Corking

With James needing to take some holiday before the end of March, we each took a week off work to see what mischief we could get up to. The plan for a tour of the battlefields of northern France was out, partly because we’d need to hire a car but mostly because neither of us could work up the energy to look into and book it.

Thus the decision to holiday on English soil where we could be sure of a hot cup-pa and a scone (and a reassuring que to get them) where ever we went. York beckoned as a place I had vague memories of 20 years previously and with a Gothic minster and mediaeval wall to meander along James was in. So despite the maps in London showing everything north of the M25 marked with ‘Ye North – ere be dragons’ we plodded up on a train for two nights in the ancient town.

Arriving at mid-day and dumping the bags in a nice wee B&B 5 mins walk from the Minster, the first stop for the afternoon was a meander round the National Rail Museum. This was something James had really been looking forward to and set about inspecting engines and taking photos with great enthusiasm. The first two sheds with exhibits on the ‘Stephenson Rocket‘, the royal cars and little details like the Victorian picnic baskets was quite a treat. While it was amusing to watch James studying the engines with all the enthusiasm of the 5 year olds beside him, it was a little worrying to see the inner anorak coming out.

I’ll confess though by the time we were half way through the third shed full of engines I was lagging behind and dreaming of a scone. James took the hint when my comment ‘What’s around this corner? Oh another train’ hit home. So we headed out in to the the bright sunshine for a tour of the city walls. Its a very nice walk round the existing 3km of the mediaeval walls with views of the old town centre and across to the Minster. They are well preserved all the way along, with some of the ‘bars’ (In Yorkshire gates are called ‘bars’ and the streets are called ‘gates’) still showing damage from the siege by the parliamentarians in the civil war.

A meander round the Museum Gardens turned up something we had been advised to seek out by the friendly B&B owners. Some quite well excavated remains of the city walls dating through Mediaeval and Norman times down to the Roman fort. The later builders had built on top of the Roman fortifications and had as such preserved them quite well. The excavations had also turned up several old Roman coffins which were strewn around the grass. The gardens also boasted the ruins of the Abbey of St Mary’s, built at roughly the same time as the Minster, but with a bigger footprint.

We woke up early the next day to a very promising blue sky and with a ‘full Yorkshire’ breakfast under our belts set off to ‘do’ the Minster, anticipating some very fine views from the Tower. Unfortunately they were closed till 2pm for something called the ‘Installation of the Chancellor of York University’. Dona will be proud of her son, who complained very loudly of the steps of one of the most magnificent Cathedrals in the world – ‘Damn, it looks like their god-bothering’. He was too annoyed to see the looks on the faces of the people being ushered inside but it was a treat I assure you.

Disappointed, but determined to make the best of it we went straight round to the House of the Treasurer of the Minster for a good look through that – a second prize if you will. They were closed for refurbishment. By this time we were both getting a little annoyed – there was nothing about the closures on any notice boards the previous evening while we were snooping round like good tourists photographing everything.

So we went to the Information Centre to find if there was a decent way to get out on the moors and see some of this British countryside we hear so much about. The ‘Moor bus’ service round the moors and the trains to get you there were seasonal and started up in April. While the local bus could get us to the Moors it would just take about 2 hours each way, the next bus was in an hours time and the last bus back was at 5. The prospect of a 4 hour round trip to spend 3 hours in a wee village didn’t appeal so we were back out on the street.

Despite the failure of Plans A, B and C for the morning, we struck out across town for Plan D – a tour and tasting round York Brewery. Something which would definitely make the morning a little brighter and set us up for the afternoon. But when we got there the brewery was (can you see where this is going yet)…. yes it too was closed. It didn’t open till noon, still an hour away. Unbelievably we were in York at 11am on a weekday morning and everything was closed.

An aimless, disgruntled and cold meander round the centre found us standing next to the Merchant Adventurers Hall, a fine mediaeval building which was mercifully open. The hall itself was quite a sight, with a huge oak beamed roof and a floor which bowed in the centre like a youth hostel bed. So James got some decent photos in while I meandered round with an audio guide. It was an intriguing visit and it was nice to have found something open.

Half past one found us on the steps on the Minster once again, this time a huge Italian lunch inside but sadly an afternoon that was clouding over. There was still confusion as they were packing up from the morning service while setting up another one and for a moment it looked as though they’d be closed all day. We were let in free of charge however which was a bonus after our disappointment and while the Tower was closed the Under-croft was open for the usual fee.

With two huge meals already for the day, a big dinner was out of the question, so we went to a local iconic tea room called ‘Betty’s‘. Built in the 1920′s, it had art deco decor, staff dressed in suits and blazers, a proper tea trolley and a live pianist. Definitely the place to go in York for afternoon tea or a light meal. We polished off the Stem Ginger and toffee cake and the banana and toffee pancake between us and can vouch for both.

This morning beckoned bright again, so we set off to explore Clifford’s tower toward the south of the city centre. This is a Norman stone tower built on the site of one of William the Conquerers wooden castles built after the ‘harrying of the North.’ The old tower built on the even older mound makes for a very fetching landmark, especially at the moment with the mound covered in spring daffodils. Thwarted yesterday in our attempt to get nice shots of York from the top of the Minster tower we managed to take a few from here.

A nose around the Roman bath museum proved to be an interesting look at the remains of the legionary baths which were found under a pub in the 1930′s. While nothing on the scale of the ruins found up in Chester on Hadrians wall, the museum was an interesting wee distraction in the rather comercialised area of the centre.

But after this, we found ourselves again with several hours to kill before our train and out of options with what to do next. A meander past the Minster to see if the Tower was open proved fruitless as it was closed again, this time for the day. The Castle Museum and the York Museum were both advertising exhibitions ‘for the entire family’ and having shared our visits to the Minster, the walls and the Railway Museum with school groups this didn’t appeal.

After killing an hour or so in the art gallery I suggested the Railway Museum again out of guilt for pulling James away early before. This time round the break from engines had done me good and we spent interesting second visit inspecting the huge cutaway locomotive displaying how steam engines work and how the mail coaches of the ’30s collected and dispatched mail without stopping.

It is a little worrying how small a city of 300,000 was after living in London for a year. We seemed to constantly be looking for something to do with tours that didn’t open till after mid-day and some pubs that closed the kitchens at 7.30 sharp. But it was a very nice, relaxing break for two days and while we will be back to check out the Minsters tower, we will probably do so on a shorter visit.