top of page

York

Day 10

Rain continues to plague us as we board the coach to visit the remnants of two Roman sites: Hadrian's Wall and Vindolanda. We arrive at a section of Hadrian's Wall intersected by the remains of what is now called Birdsowald Roman Fort. Previously called Banna, the area was renamed Birdsowald after the 19th-century farm house built on the site. The fort, one of the best preserved of the 16 forts built along the wall, was occupied by Roman auxiliaries from approximately 112-400 A.D. and was built prior to the wall. Louise, our coach driver, gives us the opportunity to walk a short distance beside the wall before meeting us in a nearby parking area.

This is what remains of what was once a wall approximately 11-feet tall built to ostensibly keep out the barbarian Scots. Originally made of easily accessible turf, it was later replaced by stone. Over time, stone from the wall was used to build castles, churches, homes and farms.  It wasn't until an 18th. and 19th-century conservation movement took place that a stop was put to it.

TRAVEL TIP

Stay Hydrated

  Drink Water

Located close to Hadrian's Wall is Vindolanda, a one-thousand strong auxiliary garrison built by the Roman army before the wall. It was demolished and rebuilt nine times during its existence and wasn't abandoned until the 9th. century, long after the army left. A major excavation site, it also houses the Roman Army Museum with its interactive displays and artifacts including the only surviving helmet

crest from the Roman Empire. We are given time to wander through the site as well as purchase lunch

at the museum's Vindolanda Cafe.

Putting it in perspective...

Roman wells and water tanks.

Site information from Robert.

On-going excavation.

Recreated Roman fort.

Remnants of a Roman bath house.

Tourists walking through the ruins.

Recreated Roman temple.

Roman soldier statue in the garden.

Roman Military Museum.

Lunch at the Vindolanda Cafe - a Roman feast!

On to York!

Our hotel, The Churchill, is situated very near the walled inner city of York. Founded by the Romans in 71 A.D.,York evolved over the centuries to become medieval England's second city. During the 16th. century when Henry VIII closed the Catholic monasteries, he made York's impressive Gothic cathedral, the Minster, the northern capital of his Anglican church. The Minster is the jewel in this medieval city's crown.  

​

The Churchill Hotel

A more comforting picture of Churchill to sleep under than some we've seen...

Inside Churchill's Cigar Bunker

        Brandy or cigars, anyone?

Most of York's tourist appeal is contained inside its extensive stone wall system.  Originally built by the Romans, subsequent inhabitants rebuilt the walls.  For the most part what remains today dates back to the 13th. century with modifications by 19th-century Victorians. Bootham Bar, the west entrance city gate, is a short walk from our hotel.  Following our guide Robert's lead, we begin our orientation walk there.

​

Most of Bootham Bar (gatehouse) was built in the 14th. and 19th. centuries, but it also contains 

some of the oldest surviving 11th-century stonework.

Bootham Bar

Use the landmark Minster's towers to keep from getting lost.

TRAVEL TIP

Getting our bearings with a 3-D map of York

Statue of Constantine whose troops declared him emperor here in 306 A.D.

Found during a Minster excavation and placed here in 1971, this ancient column is a reminder that the cathedral sits on the site of a Roman headquarters.

16th-century St. Michael le Belfry Church where Guy Fawkes, who led the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, was baptized in 1570.

Rumor has it The Last Drop Inn is located on the site a criminal last looked at before being hanged.

The Shambles was an open-air meat market in the 16th. century. Today the blood and stench are gone and the street is a popular shopping spot.

A 16th-century half-timbered building standing next to the Golden Fleece Pub on Pavement Street.

The 16th-century Golden Fleece pub, the second oldest and most haunted in York.

Stonegate street, a busy thoroughfare since Roman times, contains a variety of architectural styles. The Gallows Sign, which is suspended above the street, advertises the Olde Starre Inn and dates back to Henry VIII.

The Golden Slipper is a pub located in a 15th/16th-century historical building. The pub's name comes from a medieval leather slipper that was found by workers in 1984 buried in the wall.

Another historic pub purported to be haunted is the Old White Swan. It is located in a collection of buildings dating back to the 16th. century.

14th-century Monk Bar is the largest and most ornate gatehouse. It contains the Richard III Experience museum.

Orientation complete, we finish the evening with a group dinner at The Viceroy. Although traditional English cooking still has its place in Britain, Indian cuisine is a close second...

Cozy atmosphere with food served family style

It would be impolite NOT to have Indian beer here...

Naan bread

Kingfisher: Very Good; light/clean

Day 11

Our day begins at 9:30 A.M. with a tour of the Minster by local guide, Alfred.  Construction of the cathedral began in 1220 A.D. to replace a Norman church already on the site. Completion of the Minster we see today took 250 years. The site's history actually predates the cathedral by more than 2,000 years. During structural repair work in the 1960s and 1970s, the remains of Roman barracks, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, and the foundations of the cathedral's Norman predecessor were found.

