Day trip time and Dad had promised to take Mum to York. Imagine a city with Roman roots and a Viking past, where ancient walls surround contemporary independent shops and vibrant eateries… well… welcome to York, voted the best place to live in the UK by the Sunday Times.
There is so much to do and see here, that we would struggle to fit it all in. York is a walled city in northeast England that was founded by the ancient Romans. Perfectly placed half-way between London and Edinburgh, York is unlike any other English city. It’s about one hour and 20 minutes from our nearest city Manchester, but the drive over for us was more like two hours.
First stop was the famous huge 13th-century Gothic cathedral, York Minster, with its medieval stained glass and two functioning bell towers. It is such an amazing place and it’s hard to believe that on 9 July 1984, York Minster suffered a serious fire in its south transept during the early morning hours. Firefighters made a decision to deliberately collapse the roof of that section in order to save the rest of the building from destruction. A repair and restoration project was completed in 1988 at a cost of £2.25 million and they had done a wonderful job to return it to its former glory.
As well as the cathedral, there are thirty world-class museums you can explore. Although we didn’t go inside the Yorkshire Museum, we did visit the gardens, set in the stunning surroundings of the Medieval ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. We also checked out York Castle, again deciding not going inside as we didn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted to.
Time for some lunch and a visit to The York Roast Co. and a very tasty and filling Yorkshire pudding meal, which was a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with choice of meet (we of course had beef!), roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy. Oh yes! To walk this off we took in the City Walls, which form a walkway on both sides of the River Ouse. York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England.
Finally, when in York visiting the Shambles is a must. ‘The Shambles’ is sometimes used as a general term for the maze of twisting, narrow lanes which make York so charming. At its heart is the lane actually called the Shambles, arguably the best preserved medieval street in the world, featuring overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century. It was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror in 1086! What a very very enjoyable day and just time to get some souvenirs, before we head back to the car and Mum and I take a nap while Dad drives home.