From the Cul-de-sac to York

Trip Start May 01, 2007
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Trip End Ongoing


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Sunday, October 14, 2007

So we journeyed down to York to visit our friend Fiona and to meet up with Nola and her sister in law Jo. I was looking forward to catching up with some close friends. York is really old. Founded in AD71 by the Romans, it became the capital city of the north on the Britain. It was once a walled city and the walls are still remaining although the city has since spilled outside these original boundaries. The streets are narrow, cobbled and pedestrianised in many places. The buildings are very close to one another in the streets and are quite quaint although all the new shops are accounted for.

We caught the train down early Saturday morning, met up with Fiona at our B&B and got ready for the highlight. The York races! I had never been to the races before, and it was a top experience. I got off to a shocker after ripping my trousers on the train, which then had to mended before we headed to the track. The weather was a bit sour, but not cold. We dressed for the occasion, although it seemed we didn't need to as many others failed to do so. So we after we arrived at the track, we grabbed a set of pints, a race guide, and a seat trackside to drink, catch up, and hopefully win some money!

We bet on quite a few races and thanks to some expert tips (thanks again Mr Monaghan!) we even had some success! It was most exciting. Needless to say quite a few pints were drunk and lots of money spent! We then stumbled back into the city to meet up with Nola and Jo. We found a lovely pub in a cellar and spent the night catching up. 01 - Monkgate
01 - Monkgate
 It was crazy to see Nola so far away from home. Afterall, I had never seen her outside Hobart before. It was great.

The next day we again meet up with Nola and Jo. But only after a big English breakfeast at the B&B and a big pot of tea. I was beginning to love these breakfeasts, as well as pots of tea! This time we met Nola and Joe at the Railway Museum. The museum is a very interesting place, even if you're not really into trains. We saw Prince Edwards train, and to say it was salubrious would be putting it lightly. I wouldn't mind going on trains if they all came like that one! We even saw the Flying Scotsman, even if it was in a thousand pieces due to being in the midst of restoration.

We then headed to York 's most famous landmark and tourist attraction, the York Minster. This is one massive cathedral. It is both a cathedral (the seat of a bishop) and a minster (it was built to promote Christianity and convert people). This is a most impressive church, itis massive, ornate and popular. We climbed the tower, up all 250 odd stairs to the top of the tower, including a short stretch along what seemed to be the guttering half up. There we were greeted with superb views of York .

Afterwards we had a stroll through the city again, seeing some Morris Dancing along the way.We had some afternoon tea at a lovely tea shop before parting company with the girls and leaving on and excruciatingly boring train trip back to Glasgow. York suprised me. It is very old and very interesting, I guess I should have done more research!
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