WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE

I decided I needed to go out today.  Hubby had an appointment at the opticians and as I hadn't been to Kirkby Stephen in a while I decided to go there.  


It was extremely quiet, and first of all I thought it was half day closing, but I think some of the businesses have actually closed down or  it was their closed day.

I had a pootle around the lower part of the town taking a few photos (will blip  later in the week when I can).  

I thenk popped into the Parish Church, which has a wealth of history to it and some very interesting notices about it's history.

I then needed facilities so went into the first cafe I came across.  I think I had the wrong thing as I wanted a simple pannini but it was HUGE and tasted quite floury actually.  Having said that some of the homemade dishes looked superb.  There were other cafes I found later but that was the nearest at that time.

After that I went up to the top of the town and notice that once upon a time there 3 churches all within a few yards of each other.  One is now Youth Hostel, whilst it's good to see it being used it's sad that it  is no longer a church.  I can remember  going in there some years ago and it had a lovely cafe and market in there then.  The other just a few doors down is an Evangelical Church and still in use and then of course the Parish Church.

After that I went on down to the River Eden, overe Frank's Briidge,   Frank's Bridge is a narrow pedestrian stone footbridge over and was was built in the 17th century as a 'corpse lane' bridge - used to carry coffins from Hartley, Winton, and other nearby villages, for burriel at St Stephen's church. There are stones at the end of the bridge where the coffins could be rested. The bridge is thought to be named after Francis Birbeck, a local brewer (the houses around Frank’s Bridge are converted brewery buildings).   There was plenty of water in the river today.


Now for those interested below is a few interesting facts bout Kirkby Stephen, don't feel obliged to read but I know some of you like this and others probably know a lot more than I do. 


Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen is a small market town lying at the head of the Eden Valley. The river Eden, the source of which is in the Mallerstang Valley to the south east, passes through the town. Kirkby Stephen was granted a market charter in 1352/3, and a lively market is still held on Mondays.

Kirkby Stephen is close to the southern boundary of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and just north of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The Market Square is surrounded by an ancient collar of cobble-stones, and has a number of buildings of historical and architectural significance. The Cloisters were built in 1810 between the Square and the Parish Church, with the intention of providing shelter for churchgoers and market people.

Immediately through the Cloisters is the Trupp Stone, where tithes were paid until 1836. From the Market Square, many narrow winding passageways lead off. Some lead down to Frank’s Bridge and the River Eden, where there is a pleasant picnic area.

The Parish Church, known locally as the Cathedral of the Dales, was built on the site of an old Anglo-Saxon church, and contains many interesting relics, including the ‘Loki Stone’. This is one of only two such stones in Europe.