Chuffed To Be Here!: A Weekend in York!

A 2 hour train trip and 200 miles north of London is York. Our journey started at Kings Cross station in Central London. This is the same station where Harry Potter took the train to Hogwarts School although from different platforms!

We arrived at the York train station and started walking to our hotel. One of the first things to greet us was:

I'm not sure that seeing the Cholera Burial Ground is the proper welcome to tourists!! Makes you think twice about drinking the tap water!!!

York has been around since AD 71 when it was the northernmost city in the Roman Empire. It has gone through several name changes starting with Eboracum - a northern provincial capital. Romans built a huge stronghold around the city to protect it from the northern barbarians (aka the Scots!) It sits at the junction of 2 rivers which made it attractive for trading. Constantine was proclaimed Roman emperor here in AD 306.

When the Roman empire started to decline in the 5th century the emperor sent a letter telling England that it was on its own. York then became a Saxon (the Germans came over) capital called Eoforwic. A Christian church was built here during that time in 627- the beginnings of the minster that stands there today.

The Vikings took over the town in the 9th century for 200+ years as a Danish trading center - it was called Jorvik.

Later the Normans (the French) invaded and destroyed the town. They rebuilt the city with the walls that stand today. A medieval city of 9000 inhabitants, York grew rich on wool trade. Henry VIII used the York Minster as his anglican church's northern capital.

Enough of ancient history and on with our trip. One can make use of the local HOHO (hop on, hop off) bus or...

Or take the recommended walking tour - we chose the latter!

The city walls from Norman times (think 11th century) are still there. We are able to walk around most of the perimeter of the city on top of the walls. It's a wonderful view to see the city from perched up high.

Monks Gate - this is one of the 4 original city gates - there are more openings but in Norman times there were just 4.

Good thing MacKenzie wasn't with us!!!

There are still remnants of the massive Roman fortress built in AD 71. The Romans had a very distinct building design - they would always fortify the wall with rows of red bricks - which still remain. The Normans added the larger stone blocks to the top of the wall.

A monks monastery stood here for years until the dissolution of the church in the 16th century under Henry VIII. The ruins are evocative of a time past. You can almost here the shuffling of the feet and the low chanting as the monks went in to services. There are still foundations from where the walls once stood.

Clifford's Tower sits high on a hill overlooking the river. William the Conqueror built this to be a stronghold shortly after the Norman invasion of 1066. The original castle burned down and this one dates back to the 14th century.

The over hanging timber framed buildings in The Shambles date back to the 14th century. The name derives from the German meaning Great Flesh Shambles - where the butcher shops would be. Although most of the butchers have gone, the name remains. Some think that the overhanging timber framed buildings were to shield the walkers below from the raw sewage dumped from the upstairs windows. Let's not go there!