Our hotel was just about a block outside The Mickelgate, the main gate into the walled portion of York.
York's war memorial near the National Railway Museum.
We grabbed lunch at the King's Arms. The pub is infamous for being the pub that floods. The River Ouse, which runs through York, is quite prone to flooding. So the pub's interior is designed in such a way that it can withstand the high waters. I snapped this pic of a photograph from a recent flood. The pub is the white building.
It had been raining for a couple of days before we arrived, so the river was looking a bit high. I took the top pic from inside the pub. The other two are taken right outside.
This is Clifford's Tower, all that remains of the original York Castle built by William the Conqueror in 1068. It's a popular tourist attraction, yet it's one of the few places in York I have never visited. I mean, that's a lot of stairs!
The York Castle Museum is housed in two of the prison buildings of the later castle complex. It is a museum of everyday life and used to be one of our favorite museums. They've made changes since we last visited, though, and it's lost a lot of its luster for us. This is a display of Horrockses cotton fabrics. It's significant to us because the first company mill was built in Preston in 1794, and the Horrocks family was a key player in Preston politics for decades as a result.
This is a photo on display that was taken in a World War I trench. That was a very clever contraption, considering that you could get your head blown off if you raised it above the trench line.
Steve misbehaved so he was sentenced to the stockade.
This is York St. Mary's Church, not to be confused with St. Mary's Church, which is also in York. Located near the center of Old York, this church is one of several medieval churches remaining in the city. It's now part of the York Museum Trust, which makes me wonder if it's still actually a church. Its website says it became some kind of art installation in 2004, so I'm guessing not. Oh well, it's pretty.
The streets were festively decorated. The church tower belongs to another medieval church, All Saints.
As in Stratford-upon-Avon, the buildings are a fun mix of the centuries with a fair selection of Tudor-era architecture and old, old, old pubs.
One of York's more famous areas is The Shambles, a shopping/eating area built along the narrow medieval streets.
Here are a few street shots I snapped as we strolled around in the late afternoon. It was dark by around 5, so light was fading fast on me.
And I do mean fast. This is St. Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Church. It was completed in 1864 and stands almost literally in the shadow of York Minster, which before the Reformation was a Catholic cathedral.
And here is York Minster. It dates back to the 12th Century and is an absolutely exquisite place. It still passes my feel test, being warm and inviting. But I've not been inside in several years and we didn't go in this time because they are now charing an arm and a leg for admission. It used to be a voluntary contribution of about five quid. Now it was mandatory and the fees for the two of us were either 20 to tour just the Minster or 30 to see both the Minster and its tower. I love York Minster, I do, but with our budget tight I just could not justify spending that kind of money to visit a church I've seen several times.
We enjoyed our two nights in York, despite the on-again, off-again rainy weather. We probably won't return again for several years, so I'm glad we had these couple of days to get our fill.
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