Great Britain - York, England

From Edinburgh we boarded a train to York, England. Upon arriving at the York station, we walked next door to the Principal York, truly a beautiful and grand hotel. This is the kind of place that makes you feel as though you have stepped back into a slower, more elegant, gentile time.

The Shambles

Our sleeping room was not as nice as the common spaces. The superior room was clean, but very small and stuffy as there was no air conditioning. If the windows were open, the train noise was bothersome. They sent up a fan and that helped us sleep. The view was disappointing too, looking out onto the train station roof, but all and all none of that really bothered us as it is what one would expect from an old hotel, and we spent little time in the room.

The staff members were all very nice and accommodating, and the hotel’s location was great for us as we came and went by train and took a side trip to Durham. It was an easy walk across the river into town.

York Minster

York is a delight to wander, either on one’s own or along with one of the free walking tours. There are lots of sites to visit, nice shops to browse, and pastry displays to drool over while enjoying the charming streets. One particularly unique street, in the city center, is the quaint and colorful Shambles. Once the home of butcher shops, it dates to Medieval times and is one of the most visited streets in all of Great Britain.

Stained Glass of York Minster

The York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, sits proudly overlooking the town. To me, visiting a church is often better than visiting a museum as the “artwork” is situated where it was designed to be. This magnificent church is no exception and is well worth a visit from its floor to its ceiling and the exquisite nave, carvings, choir, stained glass and astronomical clock in between.

Ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey

Located in a lovely section of the town is the Yorkshire Museum. Three main areas make up the museum’s collection of artifacts: Roman, medieval, and natural history. My favorite part of the museum, however, are the gardens, especially the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey, which dates to the 11th century before the great church became an abbey. There is something so peaceful and rather mesmerizing about this place, it is a definite must even if not visiting the museum.

The Jorvik Viking Centre is a fun museum meets Disneyland kind of place that can be enjoyed by the whole family. The museum houses a variety of Viking artifacts and sits above the actual excavation site. A people-mover takes visitors through the 975 village of Jorvik.

York's River Ouse

Quite an experience awaits visitors in the York Castle Museum. It is not what one would expect from its name. The museum houses period rooms from the 17th to the 20th century, incredible replicas of a Victorian and a 1960s street, a World War I exhibit and prison cells.

Clifford’s Tower, situated on a grassy knoll near the Castle Museum, is all that remains of York’s 13th-century castle. It isn’t really worth entering the tower, but it is a good hike up the stairs to see the structure up close and to enjoy a bit of a view.

National Railway Museum

Perhaps the pièce de resistance of all the fascinating sites, is the National Railway Museum. Situated close to the railway station, the museum is packed with historic rail cars, engines and more than 10,000 pieces of train travel memorabilia. The Great Hall includes trains from steam-powered to today’s Eurostar that zips through the Chunnel connecting Great Britain to mainland Europe.

York is packed with nice restaurants from casual to a bit more fancy. Our favorite was a wine bar called Pairings. With a nice array of cheese and charcutier platters, as well as other tasty snacks, it is easy to put together a delicious shared lunch or dinner in this popular place. The ambiance is pleasant and fun and the service is warm and friendly. We dined there twice we enjoyed it so much.

Eurostar Engine at the National Railway Museum

We just loved the town of York from its welcoming vibe, to its charming streets, interesting sites and good food. It would be a pleasure to return some time.

As a side trip we hopped the train to Durham one day. We found the town to be inviting with 'Durham Pointers' anxious to assist with information and directions. Our main reason for the visit was to see the Durham Cathedral but, unfortunately, there was a movie was being filmed. Scaffolding, equipment and people telling you to back off were everywhere, and most of the church's interior was curtained off. Since the cathedral was our reason for visiting Durham, we were disappointed. What we could see was lovely, but it wasn't much. Looking back, we should have checked to make sure it was fully open, but who would have thought the cathedral would be turned into a movie set?

Still Durham was a pleasant town to roam. We walked the hilly streets and the little Riverside Path. We then settled down in an inviting outdoor café, people watched and enjoyed a nice, relaxing lunch and a glass of wine. We will go back and see the cathedral some other day.