I had to get up early the following morning. Aunty Anita and Ken took me to York which is 133 kilometers away from Newcastle.. People have been living in York since the Roman times. In 71 AD the 9th Roman Legion settled in York. The Saxons came and went and so did the Vikings. We did the Park 'n Ride thing with the car. We got off the bus and York Minster was staring at us in the face. It's a beautiful building. York Minister is the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe. Some of it's stained glass comes from Medieval times as well as Norman times. The first building on the site of the Minster was not a church, but an Army's headquarters from which the Romans administered the north of England. We then took the City of York History Tour which is a topless bus that does a tour of York. It was nice to go around in a bus and see the town before deciding on where to go and what to see. Our first stop on the second round was Cliffords Tower which is the only remaining part of York Castle. This tower was built in the 13th century by Henry III. It was used as a garrison and then as a prison. We then went for a walk along the Outer Walls where you can see views of York Minster. Then we walked through the streets. The one is called Whip ma whop ma gate which is the shortest street with the longest name. In the old days the woman took their husbands there to beat them up. We also walked through the Shambles. This street is the most famous street and best preserved medieval streets in England. 150 years ago most of the shops were butcheries. The meat was laid out in the open windows on low shelves. A lot of blood etc used to flow down the street. We went to the Monk Bar as well as the Bootham Bar. These bars were used to guard the entrances of York. The Monk Bars original 3 stories date back to the 14th Century and the upper one comes from the 15th Century. We drove past the Micklegate Bar and the Walmgate Bar. We ended our day in the Museums gardens where we had a look at the remains of St.. Mary's Abbey. This Abbey was founded in 1088. It once was the most important and wealthy Benedictine monastery in northern England. The Abbey was broken down and used in building the County Goal and the Ouse Bridge. Only a bit of the wall was left. From there we got back onto the Park 'n Ride bus and headed back to the car. Ken then took us to Harrogate where we had some dinner. Harrogate started up in the 17th century as a spar with springs. There were 88 of these springs all over Harrogate. Harrogate lies between York and Leeds. Ken and my Aunt said bye to me and left me in Harrogate to spend the next two days with Nicky. She used to live in South Africa and was friendly with my parents and my moms sisters. I have known her all my life. The last time I had seen her was when I was 9 years old or so. I was excited to see her, but also a little bit daunted not knowing what to expect. We got to bed late that night after catching up with all the news that I had about my family. Go to next page Go back to contents page Go back to home page |
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