View from tops of York Minster Tower

Wednesday 23^rd May 2012

The weather gods continued to be kind to us, we woke to another glorious day. Clear blue sky and temperature in the high 20’s. Looks like summer has finally arrived in England.

We decided to have a non-driving day, choosing instead to spend the day walking around York.

After breakfast we set off across the park to visit York Minster, one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals in England. Building of the current Minster was commenced in 1220 and was not completed until 1472. We spent a few hours walking round and through the Cathedral including a climb up the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. 275 very narrow steps later we reached the top. The views were magnificent and well worth the climb. The climb back down was a lot easier.

View along the Ouse River

After a well deserved rest at the bottom including a cuppa, we set off for a walk to see the Shambles,  Europe’s best preserved medieval street, which is very narrow and the buildings lean out towards the centre of the street and in one part nearly touch the buildings on the opposite side of the street.

Next was a trip on the York Boat for a 45-minute cruise along the River Ouse, very enjoying and relaxing.

Disembarked the riverboat and a short walk later we were climbing up another lot of steps including another spiral stairway at Clifford’s Tower, the keep of an old castle.

Lunch was at the Castle Tearooms and with our batteries recharged we walked back through the Shambles to see the Treasurers house and gardens. The house gained its name because it stands on the site of the mansion of the medieval treasurer of York Minster. The last owner of the house, Frank Green, was a pioneering collector and had a passion for interior design, so the house is a mix of different period rooms with amazing antiques and furniture.

City of Truro Locomotive

We then decided on a return visit to the National Rail Museum to see if we could get closer to the ‘City of Truro’, however it was still in the same place as yesterday.

We started talking to a very knowledgeable Museum worker who, once we explained why we wanted to see the locomotive, took us through a locked gate on the platform so that we could get a closer look and take some more photos.

Finished the day with a walk along another section of the old city wall.

Dinner tonight was at the Guy Fawkes Inn. 

View of City from the Wall