The grand old Duke of York..........................

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It had to happen.The dry weather had to break.And today it has!!
Well actually its not that bad just a little light rain and its not going to stop us taking a road trip to York a city we have heard so much about for its style.
With all the goodies we brought at the market day yesterday we could hardly not have a full English and so it was,Eggs,bacon,black pud etc etc.We left on the road so full we didn't think we would need any lunch.
We took the A65 to just outside Skipton and then switched the A59 where the rain actually sopped.We had thoughts about visiting Bolton Abbey but decided that we would be best to make the most of getting to York as soon as we could and hopefully before the rain caught up with us too much.
The road climbed up to Forest Moor where the view was fairly desolate with the grey overcast sky and stiff wind blowing.
Then it was on towards Harrogate where the road skirted the town centre.
The final run into York took us over the M1 with its 4 lanes of traffic in each direction whizzing by underneath us.That is one road we do not really fancy travelling on.
Very soon York was in our sights and we decided to head first to the National Railway Museum as there was a flat fee of GBP6 for parking and we could stay there until 6pm.The museum is situated just outside the walled part of the city.
It was just after 11am when we entered the no fee museum and it was soon clear that this wasn't going to be an exhibition that we would just be able to fly around and be satisfied.
Firsly in the great hall where a huge collection of beautifully maintained steam and electric engines from eras back to the late 1800's.
Some of them you could climb up to the cab and look inside at the restored machinery while others you had to admire by looking up at the monsters from the floor of the museum.Also on this floor were examples of the engines used in the construction of the chunnel.
Also on display was an early Bullet train which you could sit in and watch a video of how and why these superfast trains,which we have travelled on while we were in Japan,were made.
There was also a photgraph exhibition of the many varied people that work on the railways in India and while we had a good idea of the railway system there as we had travelled on it extensively during our trip to that country some years ago it was still a very fascinating insight to the class system that operates with employees of the Indian Railway.
The main attraction at the museum,the Flying Scotsman,is currently in pieces while it is fully overhauled to run again in 2010.There was a very informative display of the history of probably the most famous steam engine in the world to make up for the engine not actually being there.
We could have spent hours in the memrobilia area where everything that one could think of from typewriters to signals to the seats from waiting rooms had been put on display from railway stations across Britain.
The last area we strolled through was the one where carriages fully restored from over the years were on display including 4 royal carriages with again very informative descriptions of the life of these carriages.
It was coming up towards 2pm when we realised that we needed to push on to the city itself or we would run out of time.
It was raining quite steadily by the time we left the railway museum and made our way the short distance to inside the city walls.
The city is effectively still a fully walled city with the walls intact and maintained in very good condition.Having to pass through the wall adds to the charm of visiting York.The city also has an attractive river that runs through the small and compact downtown area.
Although we had had that huge full English breakfast hunger was now starting to take grip so we popped into a cafe for a panini and coffe and also to get out of the rain.
Next to visit was York Minster,the show piece of this city.And what a sight it is too.For me it was probably better than Westminster in London although Gretchen would not agree with me on that one.
We brought the "whole" tour which would include a trip down to the crypt and also up the 275 steps to the lookout at the top of the tower.
We did the climb up the tower first as they only let people up at half hourly intervals.We were to soon find out why this was so.The steps were so narrow and the way up was also the way down and there was no way you could get two people going in different directions at the same time.
As you do when you are told how many steps to the top we started out counting the steps as we climbed the spiral staircase.By the time we reached the top we had counted only 268 steps so we either skipped some or the place has shrunk!!
The wind was still fairly strong meaning that the best place to view out over the city and countryside was from the other side of the large tower.At least the rain had now stopped altogether.
As the brochure suggested the views were fantastic and would have been even better if the weather was clearer.
we spent a good 20 minutes up there and without being prompted the people who had come up with us in this half hourly block all started down again without prompting.
We were at the end of the chain and at one point about half way down you cross over an area of roof to another staircase.We were taking photos and video and lagging behind the rest of the group by quite a way when a voice came over a speaker we did not see asking us to "proceed down as quickly as possible".It was then we spotted the ever present security cameras mounted above the roof area we were crossing over and we realised that we were being watched on a monitor at the bottom of the staircase where the next group were waiting to do their climb.
The internal areas of the minster are very much like a cathedral with varoius parts given over to the functions within the church.The stained glass windows were very impressive as was the area where the choir sat with crests on the wall behind the seats.
The crypt gave the history of the building that had been on the site since Roman days although it had been altered and added to several times in its history.There were foundations that had been uncovered at times when excavations had been carried out allowing the history of the building and its occupation over the centuries to be told in an interesting and informative way.
After our walk around the minster we took in an old church that was now just a shell with the stones being used to build another church bearing a nordic name nearby.
We then suddenly realised that the time was marching on and we had spent close to two and half hours at the minster and we needed to get back to our car for fear of having it locked in the museum carpark for the night.
We shouldn't have been quite so concerned as we did get back in sufficient time even if Renee Renault was just about the last car in the carpark.
We had missed walking along the Shambles,the old meat slaughter area of the city and also walking on the city walls.
We resolved that we will come back again for a few more hours probably on our way south from Scotland to do the things we missed out on.
We came home via another route to the one we went on to York.This time via the B1224 and onto the A659 to the A65 taking us on a more slightly southern route through Otley and Ilkley before we rejoined the road into Settle at Skipton.
It had been another memorable day out visiting the magnificent walled city of York and it was getting on in the evening by the time we made Settle.
So we opted for dinner out tonight at the Royal Oak pub where we both ordered our first Yorkshire pudding since arriving in Yorkshire.
When it arrived it was a large round pudding full of sliced beef with rich gravy and accompanied by new potatoes and 3 other vegetables.Erin had warned us of this delight and she was not wrong!! it was delicious and it will be an easy choice if we decide to have a meal out again while we are in Settle.Well done the Royal Oak,Settle!!!!

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Comments

[Rin]

Yummmmm....
My mouth is literally watering at that photo of your Yorkie.....the prime suspect in my big fat-fatness downfall while in the UK!!

[Leebee]

Sounds like you had a lovely day in York! You totally have to go back to do the Shambles though....narrow street with buildings on all sorts of odd angles and you can just imagine what it was like to live in England back in the day when you walk down it. And dont be scared of the M1...side roads are pretty and let you pass through quaint villages but the motorway lets you cover huge distance in a very short space of time. Just stick to the left lane!

[Chris]

M1
Go on - try the M1. It's a wonderful experience and people are quite courteous, even at speed. Gets you places quite quickly. It'll prepare you for Europe.