York – A Trip Back to Medieval England

York, capital of the county of Yorkshire in the Northeast of England is a city steeped in history, the perfect place for a city break and a trip back in time to medieval England. In fact, you would be pushed to find another UK city with so much character and historical attractions that are all packed together within a very walkable range. Surrounded by a medieval wall this city is one huge monument to the past, its cobbled streets riddled with history and charm.

The Roman’s were here in AD 71, but York has also been the capital of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria and even the Viking’s could not resist its charms by making York their trading center from the 9th to the 11th Century; it is the best preserved Viking City ever excavated. Many of the Archeologists findings are now displayed at the Yorkshire Museum and also at Jorvik Viking Centre.

We visited far too briefly for a two-night stay on a road trip from our home in the South of England towards the Scotish capital of Edinburgh to visit family. York was the perfect place to break the journey and to celebrate my birthday. We chose an old and characterful bed and breakfast little hotel in the very heart of the city, just a few steps from the beautiful York Minster.

With just one full day to explore, we went out soon after our delicious breakfast to make the most of a glorious sunny day.

The York Minster

Our first stop of the day was just a few hundred meters from our hotel, a sight that should not be missed. It is the largest medieval Gothic Cathedral in Nothern Europe, construction started in 1220 and it is now considered one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. The crypt contains some of the original 11th -century church.

Climbing up to the central tower of the Minster, which stands at 56m high, to get a bird’s eye view of the city was top of our agenda. It did not disappoint. We arrived early and were first on the small queue of people waiting for our turn to start the climb up the 275 narrow steps to the top. As we emerged from the darkness of the spiral stone staircase we were met with the expansive views of the city below us and further into the distance towards the Yorkshire countryside.

View from the York Minster’s Central Tower

Sign displaying some viewpoints in the distance

Soon after descending from the central tower we explored the impressive Minster’s interior with its beautiful stained glass windows. The great East Window is the largest area of medieval stained glass in a single window in the UK. Created between 1405 and 1408 it showcases the start and the end of all things, from the world as described in the book of Genesis and the Book of Revelations.

Great East Window…sorry not a great picture

Following some steps down towards the Minster’s underground foundations we discovered the treasures hidden within the fantastic Undercroft Museum, the first accredited museum in a cathedral building. It tells the story of the church going back to before the time when the Minster was actually built in a very innovative way, many of the displays are interactive.

Showcasing this region’s 2,000 years of history, it includes artifacts found during excavations of the site which give a plethora of clues as to how the Minster was built on this site that was once upon a time a sizeable fortress and Roman barracks. Through the glass floors, it is possible to see the remains of the Roman barracks that stood here when this city was called Eboracum and was ruled by the Roman Empire.

A journey back 2,000 years at the Undercroft Museum beneath the York Minster

Much of the artifacts and old foundations were found during excavations in the 1960s and 1970s when they discovered that the beautiful York Minster was under threat of collapsing, due to foundations that could no longer hold the huge central tower.

A £2 million appeal was launched to save the building, with restorations starting in June 1967 and it proved to be an engineering success taking 5 years to complete. Archeologists worked alongside engineers, and their work and rich findings are now on display at the York Minster’ s Undercroft Museum.

Archeologists uncovered the remains of the old Roman Principia – the main building of the Roman Fortress.

Also on display are the 1,000-year-old York Gospels, thought to been brought to York in 1020 AD by Archbishop Wulfstan, the Gospels are still used in services today.

Visiting Info as per our visit in October 2018 – An adult admission to the Minster, which includes a visit to the Undercroft Museum and the Crypt is £10 for an adult, tickets are valid for one year. Free guided tours are available and run hourly from Monday to Saturday between 10 am and 3 pm. To climb the tower costs £5 per person. The Minster is on some occasions open for services only, so always check before your visit.

York’s Medieval Walls

York’s medieval walls are the most complete in the whole of England. It is free to enter at the various entry points. We walked part of the wall soon after we left the Minster, the beautiful sunny day made it for the perfect stroll and it was great for getting our bearings of the city.

Well preserved Medieval walls

Map of the walls surrounding the city center, marked in green with the various access points.

