We arrived in York at 2pm at the end of a three-and-a-half hour train ride from Glasgow. An easy 10 minute walk from the train station, across the pedestrian bridge that spans the River Ouse (pronounced like ooze), and we arrived at our Airbnb on St Mary’s Lane. We headed right out to explore the medieval, walled city.
We walked to the Boothum Bar Gateway, one of many entrances through the wall, climbed the stairway to the top of the wall and walked clockwise to Monkgate. The walkway is interrupted here by a museum, and we went down the stairs and into the city. This charming, beautifully preserved city is one of the finest of its kind: easily walkable, slightly confusing to find one’s way, and lovely shops and buildings everywhere. We wandered towards the greatest landmark, the York Minster Cathedral built in the 7th Century. This gigantic gothic masterpiece dominates York. And I’m saddened to say that we didn’t even get to go in! We showed up at 4:30, and as we tried to walk in the door, we were asked if we were there for “the service.” “Ummm, no.” “Well, sir, the church is closed for the service and for the rest of today as well as all day tomorrow.” “Alrighty then. We’ll go drink beer!”
And that’s how we ended up at Ye Olde Starre Inne! After a couple pints and a confusing match of 3D tic tac toe, we went in search of food. This involved aimless wandering through winding alleys that somehow brought us to Pavement Vaults, a delicious restaurant. We enjoyed our meals and my friend, Andy, who is living in York for a year, met us afterwards. Andy took charge and gave us an impromptu walking tour of York. We saw the famous Shambles alley (like walking through a Harry Potter movie), the Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, Clifford’s Tower, and Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate (I’m still not sure what that is!). It was great to be guided through town and hear stories about all of these places. We ended the evening with pints and live music at The Golden Fleece and The Hop, both great venues.
After Tony and I had breakfast at Café Concerto (the wallpaper is hundreds of pages of sheet music), the three of us got together for another awesome day. The majestic ruins of St Mary’s Abbey are a must see in York.
Then across the River Ouse to the Railway Museum, a surprisingly fascinating and up close look at the history of trains in England. There’s a cross section of a locomotive (yes, they cut it in half) and a passageway underneath a train, both of which offer a remarkable perspective. You can also go into the actual enormous garage workshop and see them rebuilding the trains.
We went in search of lunch, first at the Perky Peacock in Lendal Tower but that didn’t quite capture us. We ended up instead at the disgustingly-named Slug and Lettuce chain restaurant. If that was slug on my sandwich, they did a good job of disguising it. Andy had to go after our late lunch, and Tony and I went to Waterstones bookstore, a popular British bookstore that feels very much like an independent shop. Andy had recommended H is for Hawk, a wonderful book, that I will also recommend, about the author’s experience of creating a relationship with a goshawk.
Eventually, we ended up at The Hole in the Wall for dinner and finished our evening at a terrific open mike at the White Horse Pub. I didn’t catch the host’s name but she was fabulous, transitioning from an open mike into an impromptu dance party. That’s her adding a little kazoo solo to the experience. The next morning, we hiked back over the pedestrian bridge to the Railway Station and hopped the train towards Wales. After switching trains at Manchester Oxford Road, we arrived at Llandudno, Wales.
York is part of a 10 day trip to the British Isles