While we had been warned against traveling on a Bank Holiday weekend (traffic was supposed to be horrendous - it wasn't; crowds were supposed to be unbearable - they weren't) we decided to try our luck and make the best of the weekend together.
It was splendid. We left Sunday morning (later then we expected, but that's what happens when you travel with children) and were on the road by 10am. Lucky for us that we did not leave as planned since part of the motor way in which we were scheduled to travel was completely shut down (special thanks to our trusty navigator - Garmin - which helped us avoid any extra delays). After a stop for petrol and lunch, we arrived at our destination, The Marriott in York, just a little over 4 hours since our departure.
After dropping off our belongings in our room (two queens size beds with fluffy pillows and a cot for Lillian) we set out to explore the city. We rode bus #13 (supposed to be bus #4) the five minute ride to the train station where we walked to the center of the town.
We began our explorations at the beautiful York Minster Cathedral. While normally charged £5.50 per person to visit the Minster, we entered without a fee and had over an hour to explore and photograph the gothic church. It was during our visitation that the Evensong ceremony was in progress and while we were not inside the chapel itself we could hear (through a stereo system) the beautiful choir and monotone sermon.
With my Rick Steven's book in hand (I am so becoming my mother) I presented (what I thought was brilliant) our own guided tour through the minister.
We entered the Minster at the tourist entrance on the south end of the cathedral (also where you can reach the cathedrals undercroft and tower). We proceeded through the nave (the widest Gothic nave in all of Europe) toward the west doors. Here we examined the statue of St. Peter holding a key and a bible (representing that the key to Heaven is through the word of God) and the list of bishops (unbroken) dating back to the 600's.
The north transept (made in 1260) is dubbed the Five Sisters and is dedicated to all of the British women who died in the wars. This piece is made up of over 100,000 pieces of glass.
Looking down toward the west doors, on the right side of the nave is a dragon statue. Perched high on a pillar, 2/3 the way down the right side, it is thought to have been a mechanism to raise the lid of that baptismal fount (Madison and I just thought it was neat).
The choir screen, at the east end of the cathedral, is lined with the English Kings starting with William the Conquer to Henry VI. Past the screen is where the last daily mass is held (evensong). At the completion of the service, we were able to explore this area and see up close the intricate word carvings.
Monuments (not graves) of the dead are located at the east end of the cathedral. This is also where massive restoration is being completed to restore the masonry and stained glass. 80% of the masonry of the cathedral is original to the building and 20% has been replaced due to decay.
(This is a picture of the stained glass of the East Window that is being refurbished.)
We left the Minster and continued our Aliza guided tour on the Wall Walk.
We began our walk outside the south entrance of the Minster at the Roman Column, directly across the street from the statue of Constantine (the exact spot where he was crowned emperor). Continuing past the Minster and the west doors, we traveled down the narrow lane to Bootham Bar (one of the four gates of York's medieval wall).
We walked along the top of the wall to the far corner of Monk's Bar where we descended the narrow stone steps back to the street. We crossed under the portcullis and examined the 15 arrow slits of the building where archers used to protect and defend the entrance.
With the completion of our walk we began to seek food for dinner. We passed many old fashion pubs but just as in Liverpool, had missed the time where they were allowed to serve children. So we enjoyed another gourmet meal of... McDonalds (Madison and Rob are in heaven with the amount of times we have eaten at McDonalds since arriving in our new home).
After our supper of chicken sandwiches, fries and cold cokes, we returned to the Minster for our final adventure of the evening... A Ghost Walk.
Madison needed to be reminded (quite frequently) that the stories she heard were only stories.
We paid our small fee and joined the crowd at the west doors of the Minster for our journey. It was fun to hear the "ghost stories" of the area. It was more story telling and history then masks and surprises. We walked from the Minster, stopping at the school house (painted an ugly shade of mauve), to the Treasurer's house, past an old church and tenements flats, and ending at the square outside of the Shambles. It was a quaint and informative 90 minute experience.
Then we took Bus 4 (we rode the correct bus this time) to our hotel where Madison and Rob enjoyed an hour in the pool together (Lillian and I went to bed).
Monday morning dawned dreary and damp but it did not stop us.
We quickly packed up and enjoyed a traditional cooked English Breakfast (sausage, bacon, waffles, omelets, fruits, cheese, and a cuppa tea) before heading back into the center of York.
We chose to forego the bus and walked into town (it was only about a 20-25 minute walk and we would have had to wait that long for a bus to come).
With my trusty Rick Steven's book in hand (again), I read aloud the other attractions of interest and we decided to head to the York Castle Museum for the morning.
We strolled down the re-created Kirkdale street, complete with two costumed guides, and looked at exhibits of clothing, toys and shops of the era. There were re-created rooms of the 17th-20th century and an area explaining how York castle had been used as a prison. There is even a newer exhibit dedicated to the 1960's.
It was a lovely 2 hours that ended with ice cream cones at the base of Clifford Tower (the ruins of the 13th century castle).
We left the museum and headed to the acclaimed shops on the Shambles (once the street of the butchers). The small specialty shops offered a variety of goods from wooden statues to homemade fudges and toffees. We spent the remainder of our afternoon wandering down the different lanes, popping into shops of interest.
Then it was time to return to the hotel and travel the 4 hours home (we had been warned that bank holiday traffic could make the trip take up to 7-8 hours). Luckily we had an easy trip back to our flat (just at 4 hours plus an hour stop for supper and petrol).
York was lovely and we all voted it better than London.
