Old York (not to be confused with New York)!

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Yesterday, we left Durham and made our way to York, via Whitby. We stopped off at Whitby Abbey, the site of an Anglo-Saxon abbey. When we left Durham, there were a few clouds in the sky. By the time we arrived in Whitby, it was wet and misty. Our first taste of true English weather! We were fortunate enough to be at the abbey at the right time, because when we had finished our exploration, more of the ruins were shrouded in fog. We then drove on to York in the afternoon. We did not do much. We visited the historic laudrette in York before going out for dinner.

Today, we spent all of the morning exploring the Minster. We walked through the Museum Gardens between our place and the old city, where we saw our first squirrels. They are the cutest little critters! At the Minster, we started by climing the tower and then after looking around, we went underneath to see the Roman ruins found under the Cathedral and the early remain of the Norman Cathedral on which the Minster was built. In the afternoon, we walked the fortified walls of the old town, the largest and best preserved in England. We also visited the 13th century church of All Saints, then wandered the medieval streets of the old city. In a different park, on the way home, there were literally 50 to 60 geese either feeding or sleeping on the lawn.

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Photos

Whitby Abbey.
Viewed from afar. It was a very important monastery in its day.

Whitby Abbey.
A closer view of the remains of the medieval abbey. Very spooky with the fog.

Whitby Abbey.
Another view of the ruins of the abbey.

York Minster.
The west end of the minster.

The west end towers.
A view from the central tower.

The pulpitum.
The massive screen of stone that divides the choir, where the monks used to sit, from the nave, where the lay stood.

The town walls.
A part of the walls that fortified the old city.

The town walls.
Another part of the old wall, with a view of the Minster.