Ryedale Folk Museum

I spent a wonderful Easter afternoon in Hutton-le-Hole with P and the grandlings, Isabella and Ava, at the Ryedale Folk Museum.

We hadn't been since the boys were little so it was great to see how the place had moved on with a little help from the lottery. Everything in the old village is really well-presented, from the thatched roofs and wattle fences on the outside to the tools and fittings inside the cottages - it was great for the girls to be able to experience life as it used to be lived on the Yorkshire moors. From the grocery store to the wheelwright, the shops and workshops were stuffed with interesting artefacts...

Outside the chemist

Inside the chemist

Peepo!

Outside the grocery store

Inside the grocery store

The blacksmith's anvil

The saddlery

The shoemaker

The story of Elphi who finishes off any unfinished pieces during the night
while the craftspeople are sleeping - reminds me of The Elves & the Shoemaker

The wheelwright

...some of the artefacts were a little more gruesome than others!

Mantrap - must have been horrid to be a poacher in those days

There were homemade textiles...

Crochet, patchwork and rugmaking on display in this living room

Laundry

...and Izzi and Ava had fun in the kitchen of one of the cottages, decorating an Easter bunny and chick...

The finished Easter bunny biscuit

Isabella tried her hand at weaving, but sadly Ava will have to wait a year or two until her legs have grown a little - they just weren't quite long enough to move the heddles

But what the girls liked best was visiting Max the Clydesdale horse. We took lots of carrots, so he was very keen on making friends...

... and afterwards we fed the chickens, lots of beautiful old breeds of bantams and a gorgeously hued rooster...

Chaucer's Chaunticleer

...and the girls were tickled pink by the thought of people throwing bad eggs and tomatoes at P and I, after they persuaded us to take turns in the stocks

Beautiful old signs abound...

... and we all had a great time playing in the maze

Maze

and with the vintage toys like the hoop and stick and skipping rope - although it was P who had the most fun out of the hoop and stick and sadly I can't find the photo... 

Izzi so enjoyed skipping she decided she'd add it to her
ever-growing list of skills and continue to practise later at home

We were all reluctant to leave by the time they were closing up, but after a quick cuppa in the village café, we were winging our way back to York, warm and snug in the car.  We didn't much notice the cold while we were there, too much to explore - but I can tell you our energetic afternoon in the open air made for four very tired but happy peeps.