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Published: October 10th 2010
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Jorvik
York has been famous for the fact that Vikings settled and there have been a vast numbers of archaelogical items discovered. Some of my work colleagues had recommended me to visit Jorvik.
We decided to look round the Jorvik in the morning on 25 February. As expected, the museum offered a sound picture of the Viking life, together with dozens of findings.
After paying for the admission fees, we were asked to go to the cinema room, which is called "time machine room" on the basement floor. There were the couple appearing on the screen, and changing their style of outfit and background according to the era which was transferred backward in time from the present time. Change of the era caused vibrations whilst we were travelling in the time machine.
Afterwards, we were invited to the ride on a time capsule. There were choices of languages in the time capsule. The ride took us to the Viking village, showing different characters, e.g. antler worker, wood turner, fishmonger, foreign traders, Viking life, and Coppergate Market. As well as the movement of each character and details of residential houses, we could smell the fish, farmland, and market. It
was really entertaining. We felt that we were taken to the real Viking village during the ride.
Next, we went to the gallery and exhibition rooms. Reading through the descriptions on the panel, we understood that there were approximately 40,000 items found during the excavations (from 1976 - 81) at Coppergate. The archaelogists and scientists confirmed that the oxygen-free soil of Coppergate helped to preserve a lot of fragile materials, and conservation treatment have retained all the fine details. The excavated items included; amulets, knives, brooches, dress pins, shoes, socks, decorative heads, coins, to name just a few. They are all made of metal, glass, wood, leather, and iron and were used for everyday life and decorations. Decorative heads, brooches, and coins were so artistic and ornate, and we hardly believed that those items were produced in the time when there weren't any convenient tools or machines invented.
It was a good opportunity to see the Viking life viewing how they actually lived, and an immense volume of archaelogical findings.
Fairfax House
There are several outstanding Georgian buildings in York, e.g. Mansion House, Fairfax House. We decided to visit the Fairfax House, Castlegate. We walked to the
museum after looking round the Jorvik.
As anticipated, all rooms, which we were invited to look round, were designed in a classical style - Library, Dining Room, Saloon, Bedroom, and Kitchen. It was also fourtunate for us to have met friendly ushers who explained about the history of the house and residents, and how well the plasterworks in the ceilings have been preserved. The house was bought for Anne Fairfax, the only surviving child of Viscount Fairfax in 1760. Sadly, she eventually decided not to marry, and chose to live remotely from Fairfax House. There were a considerable numbers of china porcelain, which were collected by the family to catch up with the trends in the 17th and 18th century. The Fairfax Museum is home to Noel Terry's collection. We saw some outstanding examples of the Georgian furniture, e.g. chairs with the images of very colourful garden landscapes.
York boat
Like many cities and towns in the UK, there are two rivers flowing in the centre of York, i.e. River Ouse and River Foss. We found that boat tours had started running in the mid February. After having lunch at the tearoom, we walked to the river Ouse.
We found that the boat would depart from the Lendal Bridge harbour at 1:40. We decided to do a walk along the river before getting on a boat. We walked past the National Railway Museum with Yorkshire Wheel, which we visited the previous day. We discovered the shortcut route between St Mary Lane and railway station via the footbridge. The footpath led us to the Common surrounded by residential houses, which we overlooked from the Yorkshire Wheel.
We went to the Lendal bridge harbour five minutes before the departure. In spite of the cold weather, we decided to sit on the balcony deck to see the riverside view. The boat firstly steered northwards. The boat tour included the commentary, which was provided by the driver. While the boat was going past the National Railway Museum, he explained to us that Yorkshire Wheel has been running since 2006, but the planning permission will be expired next year.
After the boat had reached in the vicinity of Clifton bridge, it turned round, and steered southwards. The driver kindly made an effort for passengers to see the York Minister through the green from the boat. During the boat ride, I realised
that there are lots of brick buildings in the centre of York. Whilst the boat steering southwards, we spotted several historical buildings, e.g. Castle Museum, Clifford Tower. The boat drove to the vicinity of Millenium bridge, which is the southern tip of York.
The boat ride lasted 45 minutes, and stretched further than we had expected. We wholeheartedly enjoyed the boat ride in York and riverside walk.
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