YORK (just like I pictured it)
During
my recent visit to England, a little side trip was planned by VFH’s
Commander-in-Chief, Janet. It was to York, an ancient walled city in northern
England and a popular tourist destination. I guess she did it to appease my
angst at sitting still for so long, for we really were in England to visit the
family and not go gallivanting about. Truthfully though, I was very pleased
with this side trip. Having traveled across the Atlantic, and spending quite a
bit of money for the convenience of not having to row myself along in a dingy,
I wanted a bit more bang for my buck. Janet too felt we all could use a little
ambling-about time to explore the area. After all, Patrick TV, featuring the
remarkable 18 mo. old grandson, may be on 24 hours, but even with him there are
reruns. So, we embarked on our mini-vacation within our vacation to the old
medieval city of York in the kid’s little Vauxhall Astra. The ride wasn’t that
uncomfortable, as long as we breathed in unison. We must have looked like a
clown car emptying out when we reached the apartment we rented for the occasion.
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| THE ROBIN HOOD TOWER |
MEDIEVAL AND POSH
We at
VFH swear by Airbnb, the website that finds us incredible vacation stays all
over the world for less than the price of a hotel. The team has stayed on the
north shore of Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii. We stayed in Austin, Texas
& Washington, D.C., and now York in the UK.
Now,
one doesn’t just “book” a room with the website. It’s quite the vetting process
to gain a reservation on Airbnb, but we are great and conservative travelers and
we have had our choice. For our stay in York though, Janet outdid herself and
she found an incredibly “posh” apartment right outside the medieval wall of
York, near the “Robin Hood” tower. Considering there were 5 of us, including
Patrick, and the listing included our own private parking in this very popular
tourist destination, Airbnb was far cheaper than a hotel! They even
accommodated Patrick with a travel bed gratis. It was clean, private and well,
posh!
See for
yourself: AirBNB listing in York UK
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| YORK MINSTER FROM THE WALL |
FREE YORK
Now,
you may ask: ‘Why York?’ I know, I asked the same thing when told of our
itinerary. My query was an honest one, as I knew nothing about the city, but it
proved to be an engaging side trip. York is not only historical, but fun. There
are plenty of activities and sights and a fair amount of pubs. Not only is it a
popular destination for foreigners (I did hear a number of different languages
and accents while plying her streets) it is a popular destination for the
English as well. It seems a few of our friends in the UK have traveled to the
city for weekend (drinking) soirees.
I'M WALKING HERE….
The
most engaging feature of York City is her wall, or “bar”. The wall was started
with the Romans when they erected a fortress there in 71 AD and called their
establishment Eboracum. The Vikings added to it when they conquered the area in
the 800s and renamed the town Jorvik. The present day wall was started in the
1200s.
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| THE SHAMBLES |
When
other cities like London were removing their walls, as they had become obsolete
as a form of defense and were crimping the growth of the city, York maintained
theirs. Although the city did apply to Parliament to have the wall demolished
in the mid 1800’s, this was met by a fierce and influential preservation
movement and York was forced to keep their wall.
To this
day the wall is kept in fine repair and walking along its ramparts is a very
picturesque and, most importantly, a free activity. There are spectacular views
of the Minster, York’s soaring cathedral, and the gardens within the walls from
the walkway and those wishing to stroll along this 2 mile historic edifice can
enter at any of the four barbicons or gates. One doesn’t need to walk the
entire length all at once and can stroll at their leisure. The wall is open
every day except Christmas and whenever inclement icy weather makes the walking
treacherous.
Here’s
a great website for particulars: YORK UK WALLS
In York all the Streets are Gates, all the
Gates are Bars and all the bars are Pubs
The
meandering streets of the inner walls are also a joy to explore. Today they are
clean and touristy with plenty of shops and restaurants, but back in the medieval
times narrow streets like The Shambles and Gropecunt Street (thankfully renamed
now to Grape Lane) was where butchers and the ladies displayed their offerings.
The
narrow Shambles is perhaps England’s most famous street and was mentioned in
the Domesday Book of 1086. Then it was an open air slaughterhouse and meat
market. Butchers would display their meats on hooks or on shelves curbside and
throw the blood and offal into a little channel in the middle of the street.
THAT was cleaned out at least once a week. Now, The Shambles is tourist central
with several souvenir shops and eateries along its length and tourists
marveling at the narrow street with leaning buildings with many of the old
store fronts still displaying meat hooks and their “shelves” for meat.
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| A YORK SNICKELWAY |
Part of
the medieval make-up of York City is its alluring maze of alleyways and
footpaths that honeycomb the inner city within the walls. Exploring these
snickelways, as they are locally known, allow one to meander through a
backwater that is often passed unnoticed by both tourist and citizen alike.
Some are short, some narrow, one just 2 ½ feet wide, some lead to courtyards
and others take the traveler to another section of town. Some are named for the
commerce or activity that once was found there, like Gropec__t Lane where the
red light district was found, while other colorfully named snickelways describe
an event like Mad Alice Lane. Alice was hanged after found guilty of poisoning
her husband and her very own snickelway is supposedly haunted.
If so
inclined to explore the warren of York’s pathways, one should prepare to take
the time to get lost, but go armed with some knowledge of where to look, just
so you won’t miss anything. Mark W.
Jones’, “A Walk Around the Snickelways of York”, is a good resource.
Also, here’s
a couple of great websites to plan your diversion:
The
traveling circus of Team VFH had no such luxury though to get lost. As
always, traveling with a child requires a teetering balance of timing and luck.
We were able to explore just a bit of
the alleyways and they were our own. Entering a few of the quiet backwaters we
quickly left the tourist masses behind. Not able to venture very far though, we
had to be content to peer into these backwaters like children sneaking down to
spy on their parent’s party.
YORK PASS?
Because
York also offers a multitude of worthy attractions that COST MONEY we had to
juggle our time between exploring on foot and visiting places. We knew going in
our two night visit would not be enough time to see and experience all that the
city offers, so we had to plan our trip carefully with the help of the YORK
PASS. Buying a 1, 2 or 3 day pass gives one entry to 30 different attractions
in and around the city. We considered trying to hit all 30, but had to settle
on a few. Some of the attractions are a tour boat ride on the River Ouse, a
guided city sightseeing double decker bus tour, the York Minster, an incredible
soaring cathedral that dates from the 12th century, Clifford’s Tower
and the York Chocolate Story. Evidently York was once the seat of the English .Chocolate
Industry. If so inclined one could explore the Norse history of York at the
Jorvik Viking Center, Roman culture at an unearthed bathhouse, or the peculiar
medieval predilection for torture at the York Dungeon.
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| MONKGATE |
We
bought one day passes at £38. We could have used
three days at £60.
Two days are £50.
Our 1st Day
After
unpacking our bags we entered the city through Bootham Gate, bought our passes,
had a drink down by one of the many pubs at the River Ouse sunning ourselves in
the brilliant sunshine, quite happy it wasn’t flooded as the Ouse often does. The
frequent river flooding is why the Romans abandoned the area after one too many
slog fests.
We
strolled along the streets, eyeing baubles in the windows, listened to street
musicians, followed the herd along The Shambles and eventually had dinner at a proper and very old British Pub, Ye
Olde Starre Inn, found on Stonegate. We exited the city through Monkgate and
walked back along the ramparts to our posh digs. It was a long great day.
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