Blogs from York, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

MON, 19 SEP 2022 - Day 12: Continue to York - We travel to the medieval market town of Alnwick this morning, where we'll see the impressive castle home to the Duke of Northumberland and the Tenantry Column, upon which the Percy Lion sits and surveys the town. Journey through Northumberland to the cathedral city of York. We'll embark an orientation walk past its cobblestone Shambles and see the inspiring Minster with its 'heart of Yorkshire' before joining our newfound friends for a Farewell Dinner.... read more

Original York - Piprey on wheels York is a walled city to the North of England surrounded by the rivers, Fosse and Ouse. Originally inhabited by the Celts, Vikings and Normans (William the conquerer had raided this city very badly), it attracted even the Arabs for lucrative trade. York Minister is an important cathedral with paid entry. I took advantage of Great British rail sale, booked a return from London to York for 61 GBP which might have costed me around 85 GBP otherwise. It was a long train journey of 3-4 hours. I looked for McDonalds at King's Cross train station. Finding none, I hopped over to the high street for a filling breakfast muffin and a coffee latte :) Comfortably seated, the train raced through Stevenage, Doncaster and Peterborough. I observed that most of ... read more

The day was spent walking around York, the old city. We walked the Roman wall, seen Clifford’s Tower, York Ministry,The Shambles and Jorvik Viking Centre. As well we did a river cruise picturing in our minds the Viking ships coming down the Ouse River. The evening hours spent in interesting conversations and a beautiful dinner with Jacqui and Tony. Another beautiful interesting day. ... read more

I have an observation from a comment from yesterday that I thought some more of you might be interested in: “I suspect we will see several Cathedrals in London and I am looking forward to it. So far, they have all been spectacular in their own ways. York Minster is different from any of the others we have seen because of the stone it is built in. I think our bus guide said it was Yorkshire stone but wouldn’t swear to that. At any rate, the color of the stones is a light, creamy color—not stained at all which, to me, makes it look like that huge edifice could almost float up into the air. It really is an amazing building.” Goathland train station, where Harry Potter was filmed, was our first stop today. We rode ... read more

The skies were a little grey today but at least it stayed dry for our visit to Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens. 
Built in the 18th century, this Italian-style baroque house has been shaped by its numerous occupants. It has an intriguing story to tell, beginning with the wealthy teenager who built the mansion way back to its occupation by the RAF in the Second World War & in more recent times the re-invention as a country-house gallery, in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. The collection inside the house includes over 100 18th century portraits on permanent loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London. During our visit there was a special exhibition celebrating creative & influential women who have made an outstanding contribution to art, music and culture, from Judi Dench to Amy Winehouse ... read more