A series of caches that follow the Kestrel route, a circular 27 mile / 45km route following cycle routes or bridleways through Harrogate, Ripley, South Stainley, Farnham, Ferresby, Coneythorpe, Flaxby, Goldsborough, Knaresborough and Follifoot, created by the Harrogate Bike Trails group.
Ripley is a picturesque estate village, best-known as the home of Ripley Castle, one of the great historic houses of England and home to the Ingilby family for over 700 years. The village is modelled on a typical French model village, with houses and public buildings all in the same style and all painted in the Ingilby colours.
Ripley is the only village in England to have been completely rebuilt twice, by the same family, over a span of 700 years! The original village developed further south, on the north bank of the River Nidd. In the 14th century it was rebuilt in its present location by the Ingilby family. Then in the 1830s, Sir William Amcotts Ingilby rebuilt it completely, from the ground up, as a model estate village.
Sir William was inspired by an estate village he saw while travelling in Alsace-Lorraine, in France. When he returned home to England, Sir William tore down the thatched cottages of Ripley and built the entire village from scratch. The architectural style is clearly inspired by Ripley Castle, and even mundane worker's cottages were given Gothic windows.
The highlight of the 'new' Ripley was the Hotel de Ville (town hall), built in 1854 and restored in 2004. The Hotel de Ville was the final building erected by Sir William Ingilby.