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Published: April 11th 2008
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It was a typically grey, drizzly English day for our visit to the quintessential English town of York. Our visit co-incided with a food festival and we spent a pleasant late morning wandering through a local food market full of Melton Mowbray pork pies, Bakewell tarts, Stinking Bishop cheddar, English cider, real ale and other local delicacies. Unfortunately as we were enroute to Newcastle for me to compete in the Great North Run - a half marathon and the biggest fun run in the world which finishes in my Grandfather's home town of South Shields - I had to resist all the mouth watering temptations. This running business can be such a chore somtimes!
After we had checked into our bed and breakfast we set off through the lush, green manicured gardens of the municipal park complete with ruins of an ancient church. We made it inside a cosy cafe just as the rain started to pour down outside and sat out the weather over a steaming bowl of soup. York's biggest tourist attraction is the lovely York Minister and we were just in time to join one of the free guided tours taken by a very enthusiastic and knowledgable
volunteer. The current church was built over the top of Roman ruins which can be seen from the Crypt. Apparently when there was a fire in the minster a few years ago all the water that was pumped into the building to put out the fire disappeared down through the still functioning Roman drains. We spent hours walking through the church learning about the roof carvings, stories of the stained-glass windows, history that surrounded the minister and about the minster's very own Police office. Now that has got to be the most dull job in the Police Force! We walked the hundreds of steps up the skinny, spiralling staircase to enjoy the view over the surrounding countryside - which unfortunately revealed even more rain rolling towards us. When we were all churched out we strolled umbrellas in hand around the ancient city walls which revealed great views of the minster and the surrounding posh houses with their huge, neatly manicured gardens complete with weaping willows. Dinner at a great Thai restaurant (a rarity in England) topped off a lovely day.
The next morning we went for a quick walk around the cobblestoned streets of the old town and visited
Clifford's Tower, the stone tower which is the only remaining evidence of the former York Castle before boarding our train for Newcastle. Luckily the weather got better and better the further north we travelled and we arrived in Newcastle to chilly temperatures but sparkling blue skies. We were staying in the lovely residential and student filled area of Jesmond and had lunch in a great little cafe with the local students who had just dragged themselves out of bed after a night of frivolity and were tucking into full English breakfasts. Those were the days! The rest of the day was spent visiting the run expo which was held on the side of the river in Gateshead, spending far too much money on coolfit, dryfit, lycra, waterproof, moisture wicking goodies that would ensure we were motivated to keep running over the coming winter months and stocking up on safety pins and carbo-loading goodies.
We arrived at the run start the next morning and I have never seen so many banana skins, portaloos, bottles of lucozade and people in trainers in my life. The mass of people was amazing. I said goodbye to Andrew and made my way into my
security-guarded pen (every runner is allocated a pen to try and put runners of similar speeds together and stop people getting held up by slower runners) to join the mass aerobics-instructor led warm up. A quick chat to some friendly northerners and we were off and running. The temperature was only 12 degrees but the run followed a motor way with no shade for relief and I was soon absolutely boiling and pouring water over my head. The route ran over the replica Sydney Harbour Bridge which was very pretty but after that the scenery was pretty dull, so luckily there was plenty of other entertainment to keep my mind off the pain. There were at least ten live bands along the route from Elvis impersonators to Peruvian pipe bands and the locals who had gathered along the route were nothing if not enthusiastic. I was offered orange quarters, squares of chocolate, high fives and even would you believe beer to help me along my way. Needless to say I politely declined! I crossed the finishing line in 1:52 - a personal best by about three minutes but I was a little disappointed to not make it in 1:50. Never
mind, next time!
The finish was in a park right next to the beach in South Shields and it was a great feeling to see the sea and feel the salty breeze again after so long. It was a strange and touching experience to finish the race in somewhere that I had never been to, that was home to a Grandfather who died before I got to know him but which felt like I was connected to in some way. A fantastic treat at the finish was the display by the Red Arrows jet planes which glided through the sky at unbelievable speeds performing fly-bys too close to watch, stomach-churning loop the loops and spurting pretty coloured smoke all through the display. We celebrated that night with a glass of champagne at a pub by the river with all of the other exhausted and happy runners followed by a great Italian meal - I managed to make my way through the most enormous piece of steak I've seen in a long time! We had a great time and the people of Newcastle really won us over with their warm, friendly and laid back personalities.
Monday morning and we
had the day to relax and explore the sights of Newcastle - if only walking wasn't so painful! We started the morning with scrambled eggs, bacon and mushrooms, smoothies and coffee in a popular little cafe in the centre of town. We were blessed with another gorgeous sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky and walked along the river and took countless photos of the beautiful bridges reflected in the calm river, the local arts venue 'the slug' and the modern art gallery The Baltic which had been built in an old flour mill. We visited the gallery and made our way to the fifth floor viewing platform for even lovelier views along the river and on to the old town perched on a hill above. A visit to Newcastle would not be complete without a trip to the Castle from which it got its name. I struggled slowly up and down the countless stairs, exhausted and with quads screaming for relief but view from the top was worth it. What a beautiful day and a fantastic city!
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Lanni-lou
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You look so fabulous after a crazy run!
No doubt you will look positively Loreal after this weekend. Because you are worth it girlfriend! xx