Time for lunch and a “Royal” encounter

After the walk around the York walls, we were hungry, so lunch was some free pizzas…thank you, York. Or rather thanks to the bus company ” Arrivabus”, which was promoting the new bus route for exploring the area. Even the royal couple “Harry and Meghan” were in town to promote the tour (?). Although the look-alikes might fool some people, there are no Royal connections here since the real Royal couple wore, in fact, touring Australia at this time.

Who do they remind you of?

Jorvik – Viking Centre

We visited Jorvik in the afternoon and by then the queue was big, but it did move fast and soon we got sat down on our little “electric car” to be taken back to the past when the Vikings ruled this city. The clever animatronics recreate a Viking settlement in 9th Century York. The many archeological findings and layers of history are exhibited all around as you are taken along on this lovely ride.

Rather strange animatronics

Even the smells were very evocative of the going on’s and hardship of this area’s Viking past.

We paid £11 each (adult fee) for our visit In October/18, the ticket is valid for one year. Do consult their website for visiting times and prices. 

Walking the “Shambles”

The Shambles is York’s most fascinating street

The Shambles by night

York’s Shambles is a tourist magnet for very good reason, a stroll down this history-rich cobbled street is a must during a visit to York. It was once upon a time a street of butcher’s shops and houses, many of which had a slaughterhouse at the back of the premises.

The hooks for hanging the meat can still be seen from the upper floors of the overhanging buildings. This clever overhanging design of the upper floors allowed for an ampler living space of the upper levels without taking too much space on the street below. It’s leaning-over buildings also provided good shade and shelter for the butcher’s hanging meats.

Nowadays the butchers have left this street for larger premises, so there is a more eclectic mix of charming little independent shops and business here now. Including chocolatiers, little tea houses, handmade fudge shops, artisan bakers, jewelry shops etc.

Wizard’s territory

At number 35 there is a shrine to Margaret Clitherow, who used to run a small Catholic school here above the family shop, she also sheltered persecuted Catholic Priests and often helped them to escape from being captured. These activities were at the time forbidden under a Protestant ruled country, so she was betrayed to the authorities and met a very brutal death…those were hard times to be practicing a different religion to the King. She was beatified in 1929 and then canonized in 1970, she is known today as one of the English Martyrs.

Ghostly Tours

We finished our day of exploring doing something a little unusual…

Ghost tours are easy to find in York

There is also a chance to follow the “cat trail”

Renowned as one of the most haunted cities in the UK and even Europe there is no shortage of ghost tours around here and for around £5 you can have a guided walk around the city center and be entertained for about one hour or so with some macabre stories and dreadful deeds.

We enjoyed ours, it was a beautiful evening with a full moon to boot. Our guide had a good sense of humor and although we did not encounter any ghosts on this occasion there was plenty of laughter and entertaining stories about Yorks gory past.

We did encounter lots of cat statues everywhere, apparently, there are 24 lucky cat statues lurking around which have been carefully placed around buildings centuries ago to scare away the plague-carrying rodents.

Some tips for visiting York

Transport – If traveling from London by train, the journey will take just about 2 hours.

We traveled from Dorset by car and booked a parking space at a long stay car park very near our hotel. We did not need our car during our stay since everything we wanted to see was within walking distance.

Hotel – we recommend a central location since York is a very walkable city and easy to get around.

Eat – Plenty of great places to eat all around the town center for all budgets, within easy walking distance. Some of the best tea houses in the country can be found here.

Do spend more than one full day here if able to really take advantage of all that this great city has to offer, I would recommend at least two full days or more if possible. Unfortunately, we missed some great attractions such as:

The National Railway Museum – Free to visit (donations welcomed), certainly a must for any railway enthusiasts. It was in my wish list to visit it, but unfortunately, we ran out of time.

The Castle Museum and Dungeon  – Recreating of a Victorian street the museum captures the sights and sounds of the Victorian Era.

The Yorkshire Museum – For a treasure trove of artifacts such as Iron Age jewelry, Roman Relics etc.

We also quite fancied to take a boat trip down the River Ouse, but that will also be on our wish list for next time. We can’t recommend York highly enough, it really is exquisite.

Our brief visit has given us a taste of all that this great city has to offer, we lucked out with having good sunny weather for our explorings.

From York, we drove to Edinburgh where we stayed with family, did very little exploring but lots of eating and spending good quality time with Brian’s mum.