A couple or so years ago Joanne and I set out to find the Masham Swifts, a trail round Masham to find sculptures of swifts by various local artists, I think maybe we failed miserably as we only found three out of ten! The route was easy enough to follow but finding the sculptures was quite a different matter. Anyway remembering this, and being on the committee of the Thoralby WI who were asking for ideas for a WI trip, I suggested perhaps this may be a nice thing to do. So yesterday was the day and, wow, what a day. The sun was shining, it was just hot enough, and armed with our leaflets, which can be found in the Masham Community Office, we set off from the Little Market Place which is the site of number one, the first sculpture. ps. The photo above is a clue for number eight!
The leaflet itself is very interesting giving bits of history about Masham which added to our enjoyment of the route. (Here is a link to my earlier blog with plenty of information to peruse too.) By the end of a couple of hours, after much chatter and gazing about, we finally found them all! What a triumph, it took eight of us to achieve this! Perhaps a little less chat might have meant we completed the trail in less time but who cared? We did visit St Mary’s church for quite a while on route. There is a video set up in the church to watch what is happening in one the swift boxes located in the north side of the church tower, the nest was empty though as it would be in August. We certainly were happy to stroll round this lovely market town, the market was on, the shops and café’s were open and we had lunch at the White Bear, where we very much enjoyed sitting outside soaking up the amazing weather and enjoying good food.
We do have lovely Country Hideaways holiday cottages in Masham, which is on the edge of Nidderdale and the Yorkshire Dales, and of course all our cottages are well within travelling distance of Masham. Call me, Nadine, or my daughter Joanne on 01969 663559 to book over the telephone and for friendly help and advice or of course do book online if you prefer.
Joanne and I are very much looking forward to hearing from you quite soon!
Written By Nadine Bell