Wednesday 10 September 2014

The White Horse Of Kilburn

On Bank Holiday Monday, after visiting Helmsley, which I wrote about in my last post, we headed off to Yorkshire Lavender which you can read about on my Garden Visiting In August post over on my other blog, The Good Life. We still wasn't ready to head home after there so we decided to go and see the White Horse of Kilburn.

Kilburn is a lovely village just on the edge of the North York Moors. Robert Thompson, the furniture maker who was known as The Mouseman because he carved a mouse in to the pieces of furniture he made, lived here and there's a visitor centre in the village.

The village is so pretty with lots of beautiful cottages.


I loved these cottages, where you have to cross a little bridge over a stream before you walk up the garden path.


There's a bit of an olde worlde feeling to the village, you don't often see red telephone boxes any more, or these type of post boxes.


Abour a mile outside the village is the White Horse which we'd come to see. Cut in to the hillside, the figure is 318 feet long by 220 feet high and covers about 1.6 acres.


It was created in 1857 by school master, John Hodgson and his pupils, with local volunteers after being designed and financed by a native of Kilburn, Thomas Taylor who was a Victorian businessman.

The horse is cut in to limestone which needs artificial whitening. Chalk chippings from the Yorkshire Wolds are now used for this purpose.


There's a car park right below the horse where you can park up and take a walk through woodland right the way up to the horse itself, but you need to be a little distance away to be able to get a good view of it. As the weather we'd left at home had caught up with us by this time, we didn't venture in to the woods, though I'm sure Archie would have loved it, so we'll definitely return another day to take that walk.

If you haven't already entered my giveaway, don't forget to do so. You have until twelve noon on Thursday the 11th of September 2014 to leave a comment on my Fourth Blog Anniversary Giveaway post

32 comments:

  1. Beautiful cottages, if I ever win the lottery sighhhhh x

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  2. Love the Mouseman's mice! Didn't know there was a white horse in Yorkshire, we've been to the white horse in Uffington a number of times. I love the houses with bridges too.

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    1. I've actually never seen any of Robert Thompson's work but I've seen many programmes about him. I come across so many beautiful cottages on my travels, there's some really pretty ones and they always grab my attention.

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  3. A most enjoyable post, and lovely pictures. This Kilburn is far more picturesque
    than the one in north-west London!

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    1. We have some beautiful places to visit in Yorkshire. I don't know of the Kilburn in north west London so I'll take your word for it, though you'd be hard pressed to find a more picturesque place than this.

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  4. We've got a white horse cut into a hill around here somewhere! I love that cottage, it wouldn't be big enough to house all of us but maybe hubby and I could retire into one.

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    1. I think there's a few around the country but this is the only one I've seen. I've seen some beautiful cottages, if only I had the money for one.

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  5. I just love those Tudor-style cottages, they really capture my imagination. Thanks for sharing another lovely destination.

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    1. I'm always drawn to pretty cottages, I could just imagine myself living in one, if only.

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  6. Douglas was reading over my shoulder and said "We've been there! Remember the mouseman's place?". I do! Thanks for bringing back some lovely memories, Jo! :o)

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    1. I'm pleased my post brought back some happy memories for you. I'd like to return and take a walk right up to the horse, and also visit the Mouseman's visitor centre, I should imagine it would be very interesting.

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  7. Sounds just lovely, and I love the little cottages with the bridge across the stream. Enjoy the rest of your week,
    Xx

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    1. Those little cottages with the bridge over the stream really captured my imagination, they're so pretty.

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  8. It is a beautiful part of the country, we could see the White Horse from the road coming into Ripon from Pateley Bridge, once we saw it we knew we were nearly back home to the caravan. We also saw it from the top of the Yorkshire Wheel a few years ago when the Wheel was outside the York Railway Museum. Like all white horses on hillsides you get a better view from a distance, but the village of Kilburn is worth a visit just to drool over the pretty cottages. xx

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    1. I should imagine that the horse is visable from miles around. As you say, the village is worth visiting, I'd like to return so that I can visit the Mouseman's visitor centre.

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  9. what a pretty village, particularly like the houses with the bridge at their garden gate.

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    1. It's a beautiful village with some really pretty cottages, so full of character.

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  10. What a view. I love the idea of the carved mouse, hadn't heard of the mouseman before, thank you xx

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    1. I've seen lots of programmes about Robert Thompson but I've never seen any of his work, though I'd love to. I think it's a lovely idea, a bit of a signature of his pieces of furniture.

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  11. Kilburn looks a lovely village to visit, those cottages are sweet. I used to live in the Kilburn in NW London and it certainly is nothing like that! x

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    1. It's a gorgeous village, so picturesque and olde worlde. I'd love to live in a little cottage in a quiet village somewhere.

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  12. What a quaint village, I hadn't heard of the Mouseman before although I've seen pictures of the White Horse. It looks like a lovely place to stroll around.

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    1. There's some lovely little villages in the area. There's quite a few white horses in England so it may be one of the others you've seen before. I really want to see some of Robert Thompson's work now that I've seen where he lived, I think I'll have to do a bit of research and find out where I can see some.

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  13. Not been to Kilburn, but it sure looks lovely. I know we've been to Helmsley sometime ago and also seen the White Horse from a distance. I love hearing about your outings. Take care.

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    1. There's so many lovely places to visit, it's just finding the time to get round them all. I think the walk in the woods right up to the horse would be nice so we really must go back.

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  14. I've never been to Kilburn either but it looks a beautiful little place. One to make a note of I think!

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    1. It's only a small village but it's very pretty, and I'd love to return so that I can visit the Mouseman's visitor centre.

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  15. Not sure if we have been through Kilburn, but we have walked the horse, its a steep climb!

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    1. It looked quite steep. I definitely want to return so that I can climb it myself, and I'd also like to visit the Mouseman's visitor centre.

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  16. I love those cottages over the river. I've seen those pieces of furniture with the mouse on on the Antiques Roadshow I'm sure.
    Now where have I seen that horse before?!!!!
    Lisa x

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    1. I'm sure there'll have been lots of Robert Thompson's furniture shown on the Antiques Roadshow over the years. I know he also carved church pews with the mouse emblem. I'm hoping to return to Kilburn to walk right up to the horse, it looks like a nice walk through the woods.

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