Comments on: York 1

By: Airminded · Swansea

Airminded · Swansea — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:02:29 +0000

[...] encountered Trevithick on my previous trip to England. He was a quarter of a century before Stephenson, but his locomotives just weren’t efficient [...]

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:49:57 +0000

What a beautiful story, Helvetica, thank you for sharing it! It is a very lovely locomotive. (And if you pass by this way again, I did talk about some of the Roman ruins in another post.)

By: Helvetica

Helvetica — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:28:22 +0000

Re your lovely picture of the breathtakingly lovely Mallard.
When I was a very little girl, my family used to describe me as “mechanically minded”. In the 1950’s the Mallard was once used to pull the coaches of the “Seaside Express” to our nearest large town, Blackpool. My 6 year old brother and I (8 at the time) walked the 5 miles to Blackpool North station to see it – we were each clutching our precious twopence (a lot of money for us) for Platform Tickets but we were very young and didn’t need to buy the tickets. I remember seeing the Mallard and I thought it was so incredibly beautiful, that I burst into tears, at which point a porter, thinking we had become separated from our parents tried to drag us away. Seeing the Mallard in real life, on an active railway line, sighing after its long journey, with wisps of steam from the vents, is something I will not forget as long as I live. So thanks for the memory.
Shame you couldn’t tell us about any of the Roman ruins in and around York. I’ll be travelling from Switzerland for one of their future Roman Festivals.

By: Airminded · York 2

Airminded · York 2 — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:42:17 +0000

[...] (and last) day in York. Luckily, since I’d seen the two major attractions (for me) on my first day there, I was free to wander around with only a vague plan in mind. And there was a lot to see. One [...]

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 06:43:17 +0000

I didn’t realise that you were a Yorkshire man, Alan, or else I might have picked your brains before traveling there! As it was, I did see Clifford’s Tower, the Shambles, the Snickelways, Jorvik and the Roman column (that’s a better photo than mine) on my second day in York, along with a few other things, which I’ll write up eventually. The rest I missed; in fact, I see that I must have walked past the Yorkshire Museum at least twice without realising that it was there!

By: Alan Allport

Alan Allport — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:45:46 +0000

A few additional sites in York that you didn't mention and may not have seen (this is one part of your trip that I can speak about with some authority, having grown up about 20 miles from York): Clifford's Tower, York's castle, originally built by William the Conqueror (though the extant building is much later) as the Norman seat of power in the north. It has an unusual cloverleaf design and is perched high on a manmade summit that can literally take your breath away when climbing. It also has an ominous history: it was the site of a notorious Ricardian pogrom against the Jews, and Robert Aske, leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace, was executed there. The Shambles, an especially narrow street which is the site of the medieval meat market. Gentrified but still impressive. Also the adjoining Snickelways. The Yorkshire Museum, which is surrounded by very picturesque gardens and which has a fine collection of Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and medieval items. Speaking of Vikings ... Jorvik has a touch of Disney about it - but be honest, who doesn't enjoy driving around on that magic cart with the disembodied voice of Magnus Magnusson behind them (does he still do the narration anyway?) The magnificent Roman column which stands in the street across from the Minster - about 8m high, one of the supporting columns of the original fortress of the Sixth Legion (on the site of the cathedral) where Constantine the Great was probably declared emperor. One for history buffs - the Bootham School, Quaker-owned, where Seebohm Rowntree, AJP TRaylor, Geoffrey Barraclough and George Mosse, amongst many others, were educated (the adjoining streets are also very handy for free parking IIRC). A few second-hand bookshops of note - Ken Spelman's, the Barbican Bookshop (which is especially airminded), and the very well-stocked Oxfam shop near Spelman's. So far as grub is concerned - many will tell you to go to Betty's, which is fine if that's what you want, but to my mind you can't beat the grub at the Spurriergate Centre, where you can have your tea and scones surrounded by the 12th century pillars of the former St. Michael's Church.