A quiet morning

Thursday, 15 July 2010 13:28

This means I have had to time to catch up

The "men folk" have gone out to do "boys' things"! By that I mean the Railway Museum and York Dungeons. So my morning has been productively spent by a bit of tidying up and beginning to label all my York photos. These are added to daily as we continue to explore York!

York

Sadly it is now belting with rain, so my shopping trip is deferred until it eases a little. Trying to pick some photos to share with you is difficult so I shall pick some sights that we saw from the tour bus.

The visitor moorings are handy for Museum Street and a bus stop for the tour buses. It is also an easy walk into the shopping area and the heart of York. Sometimes it is good to be moored in the heart of a city and, surprisingly, it is not very noisy.

Museum Street and the Minster ahead

Our first stop is at Exhibition Square. Here is the Art Gallery, Kings Manor and one of the gates or Bars of the walls. The Bar is named Bootham Bar - appropriate for me, but named long before my paternal family were even thought of, I suspect. There are lots of streets, places etc. named "Booth" oop north!

Bootham Bar - later on we started our walk along the walls from here

The bus tour continues around the roads outside the Walls and over the River Foss. The Walls are much lower than they originally were. Victorian "vandals" used the stone for their buildings and thought to improve the appearance by adding castellations. There are also sections that no longer exist and as the city expanded other "gates" were created through the walls to help the populace move around.

Walls from Lord Mayors Walk,  a road outside

The bus tour continues beside the River Foss, past Sainsburys (useful, if you time it right, to hop off and then back on!) and back into the city past the shortest street (35 yards) in York , Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate and the most famous street, The Shambles.

The Shambles

Cliffords Towerand York Castle and Prison Museum are a popular hop off place. The museum is very good and appeals to adults and children alike. We enjoyed it, and yesterday I took Dom and he enjoyed it too!

Motte and bailey remains - Cliffords Tower from bus

The tour crosses Skeldergate Bridge giving a good view down the River Ouse towards Ouse Bridge and then it arrives at York Station. The station was the largest in the country when it was built to replace one that was inside the Walls. The arched roof is more impressive from the outside than in the station.

York Station

Finally we crossed Lendal Bridge, spotting Epiphany and the other boats moored up, and alighted for a walk back via Museum Gardens.

Lendal Bridge from the bus

The bus tour is a good introduction to York and gives a good summary of the history and places to visit. Having done it twice now, I think I have had pretty good value!