York still has a fair bit of the original city walls remaining. You can see them right as you leave the train station, and you step straight into some interesting history - particularly the cholera burial ground from 1832.
From there we continued walking towards the city centre. It looked so beautiful and so very British!
After a short walk along the wall we returned to ground level. I am strange and like to take pictures of animals I meet while being out and about, so here are some geese!
The next sight we saw was Barker Tower, which was built in the 14th century and modified in the 19th. It has had many uses throughout time (including as a mortuary in the Victorian era!)
We carried on from there across the River Ouse (I love that name for a river!)
Our walk led us to our first main goal: York Minster. It is beautiful!
We stepped inside and admired the beautiful architecture and stained glass from inside. We decided not to pay to go all the way in and do the tours, though I may go back and do that another time on my own.
From there we paid a visit to Constantine the Great, who hangs out near the Minster in the area where he was proclaimed Roman Emperor in 306.
Continuing the Roman theme our next sight was the Roman Column nearby. I find these fascinating simply because of how large they are. The fact that this was made before the day of forklifts and cranes, assembled by simple machines and humans instead, astounds me.
From there we continued on to the shopping area. There were many interesting sites and beautiful buildings, pictures of these are below. The Canadian part of our company went shopping while the British part went to a favourite pub. We had a lot of fun shopping, and then grabbing lunch at a French restaurant. I picked up a new wallet to replace my falling apart one (though it breaks my heart to let go of an old friend who has been with me for so long!).
After lunch and rejoining our British companions we were led to an area called The Shambles. This
street is quite historic and quite a tourist destination. It was originally a market area, and throughout history has been largely dominated by butchers. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror even. The street as it looks now was developed in the 1400s.Someone mentioned Diagon Alley from Harry Potter when they saw it but I actually went straight to a different reference. This (and a few other places I've seen) made me think instantly of Ankh-Morpork, the city in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Every time I see a street like this it gives me a better visual image of how I imagine said city.
Either way it is quite an interesting little street. I love these narrow streets that let me feel the age of the city and get an idea what it looks like in all those books I read and the history I hear about. Compared to the wide prairie roads of home it is quite a difference!
Our next stop I have no pictures from. We went to The York Dungeon. These are a series of attractions in various places around here, which feature actors and elaborate sets. They are sort of like a haunted house, but with a sensationalized historical aspect. In the Dungeon we visited the surgery of a doctor during the plague (where the doctor's assistant discussed the disgusting plague stuff, showed us a disembowelled "body", and "treated" one of our group), a cellar where we heard the story of Guy Fawkes with visuals, a pub where we were treated to a ghost story (with ghost!), a tavern where we met Eric Bloodaxe and a disembodied head, and so on. Most members of our group were "volunteered" for at least one thing. Personally I was put on trial for witchcraft. The judge was giving three options for pleas - guilty, very guilty, or extremely guilty. The last one had a seemingly less bad punishment, but if you chose it you were informed it was much worse. So I vexed her a bit by choosing "very guilty". I was being quite difficult actually, the poor actress. However she made me dance in front of a group of people so I don't feel too bad for her. It was a very silly experience and I had a lot of fun. I was definitely startled a few times - though the parts that scared me most were when a member of our group screamed! It was a fun afternoon experience, though I don't know if I would do more of them.
The last sight that I went to and saw was Clifford's Tower. This tower was originally part of the castle that was here and is the only part that remains. It is quite an impressive sight and someday I would like to go in and see the views from it. However as with most things here in England it also has a dark side to its history. In 1190 an anti-Semitic riot was incited by a man called Richard de Malbis. 150 Jewish people sought refuge in the castle. On March 16th the besieged Jews committed collective suicide and lit the wooden tower on fire so their bodies couldn't be mutilated.
This country has such an interesting past. There is a lot of violence and tragedy, but it is also a beautiful country with a lot of creativity and ingenuity.
Here are a few more pictures from York that didn't quite fit into any of the spots above:
My next big adventure will be Oxford late next week, but there may be things between then and now so I will see you soon!
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