It was Emily's birthday weekend so we had a day out in York last Sunday.
York is a walled city located at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. It was founded by the Romans in 71AD and they named it Eboracum. By the Middle Ages it had become a major wool trading centre.
There were several Greylag families by the side of the river with goslings of various ages.
The Medieval Clifford's Tower once the central stronghold of York Castle.
The Golden Fleece public house - the oldest and most haunted licensed premises in York.
The Shambles - a Medieval narrow street. It was almost impossible to take photos the place was that crowded. In fact, even at 10.30 on a Sunday morning the whole of York seemed crowded!
There was an outdoor market in one of the courtyards with a lovely gardening stall.
York Minster -
We spent several hours looking round the Minster - but I will do a separate post on this in a day or two. Don't want to upload too many photos in one go in case Blogger decides to play up and put them all out of order!
Betty's Cafe Tea Room. The larger famous Betty's tea room was just round the corner and there was a very long queue extending out of the shop and down the pavement for afternoon tea - we didn't bother!!!
The Mansion House - home of the Lord Mayor of York
David and I went round the Jorvik Viking Centre.
In 866 the Vikings raided and captured York. Under Viking rule York became a major river port. The last Viking ruler of Jorvik Eric Bloodaxe was driven from the City in 954 by King Edred in Edred's successful attempt to unify England.
The museum contained lots of information about Vikings and their way of life together with a ride round a recreation of a busy street in Jorvik (York) complete with sights, sounds and smells (!) from this era. The recreation is based on information found from archaeological excavations conducted on the site by York Archaeological Trust from 1976 - 1981. It was too dark for photos and you weren't allowed to take any on the ride - so just one of a display case.
Emily and Brian had planned to go a ride on a Big Wheel but ended up having a look round the castle.
York is a beautiful City with so much to do and places to visit. You could easily spend several days here.
One of the highlights of the day was a beautiful display of thousands and thousands of cowslips on the road verges as you join (and leave) the A1 for York. I am not sure if they have been planted or occur naturally. I haven't seen so many cowslips in one place since I was a child.
