grouse season. They used to beat the grouse out of the moor for the shooters. They then used the dogs to retrieve the grouse. I loved the blackfaced, longtailed sheep roaming the moor.

As we wound down a very narrow track there was a little spring on the left hand side of the road with a concrete retaining dish ... it was just like a mini waterfall. When we pulled up at Dallow Cottage, Wen's dad, Terry, was in his workshed where he makes wonderful walking sticks.

The mosiac walk* goes straight through Dallow with the cottages on one side of the track and the workshed, dog shed, chook shed and vege gardent on the other. When Wen was growing up, the family lived in the cottages as Terry was gamekeeper to the Manor. Terry now owns the cottage and a couple of surrounding paddocks.

Terry was all smiles at seeing Wen and remarked on the fact she was driving a Volvo. Ha!! I was introduced and we had a quick look around the stick shed before moving on to look at chooks, dogs and a lovely vege garden. We then went into the house for a cuppa before going for a walk.

The walk was not what I expected as Terry let out all the dogs (probably about 12 to 14). He had a whistle that he kept blowing at various times to keep control on the dogs. If they ran into the woods, they would return with the whistling. I asked Terry with so many dogs, how he knew whether any were missing. He replied it was more or less instinctive and intuition. A dog did go missing at one point and Terry stopped and worked out which one it was and whistled and called its name. Sure enough, it came bounding out of the woods.

When we walked up the track a bit, Terry got Wen and I to stand a little further up the track. He had stopped all the dogs and they were sitting at the side of the track. He was going to demonstrate how he had control over individual dogs, while the others sat quietly. I took many photos of this. He had a piece of rolled up rug with his scent on it and a rope tied to the end. He threw the rope into the woods and then called one dog to him. He had the dog sit next to him and the dog only moved when he got the hand signal to collect. All the other dogs just sat there as spectators. Amazing! One dog had a bit of trouble finding it and he gave it another chance. Most of the dogs just honed in on the carpet so fast.

Anyway, from here, we went further up the hill to a little shed where he chops wood and from here we wound our way back to the cottage. Before we left the stick shed, I had brought a lovely stick. It was hazlewood and it had grown with ivy wrapped around it which gave a spiral effect. On the top was a carved weasel made out of walnut. The walnut came from Fountains Abbey and was slightly blackened on one side. Terry explained that this was caused by a musket ball. The stick is very special and made its way back to Australia.

Back at the cottage, we had another cuppa and Wen showed Terry the banjo she had brough over. Wen played the banjo for a while and Terry just loved it. When we left, Terry made the comment that the music and visit had made him very happy and he would be happy for the rest of the day.

That afternoon, we went with Mandy and Graham for a walk around Ripley Castle where we will be coming tomorrow to see a Midsummer Night's Dream.

Notes:

Link to Mosiac Walk - this also has a pic of Wen's dad, Terry, known as the stickman http://miladysboudoir.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/crackpots-and-conker-crafts-moor-mosaics-and-more-mosaics/

Here is link to an article in the Yorkshire Post by Mick Hickling. Mick is one of the men we played with from King Cougette Band (see Days 12, 13 and 22). Both Mick and son Alfred are journalists, Mick for the Yorkshire Post and Alfred with the Gaurdian. We had told Mick about Wen's Dad and showed him my 'weasel' stick that I had brought. We also told him and showed him photos of Terry's dogs. He thought it would make a great story and here it is:

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/rural/farming/sticking-to-his-guns-in-the-grouse-season-1-6807310

Click on the images below for larger images.

Moor above Dallowgill

Moor above Dallowgill

Moor above Dallowgill

Moor above Dallowgill

Moor above Dallowgill

Moor above Dallowgill

     

 

Look at the history and work in the fencing

Terry and Wendy

... with dogs

At Dallow cottage

Terry and Wendy

Terry and Wendy going into cottage

Inside the cottage where Wen grew up. Notice Terry's collection of sticks.

Kitchen in cottage

Besides cottage

Off for a walk

.... on to the forest

A mushroom mosiac near cottage

The dogs waiting for Terry's instructions

Terry throwing the piece of rug

He is send a dog to collect it

Terry and the dogs during the demo

... and he's off!

On top of the hill where Terry cuts his wood

... again

again ... looking back towards the forest

The manor house

Coming back home

A run down barn on the road near Dallowgill

Farm in area

View over top of the fence

Chooks at Ripley

Boar at Ripley

Ripley - famous for its icecream and castle

Ripley

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle wall