Walking York and the Beautiful Minster

We began our day exploring York by walking the length of the Medieval town wall.  Sections of the wall began in Roman times around 70AD, continued through the Viking era, William the Conquerer up to the present day. Beautiful views of the town can be seen from the wall.

 The town is one of the best preserved Medieval towns in England. Lovely views can be seen from the old bridges crossing the Ouse river. Julie and I enjoyed a delightful traditional Yorkshire lunch with Yorkshire Puddings filled with venison stew, potatoes and vegetables. Of course I had to wash it down with a pint of bitter.

The Highlight of a visit to York is the Minster which dates back to the 600's. Julie and I took a guided tour of the church which is prized for having the largest collection of Medieval Stained glass windows in Europe. Last evening we attended Evensong service which was a beautifully inspiring experience with the Boys Choir and Songmen leading worship.

The Minster is a history book in images. Glass windows and statuary hint the changing politics over the last 1000 years including the reformation and changes in English dynasties. The Minster was spared from the defrocking of the churches by Oliver Cromwell due to his local military civil war leader Lord Fairfax. Fairfax threatened his soldiers with death if they harmed the Minster.  It is the Fairfax family that later inherited large land holdings in the Virginia Colony.

The Northern England cloudy weather is a challenge for my amateur photography. The gray days which dominate the area eliminate the element of contrast and vibrant color which makes for pretty pictures. One photo blogger has suggested rendering Northern England pictures in Black & White. 

 This closing picture of this pub sign speaks to me as we close our day. I am enchanted by our day of history but I am drop dead tired from walking and touring on cobbled stone pavements. As Julie says "Our dogs are barking". We will sleep well tonight and be ready for another day exploring.

Arriving in York - The Heart of Historical England

Twenty Four hours door to door from our home in Virginia to our rented Apartment in York England. We will be spending the next 4 days in this lovely medieval town exploring its churches, museums and the surrounding area. Our three room apartment is adjacent to a neighborhood bowling green. This view from the parking area shows an older couple playing croquet and YES the sun is out after flying into Manchester in dense fog this morning.

We walked through the local neighborhood shopping area and headed straight to a cozy local Fish & Chips restaurant. While enjoying the local patrons strong Yorkshire accents Julie introduced me to Mushy Peas. Pretty tasty but not exactly on a weight watchers diet. There is a neat pastry shop a short walk from our apartment so we should be on a first name basis by the end of the week.

We are super tired from our journey
so I'm not sure we will make the walk into the center of York with a
visit to the "Minster" and town walks tonight. Early to bed and we will be off to explore a full day tomorrow.  Thankful for safe travel and the three extra inches in Delta Economy Plus seating.

Julie's and Stan's Road Trip to the North of England

Julie and I are off again, this time heading for the North of England.  The North of England will be new to me and an area that Julie has not visited in many a year. Northern English history includes the tales of the Saxons, the Vikings and the Northern most Roman Outposts. Of course I'm looking forward to plenty of castles and cathedrals to take pictures of.

This years trek will again be wandering the country roads by auto using three home bases. Our first base we will be in York to explore this historical World Heritage site city. While in York we hope to see the Cathedral, The Moors National park, Durham and a side trip up to Hadrian's Wall.

Our next base will be Kennelworth, where we will visit family in Coventry and take in the surrounding villages and towns. Our third stop will be Shrewsberry, using it as home base before heading to Manchester for our flight home. While we have a plan in our heads we enjoy this form of travel because we can deviate from our route as interesting opportunities present themselves.  So Umbrellas and Wellies in hand, off we go on our latest adventure. I believe this will be our only trip where Julie will not have to carry her own supply of Tea Bags. Starting Tuesday April 29, I will be posting pictures and notes every few days so Bookmark our Blog and come along with us to Northern England.