Advertisement
Published: June 12th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Jackie at the Gate
This is Monk Bar, one of several to enter the walled city. Wednesday, June 11, 2008
York, England to Edinburgh, Scotland
We stated today determined to see more of York before driving north. We saw enough on Tuesday evening to know there was plenty to see. For the first time, we really miss having a good guide book, like Rick Steve’s. We have RS’s Italy Guide book and also Ireland but did not buy the English. But we were determined to give it a good try on our own.
So, we ate breakfast early, packed for the trip and set off to tour the old town. We found a better parking space than the one we used on Tuesday and entered the old town at the Monk Bar. All of the entrances to the city were designed not only to allow entry but also to bar people from entering or exiting. Thus, the name: “bar.”
As we entered through the Monk’s Bar we climbed the narrow steps to the top of the wall and walked around the wall alongside the “Lord Mayors Walk” to Bootham’s Bar. It is fascinating to think that this defensive wall was originally built by the Roman’s in the first century.
After this we approached the York Minster to
Monk Bar
Here's an explanation. tour the fabulous cathedral. It too was old. Very old. The guide book from the hotel said that we could tour the Minster free. We discovered not. Since we have seen some of the most impressive cathedrals in the world already on this trip, we decided that a hot cup of Starbucks would be a better decision.
So, we stopped there and continued with a walk around the town with coffee cup in hand. The weather was ideal. It was about 68 degrees and dry.
After about an hour and one-half, we returned to the parking lot, found our car and headed north. This time we stayed true to the recommendations of Peter Morgan. Only, we decided to push hard again and go all the way to Edinburgh.
We saw some of the best of northern England. It is truly a beautiful landscape. There are a lot of farmland and sheep. It is impossible to capture this in photos. We took a few photos but stopped many times to just admire the scenery.
One stop that we could not resist was Hadrian’s Wall. This wall was built in the days of Roman occupation and rule. It is now a World
Monk Bar
Here's another photo of the Bar. Heritage Site spanning 73 miles of dramatic landscape. It was built in 79AD. Along its route were built many forts to protect it. One was “Chester’s Roman Fort.” We drove a few miles off our planned route for a closer look.
It was little more than an archeological site. But it was historical, none the less. I’m glad we went but don’t expect much if you get the urge to visit. The highlight was the middle school class visit that was occurring while we walked around. The kids were required to wear Roman costumes and all had togas on. The teachers were dressed in costumes as well.
After this visit, it was not long before we reached the border between England and Scotland. We noticed that the landscape was changing as we went north and as we stood at the border we could see the difference.
We arrived in Edinburgh about 4:30pm. Jackie wanted to try, once again, a Best Western hotel, even after having experienced a less than perfect stay in both Rome and in our last stop in Amiens, France. This time we were pleased both with the room and the rates. So, we will be here at
Tome & Jackie walk the wall
You are allowed to walk around the entire York wall. We made it about 1/4 the trail. least two nights, maybe three.
We walked a couple of blocks this evening for dinner and have now settled in for the night. The long drives, followed by some good wine, wear us down a little. We expect to party late into the night tomorrow.
Cheers,
Tom
Advertisement
Tot: 0.15s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 54; dbt: 0.0718s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Rick
non-member comment
Guy Fawkes and all
Wow, what cool places! I would love to have had a pint in the Guy Fawkes Tavern. I'd love to see Hadrian's Wall too. Fantastic!