My Mum and Dad were brought up in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire but, after they retired, became adoptive Yorkshire folk. I think this may have something to do with having honeymooned at Scarborough but we’ll never know for sure – we didn’t ask and now they cannot tell us.
They did end up with a holiday home in Pickering just on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors and both expressed a desire that their last resting place should be St. Gregory’s Minster at Kirkdale. I don’t believe that they ever worshipped there as they both were typical Church of England types who, as my Dad’s mother used to say, “went to church for three occasions; hatch, match, and dispatch”. They did, however, enjoy the walks around St. Gregory’s up into the Moors and enjoy the peace and isolation of a very beautiful spot that seems little altered from the time this church was constructed by the river in the 11th century.
When Dad died in 2005 and Mum joined him in 2007, my sister Sally and I did as requested and said our farewells and spread their ashes in the churchyard you can see in these photographs. It was only recently that we regretted not placing a stone to continue their memory so, better late than never, we just visited Kirkdale together to put that right.
A simple stone with a view they cherished.
Colin's Travel Journal 