York Walking Day

We started the day early making our way to where we were joining a free walking tour again run by volunteer guides of the Council of York. We had a look around the site where we were starting and at 10.30 along came the guide. 

 

King's Manor

The Crest of King Charles I above the entry to the King's Manor

By this time there quite a few people and thankfully another guide arrived and we split into two groups. We started at Exhibition Square and went through to Museum Gardens which were behind the King’s Manor where Richard our guide started the story of York which was founded by the Romans in 71 AD. It has an interesting history that includes not only the Roman and the English but Vikings as well. He showed us the Multiangular Tower which is a relic of the Roman times. 

One of the Gates or Bars to enter York City

Multiangular Tower

As we were listening to the commentary a little squirrel bounced out of the bushes and perched itself on one of the sarcophagi and almost posed for photos. 

Sarcophagi in the Garden

As we continued the tour we could see the evidence of the many layers of York history in the walls that surround the city. In the Museum Gardens there are sarcophagi that have been excavated from around York and are now part of the garden. Amazing that something that has been around for thousands of years are now part of a garden. The gardens also house the remains of St Mary’s Abbey which was part of the monastery on the site of the gardens and museum. Some of the broken parts of the Abbey have been used in making the gardens beds around the Museum Gardens.

Abbey Ruins as Garden Beds

As we walked around York Richard had some amazing insights and stories about the way York developed and it is hard tell them all as the post would be very long. We walked part of the walls which was great as it gives you a sense of the city from above. The Victorians are the ones who made the walls accessible for walking as they put in the walkways which extend from the wall face. Needless to say with a good guide you get a much better appreciation of the city. He did a great job of linking all the influences from Roman to Medieval to Victorian in the way that York and specifically the walls were developed. A great tour which held everyone’s interest the whole way. We finished at the end of the Shambles and Richard had said that from Marks and Spencer’s Cafe you had a good view of York Minster so that’s where Peter and I had lunch. It was indeed a good view but still not one to be photographed as it was hard to get a good shot.

Part of the wall we walked along

After lunch we made our way to York Minster. What an impressive site! The word Minster just means an important church or cathedral and York Minster is definitely that. This is another impressive Gothic style church which in one form or another has been on the site from the 4th century. This building was begun in 1230 and finally completed in 1472. The sheer size of it is amazing and each section has it’s own unique story. The most interesting aspect at the moment is the restoration of the stained glass in the Great East Window. This process which was begun in 2008 involves removing, repainting and re-leading of each of the 311 panes. 

York Minster

York Minster

York Minster

There was a great display and explanation of the process in the Orb and it was quite intriguing to see some of the panes in detail in an interactive display where it explains the task that are being undertaken.

The Orb

There was also a display about the restoration of the stone work of the church and it is upskilling a whole new generation of young stonemasons which is great. 

Inside York Minster

Another interesting part of the Minster was the  Revealing York Minster in the Undercroft exhibition which tells the story of the last 2000 years at the site from the Romans to present day. The exhibition is housed in a space created in emergency excavations during the 1970s which uncovered a hidden history of the Minster. It also shows the engineering that went into underpinning the Minster when there was a threat of parts of the building collapsing. It also had lots of artefacts from the excavations on show.

After we left the Minster we made our way to the York Dungeons which was another attraction on our York Pass. Well it was not what I thought it would be. It was a theatrical history of York with actors playing parts and using visitors in the enactments. It was every dark and creepy with people jumping out at you to involve you in the story. It wasn’t my cup of tea but it made for an interesting afternoon.

We left there and I certainly needed a drink so we went to a pub by the River Ouse and enjoyed the beautiful weather and relaxed. While were sitting there a gentleman at the next table asked Peter what he thought of the local ales and that started a conversation which lasted over an hour. The couple were from New Zealand and we invited them to join us and had a lovely time chatting about our travels and what we liked and what we found different about the UK. A fantastic way to finish off the day.

Dinner was at Jamie’s Italian and can I say we weren’t that impressed with this one but never mind another dinner done.