Although this weekend’s vlog covers more than York, I’m going to focus on that daytrip in this post. Our day started out meeting up with the other SU students at King’s Cross station then we caught our train to York.
At the York station we broke off into two groups and followed our respective tour guides who walked us through some of the historic parts of York, starting with the Yorkshire Museum gardens, Shambles Market, and York Minster Abbey. I ate a small lunch at the market while we listened to some street music and peaked around the different tents. Most of this market was re-used books, fur and leather clothing, and fresh meat or flower shops.
On the tour we learned about how some of the streets were used before it became more touristy. For example, the Shambles used to be where a lot of butchers owned shops, so the streets are uneven to help allow the access blood pool into the drains. We also ate a ton of chocolate and walked around the York Minster Abbey. Our tour guide stressed more on the rebuilding of parts of the York Minster Abbey when we were walking throughout the beautiful halls. During World War I, some of the ends of the Abbey was bombed and destroyed. Our guide explained how new technology was used to rebuild the stained glass and how a children’s contest help design some of the new ceiling details. Regardless, the craftsmanship of the Abbey was stunning and worth the stroll if you are interested.
After our tour we stopped to buy and try some chocolate as well as walked along the streets stopping into shops as we made our way back to the station. We easily could have spent more time exploring York, but I am happy we had time to commence a semi-structured visit with time for a tour and time to explore. I enjoy exploring a new city on my own, but it is nice to have someone help guide you on the city’s more important or influential sites.