The most important selling point of the Beverley bed and breakfast was macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Well, this was the point that differentiated it from the other bed and breakfasts and made it particularly attractive. Of course, only one of us actually wanted macaroni and cheese for breakfast, but she had been intimately involved in selecting our lodgings. And they did have it. The first morning she had it on toast, which is the standard way they serve it. The second morning Anne had it straight -- without the toast.

We were off for a day of seeing: Barmston, Bridlington and Watton -- Boynton places all. But first we needed to get a picnic lunch to take with us. So we walked over to the Safeway on the square and picked out fruit, cheese, water and grass for the picnic. Then it was off to Barmston.

Margaret del See married Robert Boynton at the end of the 15th century, and the del See land at Barmston was added to the Boynton family fortune.  It must have been an extensive and rich acreage because during the next century the Boyntons who had been lords of Acklam for three centuries became lords of Barmston. Barmston is on the sea with sharply rising cliffs, which keep falling into the sea, and beaches for play and for catching wrecked ships. We headed for the beaches first. Anna is a most enthusiastic beach person. She likes the sand. She likes the water. She likes finding rocks and glass and almost anything washed up on the beaches -- though we did not see any wrecked ships. On the horizon we could just barely see Bridlington, which would be our next destination.

Lunch time. TIme for the picnic -- which we ate in our van looking out over the sea.

Then we headed for the church. We had seen it two years ago, but we returned with a much better grasp of what we were seeing. The [effigy of the] old knight is still there and still falling apart. It is Margaret's father; the man from whom Barmston was inherited by the Boyntons. On the wall is the list of vicars and sponsors. Margaret was on the list of sponsors. Cuthbert Tunstall, who would become bishop of Durham and be an executor of Margaret's will, was on the list of vicars. Even after the Boyntons abandoned the manor at Barmston, for Burton Agnes, they maintained the church at Barmston. There are many 18th and 19th century Boyntons commemorated on the walls of the Barmston church.

The church door was locked. We had to get someone to open it for us -- which produced a most loquacious guide. According to our guide the church has raised money, and renovation is imminent. The knight will be carted away for repair and drying out. Other parts of the church will be "cleaned and pressed." The next time we come it will be a different and better place.

Bridlington priory -- the Boyntons of the 13th century had been actively involved in the development of Bridlington priory. After all, it was down the road only five miles. It was the closest religious house to Boynton. So off we went to check out Bridlington priory.

Bridlington is a tourist town -- perhaps, tourist trap would be a better characterization. It is on the sea, and tourists flock to the beaches and the establishments for fun that have grown up to entertain them. Anna was off to the sea and beach, of course. And they had donkeys. Oh, boy! We had to find the priory, and that meant off to the tourist information center -- sometimes known as the TIC and sometimes known as the crooked i [for the italic "i" they use as a highway symbol]. It is right over there, they said. After an espresso we headed back to the beach to pick up Anne and Anna to go right over there.

All that is left of the priory is the gate, which they have converted into a museum. A rather small museum that we could not go into because it was "opening" that very day with a formal ceremony. That meant the people who had contributed to the new museum -- however it may have been new -- got to go and the rest of us could only look in though the bars.

The church was open, however. It was a very attractive church that seemed to actually have people in it -- in addition to tourists. And there were a couple of displays about the priory. There was an artist's re-creation of the priory -- in ink on paper. There was the artists' re-creation of the work of the priory -- in thread on cloth. Bridlington priory was not an important religious house -- as religious houses went in Yorkshire. But the local people were doing their best to keep the memory alive.

Next, we popped by Burton Agnes for tea. It was only down the road a few miles and right on the way to Watton. So we stopped for a spot of tea before proceeding. Then it was off to Watton.

Walter sent his daughters to Watton priory. It was once a Gilbertine house -- before Henry VIII. Gilbert was an Englishman who established houses in the 12th century that included both men and women. The Watton priory was established in about 1150 and in about 1165 Walter sent his daughters to be nuns there. Generally religious houses for nuns were quite poor -- Marrick priory, for example. But the Watton Priory was quite wealthy during its existence; perhaps because of monks being there.

The current parish church had been the priory church. On the floor in the back of the church was an effigy of one of the early priors carved in stone. We took his measure by having Anna lie beside him. It was a nice, small church, but the stone prior was probably the only thing there that could be traced to the 13th or 14th centuries.

Bumps are all that is left of the priory. There was an archaeological dig about 1900 which established much of the outlines of the priory. Then they covered it up again. That seems very odd, but the persons grazing cows in the field are probably happier to have the stones covered than "wasting" good grassland that can be used for feeding the cows. Bumps in the ground are not very interesting; you really have to be "into it" to think them interesting. Though they are going to open a tea room across the road to feature the priory history. The cows, on the other hand, were a major attraction. They were very friendly as they gathered at the fence where we were looking into the field. There is still a tower that was part of the prior's house, but we could get no closer than looking at it through the trees.

After that, straight back to Beverley except for a stop for diesel -- which is where the man said -- hey, do you know that Boyntons are famous around here?

Finally, Beverley. Beverley was important Boynton territory in the 14th century. The Boyntons of Boynton were hooked into the wider world there. Robert served on the king's court when it stopped by Beverley. John got into trouble with the archbishop of York and had to do his penance there. Edmund lived in Beverley. These connections were the reason we were staying in Beverley rather than in Hull.

The church, which was only a couple of blocks away, is quite striking. Its distinctive feature is statuary attached to the outside of the church. Other churches do something like that, of course, but in Beverley they raised praise by statue to a high art. The statues ranged from St. Cuthbert to Elizabeth. They were "catholic" in their taste. But they were not open. We tried going in at evening. We tried going in the next morning. With no luck either time.

With that final blow to our seeing we headed for London.