Old York

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We've done New York, so today we thought we'd visit Old York...another of England's picturesque towns. This one has Viking links, but the Roman presence is still very strong. We immediately noticed that York is another walled city, and although we didn't have as much time here as we did in Chester, we were still able to walk along a section of this wael preserved structure (for your information dad, the lady at the York tourist info centre reckons this is the BEST example of a Roman Wall in the whole of Europe - who do you believe?? I give up!)

The wall was straight across from the tourist info centre, located at York's train station. It led us directly to where we wanted to go...York Minster...the largest Gothic Abbey in the whole of Europe. There are so many record setters! Thankfully, I don't feel as though we've done these old buildings to death yet (that may happen in Europe) and this Minster is mighty impressive, not only in terms of size, but also history.

The Minster grounds were originally used in the 2nd century by the Romans. The sight contained a barracks for the soldiers, along with meeting halls and bath facilties (Constantine himself was inaugurated here to the title of Caesar). The Normans moved in next, and built the Minster in the 11th century, on a 45 degree angle to the barracks. The Minster was added to again over the next few hundred years by the many rulers, and you can tour the history of the building by visiting the Undercroft. This section contains actual foundations from each period of history - you are standing right next to 2000 year old walls below the church floor!!

The Minster has many rooms, filled with amazing wood carvings, crypts and stained glass windows (some dating back to Roman times). I can't believe the colours that still hold in the glass...deep blues and reds. You can also walk up the 375 steps to the Tower...this seemed like an easy task for us young ones, but boy was I thinking of Tamra when I saw those tiny spiralled steps - they are NOT fun. We climbed all 375 of them...and puffing from the top, looked out over the city...amazing views!! From here, you can really take in the enormous size of the Minster.

We didn't have a lot of time left, so we quickly checked out Shambles Lane - an old Medieval Street, and as the rain set in, we decided to head back to the car. I had stupidly worn thongs (one of three stupid people in York that day) so my tootsies were in need of a heater!! We made it back, and set off in the direction of Haltwhistle, a township located on the way to Edinburgh (I thought it was spelt Edinborough). This town is only 4 miles from Hadrian's Wall; possibly the most famous Roman outpost in the whole of Europe. This wall kept the crazy Scots out, and was built in only 20 years. We are taking a tour tomorrow, before we make the three hour trip along the coast to Edinburgh, and the Castle. We stay the night there, and then only have a couple of days left in this part of the UK, before meeting up with the clan in Belfast. Time is going so quickly...which is why I'm off to do as the Roman's do...SLEEP!

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