The Minster:  The Largest Medieval Gothic Cathedral In Northern Europe

Sitting together in the nave, Minster docent Alfred gives us the history of the 13th. century cathedral. In the background the organ and Kings' Screen can be seen.

The Kings' Screen, one of the most famous parts of the Minster, fronts the Quire (choir).

The Kings' Screen contains statues of the fifteen Kings of England who were on the throne during the cathedral's Norman to Gothic phase.

The tomb of Archbishop Walter de Gray in the South Transept, the oldest part of the church. It was his vision that inspired the building of this beautiful cathedral.

The 13th-century, hand-painted, grisaille glass Five Sisters Window was removed during WWI to protect it during Zeppelin raids. Restored in the 1920s, it is the only window in the country dedicated to the women who lost their lives during the First World War.

The cathedral's mechanical 18th-century clock.

The 13th-century octagonal Chapter House was built with no central support pillar...a revolutionary approach for the time. It contains many carvings with very unusual faces.

The very colorful tile floor of the Chapter House.

The Chapter House's vaulted roof. Built from 1260 to 1280, it is supported by timbers and not a central column.

The 15th-century Great East Window is the size of a tennis court. It illustrates the start and end of all things based on the Bible's books of Genesis and Revelation.

The Great East Window is going through a restorative process. Alfred points out one of the more colorful sections of the window...

Vibrant, but ominous, this section represents the seven-headed beast and dragon from the book of Revelation.

For only the second time in the church's 700 year history, York's medieval Mystery Plays were re-enacted in the church. Since the 14th. century these elaborate plays have portrayed religious history from creation to the final day of judgement.

A display of the props used in this year's York Mystery Play.

Two docents meet......Christopher, our Well's Cathedral docent, is visiting relatives in town.

We have the rest of the afternoon and evening free to explore this historic city. We spend the day seeing as much as we can, but would have loved to have just one more to do it justice. Robert highly recommends we attend Evensong at the Minster this evening, which we do. Unfortunately photographs are not allowed, but suffice it to say it was one of the highlights of our trip. The evening prayer service is filled with music from the choir, one of the leading choirs in the United Kingdom, which is made up of both adults and children. These remarkable children, some as young as seven, attend the neighboring Minster School. A wonderful way to end our stay here...

​

House Of The Trembling Madness

Based on the pub recommendations in Rick Steves' travel book, we could not resist choosing this one. Intimate and

cozy with friendly staff and patrons, the three of us

thoroughly enjoyed the food, beer, and quirky decor.

​

"For a quart of ale is a 

dish for a king."

The Winter's Tale (IV.iii.8)

Beavertown Gamma Ray: Good

Cromarty Brewing Company's Red Rocker: Very Good

The Yanks In York...

(hover over image for description)

We highly recommend walking the medieval walls at York, the most complete set of medieval walls still standing in England today.  The defensive walls we see at York today were constructed in the 13th. and 14th. centuries to replace wooden ones built by invading Danish Vikings.  However, prior to the Vikings, the Romans had a wall system in place at the same site dating back to 71 A.D. When defensive walls were no longer necessary, other English cities tore theirs down.  York's forward-thinking mid-19th-century preservations fought to keep theirs and the walls, although in a state of disrepair, were restored. Due to time constraints, we are only able to walk the Bootham Bar to Monk Bar section of the 2.75 mile-long stretch.

Wall entrance at Bootham Bar, formerly the Porta Principalis Dextra (North Western Gate of the Roman fortress).

The path on top of the wall.

Garden statuary below the wall - is this Alice in Wonderland?

Insignia embedded in wall walk pathway.

Looking down the wall towards Monk Bar.

View of the Minster from the wall.

Approaching the end of our journey, Monk Bar.

St. Mary's Tower

Returning to our hotel on Bootham Street, we make one last stop to view what was once the largest and richest abbey in northern England.  St. Mary's Abbey was founded in 1088 A.D. by King William Rufus, son of William the Conquerer. Subsequent to King Henry VIII's dissolution of the abbeys in the 16th. century, much of St. Mary's was destroyed.

Edible garden inside abbey precinct walls

​

St. Mary's Tower on the corner of Bootham and Marygate marks one of the entrances to the abbey ruins.  The 14th-century tower once guarded the northern corner of the abbey's precinct wall and has suffered damage over the years.  Just inside the walls it guards is an edible garden......all plants in the garden can be eaten (we sampled a few).  From this garden an opening leads directly to the abbey grounds.

​

View of the abbey's north wall from the west

It's been a sight-filled day, but it's time to return to the comfort of our hotel and prepare for tomorrow's departure to London. 

bottom of page