Life in the North Yorkshire Dales

I had to cross several time zones, but I have finally made it back to the Midwest. Actually, these days I am even further from the Midwest than usual. I am in Ripon in North Yorkshire to do research on the big stone church here. The city is an historic market town on the River Skell; the monastery that later became Ripon Cathedral goes back to the seventh century. However, most of the urban fabric, including the market place, dates only back to the eighteenth century.

It's a remote place by English standards. There is no train station; I arrived by bus from Harrogate. The nearest university is probably aways south in Leeds or York. Both of those are considered relatively new institutions. The University of Leeds is barely one hundred years old. Again, English standards. Historically, Ripon arose from agriculture and livestock around the Yorkshire Dales. Now much of its economy relies on tourism. In addition to historic charm Ripon has a well known racecourse. The city lies between the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors National Parks, which makes it a good stop for literary folks chasing Brontes or Shelley or even James Herriot.

The tourism means the town has plenty of places to eat, but Ripon does not really bustle. I had to visit three pubs before I found one serving food after 7:30 tonight. Hotels are plentiful, but none of the major chains operate here. They are down in Harrogate with the International Centre. The agricultural history and its separation from the British mainstream give it a familiar feel to someone who grew up in the rural Midwest. The shops here are provincial. Even if daily newspapers and television link everyone into the latest fashion and music, those cultural touchstones don't travel very well. Urban fabrics and urban sounds are not quite suited to the lifestyle here. Likewise, the food has been good so far, but it is based around an agrarian diet where meat is plentiful and local, not a convergence of multiple cultures. I had my second pie (fish) for dinner in as many days. I am also on a first-name basis with several of the hotel staff already, and the library has kept a pile of books waiting for my return tomorrow. They are not carefully catalogued on a reserve shelf. The librarian simply stacked them atop the Help Desk with a note announcing my return tomorrow. Occasionally, locals ask why I left New York to spend a week here. I came here for work, but all those hometown qualities mean I don't go stir crazy here. I try to concentrate on the niceties that are cultivated by a more static environment. A preacher once described his hometown to me. "It's a great place to be from," he intoned. It's not glamorous, but being from somewhere teaches a lot about how to live somewhere.