CHAPTER 2 DAY 2-STATFORD UPON AVON TO YORK

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STRATFORD UPON AVON TO YORK (Day 2)

SHAMBLES OF A DAY
Today was a fairly easy day; we left Stratford Upon Avon at 9.30am to head for the medieval Yorkshire city of York.
The meet and greet last night was very good and everyone seemed to get on pretty well. There’s even another couple from Upper Hutt on the tour (although they moved up north about tree months ago.
Today was the first day since we have been in the UK that the weather was less than perfect. On the drive up we had intermittent showers. There was some nice country on the drive up especially as we got up around Yorkshire – patchwork paddocks and rolling hills.
We arrived at York around 1pm and Cheryl took us on a 45 minute walking tour to show us the highlights of this historic city, from there we were left to explore the central city.

SHAMBLES
We chose to explore an area of the old city known as the Shambles; it is one of the original parts of the city, a maze of narrow alleyways and connecting paths joined by even narrower paths. The historic buildings that line each side are filled with a vast array of retail, dining and specialist shops. The streets/alleys/paths were all cobbles which added to the occasion. Plus there was a big open air market in the area as well.
There is a wall that surrounds the city, the part we walked along dated back to the 1300s. The wall is evident as you walk around and is used as a feature in many areas. There is a strong Nordic presence in the city as it was occupied by the Vikings for a significant period of time.
York is dominated by York Minster a massive structure in the heart of the city. It is currently undergoing some restoration and we were able to see stone masons using traditional methods to prepare the blocks for placement-it was fascinating to watch.
Unfortunately when we all reported back to the bus we had lost someone! So there was a half hour wait sitting on the bus while they were located! It is very easyt o get yourself lost but fortunately for us Jeanettes 'blood hound' instincts haven't been diminished by being in the northern hemisphere - although she reckons that she is naturally inclined to go the wrong way so she needs to take a minute to get her bearings each time. She's pretty amazing at finding her way around though, which is lucky because my sense of direction is terrible.

The Hotel Yhe Mariot York was right next to the Race Course and was definitely 4 Star.

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Photos

York Minster
Dominates the centre of Yorks old city

The Shambles
A really fun place to explore, lots of alleyways and corridors

Alley in the Shambles
An example of just how narrow some areas of the shambles are, duck your head as you go through the gap!