Mother Shipton’s

BY SELINA / JUNIOR REPORTER

Hello readers and welcome to my monthly article about family places to go. I hope you are all enjoying the weather as the months start to get warmer and the countdown to the summer holidays begins!

This month I am going to be writing about my trip to Mother Shipton’s in Knaresborough.

Mother Shipton’s is a fun day out for all the family as well as it being educational for the kids. It includes a cave, petrifying well and historic park.

On arrival, you can’t miss the scenic view from the car park which overlooks the river. As you travel through the woods you will come across things for adults and children alike. For instance, an adventure playground as well as the spring from the underground lake. The main attractions of Mother Shipton’s are the petrifying well where everything that the water touches turns to stone! There are teddy bears and stranger things hanging in the water and you can see which ones have been there the longest as they are the most covered in stone. People have been hanging things under the water for years to see what happens to them. In the Victorian times it was commonly thought that if you touched the water you would turn to stone yourself!  This is also England’s oldest visitor attraction and was first recorded by Henry VIII’s antiquary. Many famous people have visited and left things to petrify which can be seen in the museum.

The other main attraction to see is the cave where Mother Shipton lived. You can enter the cave and see the statue of her. She was born in 1488 in the cave and lived there for the first two years of her life. She needed a stick to walk and the children of Knaresborough were quite cruel to her.  At the age of 24 she married Tobias Shipton, a carpenter from York but he died young and they never had any children. When she discovered her gift for telling the future, people thought she was a witch and called her the Knaresborough Prophetess. Mother Shipton earned her living by telling their fortunes. She died at the age of 73 which was really old for that time.

You can enjoy lovely walks around Mother Shipton’s and take a picnic to eat in the picnic area so, even after you have seen the well and the cave, you can just relax in the beautiful surroundings.

Overall I think mother Shipton’s is an educational and mystical fun day out for everyone and I would definitely recommend it.

Throughout the year, Mother Shipton’s have various special events. The next one is in the summer holidays;

Pirates & Mermaids

July 26 – Sept 3

Join them for an adventure. Take part in the trail to find the treasure chest of Toby Shipton.

Mother Shipton’s,

Prophecy Lodge, Knaresborough HG5 8DD

Tel: 01423 864600

www.mothershipton.co.uk

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