OLD HOLLINSIDE MANOR

Usual trip to Morrisons this morning with my friend Jan.  The weather was warm but very windy.  I heard on the news later that there were gusts of 40mph.

I did some ironing and mulled over what I should choose for my Wide Wednesday photo.  The theme today is " Old ". The easy option would have been to pop down to St Marys churchyard in the village but I wanted to do something different.  I remembered Old Hollinside Manor which stands on the hillside overlooking the Derwent Walk Country Park.,  Its too far to walk to get near the ruin but I thought I might be able to get a shot of it looking across the valley.   So I walked to the Fellside Park housing estate this afternoon.  I had an idea of where Hollinside would be - but the sun was bright and there were so many trees that I couldn't see it.  I kept walking and stopping to change my viewpoint but still I  couldn't spot Hollinside. I went left and right.  I went to higher points and lower points - no luck.  Then I walked along to the golf course as I thought I might find a gap in the trees but I ended up in a forest.  Walked down through that and came out the other side.  More trees.  I was walking downhill by this time and I spotted a field with horses in so I headed for that - looked up across the valley - and finally spotted Hollinside.  Whew!. The photo isn't the best as the sun was in the wrong place, I had to zoom in a lot - and it was windy. Thanks to BobsBlips for hosting the challenge. I have tagged it for Derelict Sunday too. Thanks to Marlieske for hosting

Hollinside Manor is an excellent example of a 13th century fortified manor house situated just east of the Nine Arches Viaduct in the Derwent Walk Country Park. From its elevated position, there are commanding views of the surrounding countryside. The house was constructed in several phases, dating from the late 13th century to around 1400.   The first reference to the building is in 1317 when Thomas de Hollinside granted his manor of Hollinside to William de Boineton of Newcastle and Isolda, his wife. It was the home of the Harding family for two centuries during which time the manor became known as the 'Giant's Castle' since the men folk were very tall. The estate passed on to George Bowes of Gibside in 1730 for the sum of £10,000.  The remains, which are both a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I Listed, include the ruined fortified hall house, an attached wing to the north east and associated earthworks.

After the long walk home I did some more ironing.

Haven't heard from Becky and Mike today but I know that they were scheduled to fly from Las Vegas to San Francisco - they will stay in an Airbnb.  They have tickets for the baseball - San Francisco Giants.


Steps today - 16,194