Serendipity on the way to York

Our drive from Norwich to York was the longest of our trip (although by Texas standards it was just a hop, skip, and jump) so we needed a place to take a break, have lunch, and stretch our legs.

Travel-agent-extraordinaire Hal found the perfect place—Newark-on-Trent. The town has grocery stores for picnic supplies, as well as castle ruins to explore. A fun place for the kiddos to goof off...

note the Ravenclaw robes—personalized!

...and photographers to snap, snap, snap...

Although it was the history of the place that first attracted our history-buff family—this is where King John died in 1216 (supposedly from eating too many peaches? you'll remember him as one of the various villains in the Robin Hood stories). And the fact that the castle is in ruins isn't due to neglect, but rather to bombardments during England's Civil War. Learn more about the place's interesting history here.

And history came to life for us! Just by chance, as we were enjoying our crumpets and cheese, a group of Morris dancers set up shop under the park's gazebo. What a treat!

After the performance, we learned that they are the Kemp's Men of Norwich and Newark just happened to be a stop on their Whit Tour (it was a bank holiday weekend in the UK, although Whit Monday seems to happen later, according to Google; I've always been confused by the bank holiday concept).

What a treat! Henry took a long video; ask him to see it sometime. After entertaining us, the troupe moved on to a nearby pub for another performance and, presumably, some well-deserved refreshments.

And we were on our way up to Yorkshire, looking forward to spending three nights in this town absolutely dripping with English history. Stay tuned!