A Day in Old York

Real Gas light in Minster Square
2nd biggest European Gothic Cathedral
in the 2nd oldest City in England

Willow swapped her 'Festival of Ideas' responsibilities with a friend at school so we were able to leave Cambridge after a hot-dog afternoon tea and made it up to York by 9:30pm.  Another friend generously shared a flu with her, picked up in Japan while on a language excursion. We were all a bit nervous about being shut up in the germ incubator(A6 Audi - Le Mans) with Willow. We were right to be nervous as I am now sitting here with one nostril running like a tap (try not to imagine the twisted tissue solution), Nana is on the couch Sudafeded up watching a movie as she awaits the wash cycle to finish, Petal has lost her voice and M is also feeling poorly. Charlie seems fine, Nana probably protected him as he snuggled on her knee the whole way. Lucky it didn't hit earlier.

Nesting on Nana

The New Inn Motel in Huby(long u) just north of York is run by a young family and runs much like a NZ motel but with breakfast in a dinning room instead of kitchen facilities in the room.  It is across the road from a chippy shop that provided the best hot chips we'e had in the UK so far. Taking Charlie for his Wee walks late night and early morning were a little tricky as big green tractors pulling long, high trailers behind them. whizzed past the local village shop(front room of someone's house) and the multiple pubs.  Nana walked Charlie a long way to try and find the farm they were all rushing off too but didn't make it out of the semi detached houses full of young families.

Our first stop in York was the Micklegate Bar. This is one of the four old gates in the walls of York. A fifth was built by the Victorians. 3.4km of the Medieval walls remain and take about 2hrs to walk around.  There was a sign about no dogs on the walls but luckily I didn't see it until we came down. It was drizzling and the side of my boot caught an edge of the slate which lurched me into a spectacular slip. Nana grabbed my hood and so I fell to the right- away from embarrassing the family by rolling off the wall and down the grassy hill.  The kids were horrified that Charlie would have been flung down and M suggested that this was a good ploy for a soft landing to many shrieks of disgust amplified by Nana.

Outside the Micklegate Bar (Tower)
The rampart behind and above Petal
is far left in the opposite photo.

Below the wall beside the Tower

Just before the slip!

The Micklegate Bar now houses a display of Knight's armour at the top and daily life at various stages of its history in the middle and a shop on the bottom.  It was filled with posters about the War of the Roses. After many years of fighting, Henry TudorVII beat the Yorkist King(red rose) - Richard III(he claimed the throne after imprisoning his nephews in the tower, the true heirs - maybe even had them murdered). Henry claimed the throne for the Lancasters (white rose) then he married Elizabeth of York to join the two houses but this didn't stop the squabbling that continued even into Henry VIII's reign. Any York threat was beheaded or sent to work in the kitchens (don't believe me - look up Lambert Simnel). Of course this was after a couple of generations of fighting for the throne between the Lancasters and the Yorks.  All the Kings seemed fairly weak because many of the noble families around England were having their own little feuds - no one seemed strong enough to end these and shore up their claim to the throne. It didn't help that Kings died without heirs, had periods of madness or Queens that put their claims before the welfare of people and economy they ruled.

Gangster Knight

Vanquished Foes were spiked on the gates

Looking into York from the Tower

Dress ups from many eras

Protection from the Gangster Knight

Princesses of York?

We also visited the Jorvick centre that is built on the viking dig under the Coppergate shopping Mall. The Vikings attacked the Saxons who fought back and were eventually converted to Christianity by St Augustus and then they were invaded by the Normans.  Layers of this history are marked up the wall. Under the streets of York is a chair lift type ride that travels through a model Viking village followed by displays of items found in the dig. The Amber jewellery was impressive but the name of the street - Coppergate - is the phonic representation and distortion over time, of the viking word for cup maker.  By 1066 York (still called the Viking Jorvick at the time) was the 2nd largest largest market town and centre for industry in England.

Leaving the Jorvick attraction at street level

In the Chair lift ride - 3 up front, 3 behind
apparently there was a sign saying no photos
 - didn't see that either

A trader with amber to sell at Scarborough

The green shirt guy has a face constructed by a forensic
artist from a skull dug up from the site.

Long backyards were their factories
at teh back were their long drops
often beside their wells
Beer for everyone - healthier than water.
On display was a huge fossilized human faeces,
no wonder the guy here looks uncomfortable.

A viking making combs from antlers

Lunch at a very Victorian Carvery was followed by a ramble around the Shambles, the markets and the Minster.  The sun shone, Petal and Nana found lots of sweet stores, Willow looked at lots of sparkles, Charlie got some freshly baked doggy treats at at market stall and M nearly bought a devil face balaclava to scare would be trick or treaters.

Deciding which roast to have - Charlie is sleeping in the car

A watery sun shine on the carvery

A. Lolly shop

B. Lolly shop

C. Lolly shop

D. Lolly shop - So many more .....

The Shambles

Mid point of the Shambles nearly touching

Lots of Sparkles and Antiques - They say York is the most haunted city in the UK, a haunted house shop was for sale,
and competing boards advertising spooky walks after dark for Halloween created a bit of an obstacle course.

Outside York Minster - Michael had to wait a while for other photographers to stop taking our photo

Inside the Minster

Beautiful stonework above the front doors

The weather predicted for the weekend was dire and culminated in a wind storm that brought trains in the south of England to a halt and killed four people, including a fifteen year old girl asleep in her bed when a tree crashed through the ceiling of her bedroom. Going north saved us from the worst of the weather but our raincoats, hats and scarves were well used.  As it turned out the rain wasn't bad enough for the wellies (gumboots) I made everyone buy though.

Back at the motel the girls were disgusted to find that there was no wi-fi so we all had to watch a very slow quiz show called Pointless!

Reading Now:
I left my book at home - boo hoo.