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York
York Minster
One of the most beautiful scenes of the trip - as taken from our "wall walk" after dinner on the first day
We left Hadrian's Wall with heavy hearts, knowing that Paul would be driving us to York, dropping us at the hotel, and then going home. We were going to miss him! So ... we arrived at the Minster Hotel in York, and had only a brief few minutes to say goodbye since the bus was blocking traffic.
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The hotel was very nice, and close to the center of town. After checking in, Liz led us on a walk around town, sharing historical information on many of the buildings and neighborhoods. Our last stop was at a restaurant specializing in Indian food for a fantastic group dinner. Wow - we've always liked Indian food, but this was truly special. And then, to top it off, we walked back to the hotel along the top of the town walls, which date from the 13th century. As we were adjacent to York Minster, the bells started pealing. Truly magical! The perfect end to a wonderful day.
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Just listen to those bells! Magical!
After breakfast, the next morning, we made our way to York Minster for a guided tour. This church is HUGE, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe. Henry VIII took this church as the northern head of his Anglican church, second only to Canterbury. It was saved from being torn down because it was not run by a monastery. Our local guide, Chris, was an expert at showing us the points of interest. There was lots to take in. They've even located Roman ruins under the church!
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Following our tour, we were on our own for the remainder of the day. Dennis and I toured Fairfax House, an 18th century Georgian aristocratic mansion. It was a very enjoyable visit, but no photos were allowed inside. The house itself is lovely, and the furnishings were gorgeous.
We decided to have lunch in the Golden Fleece, the pub we had passed yesterday that was billed as the most haunted in York. Great food, and a really fun ambiance. We then proceeded to do our own little walking tour of every church we passed ... and there were a lot of them. We went through 6 or 7 churches within about a 10 block radius. They were all much smaller and less grand than York Minster, but we saw some lovely little churches.
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At 5:15, we made our way back to York Minster, along with most of our group, to take in the Evensong service. We'd never witnessed this type of service before, and it was awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed during the service. Following Evensong, we had dinner at the Guy Fawkes Inn, a fun pub in central York.
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The following day, we loaded our luggage into waiting cabs and walked to the York train station to catch our train to London. We were a little nervous since Liz had warned us that we would have less than a minute to get on the train once it stopped. Luckily, we all made it, even the group who had generously offered to help load our luggage into the secure baggage area. We were off to London!
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Magical Moments :
- Finding a Harry Potter store in York!
- Our walk back along the wall in the evening, listening to the Minster bells ringing.
- Having lunch in a haunted pub.
- Participating in the beautiful Evensong service.
- Everyone successfully boarded the train for London!
"The smallest feline is a masterpiece" - Leonardo da Vinci
We were curious about:
- Why are there so many churches in York? Sadly, we were never able to get a definitive answer to this. Maybe it's because, in the year 306, Constantine, the person credited with legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire was crowned Emperor in York. Or maybe it's because Henry VIII made this the focal point of his church in northern England. Or maybe it's simply because the residents of York like going to church. Or maybe it is all three?
- What is a Chapter House? We had now seen two of them (Wells and York Minster). It is the traditional meeting room of the cathedral's governing body, called a "chapter."
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