Visiting family and friends when you are on the road is a wonderful way to travel. Sam’s cousin Michael and wife Toni opened their lovely home to us in the York area. They put us up and spent a lot of time showing our vagabond selves around the countryside. The crew, Tally included, did all of this even though they were getting ready for a big horse riding event set for the following weekend! We spent our time living locally with personalized tours and a few of Game of Thrones episodes to start our new addiction! Thank you so much!
A day in York
Street walking in Shambles
York is a bustling centre filled with shops, history, castle bits, churches and charming medieval streets. We only had one day to explore this gem so Toni and Michael gave us the express tour: The Shambles, Jorvik centre, the city walls, town centre and Yorkminster. York is well worth a visit if you have the chance.
This city by foot is the way to go! We found interesting street names such as Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, which is touted as the shortest street in York with the longest name. This 35 metre long street has a colourful past including that of a place where public floggings occurred!
The Jorvik Centre
The Jorvik Viking Centre is an interactive museum dedicated to Viking history in York. It is quite fascinating. The attraction has knowledgeable interpreters dressed in Viking attire who are available to answer questions about the exhibits. There is an automated ride inside the centre that takes you into a replica Viking village! The attention to detail of the recreated town is impressive. Make sure to check it out if you get to York. Jorvik Viking Centre
The Castley bits
Whether or not you happen upon a beautiful sunny day as we did, you should take a walk on the walls. The York City Walls are the most intact city walls in England. It is a good 3.5 km walk and opens up some elevated perspectives of the buildings and surrounding areas below.
We accessed the walls from the ‘Monks Bar’ trundling up a tight stairwell to the higher ground previously used in defence of the city. The Monks Bar is a gate location which has seen many uses over the years. It has been a home, prison and a police house.
The corner of wall nearest the Minster is a particularly peaceful spot. Sit down and ponder the daily lives of millions of people who have inhabited York. People have lived here for thousands of years, since before the first Roman settlement until today! We all had a wonderful time walking the wall in York but now, to the Minster!
Climbing the York Minster tower
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York is the formal name of this church. It took 242 years to complete construction ending in 1472.
We all felt burning legs and a bit dizzy after all 275 steps to the top of the ‘Minster’. However, every riser was worth it to see the view over the city of York! Wait for it!
Enter the Minster and find a well preserved cathedral filled with a ton of history and artifacts. There are even the crypts of influential people right in the floor! To think, we were walking over the dead, long ago laid to rest in these hallowed halls.
The exterior is chock full of beautiful stone carving and stained glass windows. It really is a stunning work of art. There were stone masons working in an outdoor shop just outside of the Cathedral. They were chipping away at replacement pieces for the ongoing restoration work.
Roman York
Roman history is fascinating and I love finding interesting stories or artifacts related to their conquests whenever we travel in Europe.
Constantine the Great became Emperor at the passing of his father in 306 AD. Proclaimed Augustus by the military in the location of now modern day York, he ruled the Roman Empire until death at the ripe old age of 65 in 337 AD.
The most interesting part of the experience for me was the foundations under the cathedral. There are Roman column bases, Norman wall foundations and of course the church foundations themselves to be seen. These amazing layers of history have been stacked upon one another for centuries!
Stayed tuned folks! We’re not going to stop travelling just yet!
We are having a blast in Europe and the UK experiencing history at every mile marker. Feeling the rush of the road as we pass through the amazing natural and architectural beauty of it all on our Mid-Life Gap Year!
Thank you to all who are already following along with the story by subscribing to this site! If you haven’t, please do and let your friends know about us if you really like what you’re seeing and reading. We are also posting additional experiences on Instagram and YouTube for a bit more variety.
Take care and keep on travelling,
Dan&Sam
3 Click if you enjoyed this post
2 Comments
Peter · April 13, 2019 at 11:03 am
Great post and wonderful photos. I love the fact that the length of time our country has been in existence is the same amount of time as it took to build The Minister.
Dan&Sam · April 16, 2019 at 9:15 am
Thank you Peter. It is an incredible building with a very long history. Very beautiful both inside and out.