This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. A great place for a short visit is the cobbled city of York - just two hours by train from London, and even quicker from Edinburgh. York is a very walkable city, has a brilliant university but is still compact - so not like it's namesake New York. Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).
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| Walking the Shambles in York. (c) Lola May |
1 You have got to take a trip to York. When the wind blows in
the right direction it smells of chocolate; there’s a city newspaper, The
Press, and the River Ouse runs through the town’s pale stone houses, and sometimes even into the city which pubs
like the King’s Arms seem able to celebrate. Here are a few more reasons...
Lots more info: http://www.visityork.org/
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| A signpost near Clifford's Tower helps visitors navigate. (c) Lola May |
2 York is designed for people to walk around. The centre is car-free and as a result it’s a pleasure to go there. As it’s on the mainline train route it’s a tempting stop for most UK visitors, especially if they want to see the top 5 tourist destinations which also include London, Bath, Cambridge and Edinburgh.
3 York is history heaven. A walled city - rebuilt by the
Victorians offering today’s visitors a wonderful respite from shopping. Look out for the white rose emblem. And guess which city was named after it... yes, New York, USA.
4 York has zillions of pubs. One for every day of the year
even. Some are riverside, some are tucked into the narrow lanes that you need
to learn to call snickleways.
Use this map of real ale pubs in the city centre created by CAMRA (the campaign for real ale) volunteers.
5 York is a real looker. The Harry Potter look of the Shambles is a
must see. The Shambles - voted Britain's most picturesque street in 2010 - is a Medieval street with the top storey of the timber houses overhanging the lower section. Years gone by it was full of butchers, now it’s
full of tourist eye-candy – from locally-made chocolates and ice cream to superior leather bags and belts.
6 York is spooky. There’s a city ghost tour that I’ve not yet
done, but I want to.
7 York is full of spiritually-minded types, even an Archbishop. Back in 1984 when an outspoken cleric muttered he wasn’t sure about
the Virgin Birth the response was a lightning strike that set the Minster
alight. It took some time to repair.
Go visit the Minster. Or if you are heading through York north on a train look right as you leave the station.
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| York uni students at James College can have BBQs on campus. (c) Lola May |
8 York University is world class, and set around a pretty lake enjoyed by
wildfowl. There are now16,000 students - but the campus is so huge that it seems
to work. The size is offset by practicals such as the university library being open 24/7 and regular buses (the
4, 44 and university hopper) which whisk staff and students to and from the
campus. So you don’t have to bike. But if you do want to bike there are easy to navigate cycle routes, some off road and plenty of cycle parking. Although there could always be more places to prop a bike.
More about the university here. It's a good place to stay if you are visiting between June-September. Here's a link to all of York's buses.
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| Betty's is a York institution. Put your nose to the window if you aren't able to go in. aroundbritainnoplane/Nicola Baird |
9 York has the best tea shops. Betty’s is amazing – whether
you go to the tiny one off Stonegate or the bigger branch at St Helen's Square. Worth dressing up for (and missing breakfast).
Betty's has other tea shops in the north of England, but the York branches are the best. Don't worry if you have to queue - that's part of the tradition, see here.
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| Central Hall - always rumoured to be sinking, but it never does. The university opened in 1963 so parts have a brutalist look . (c) aroundbritainnoplane/Nicola Baird |
10 York is an amazing place to be a student – but people work in York too and not just in academia or tourism. This is a city buzzing with creativity, industry and the pesky folk
advertising their ghost tour.
Allegedly the ghost tour of York leaving each night from the King's Arms, by the Ouse Bridge, is the oldest York ghost tour (although surely the Victorians would have done something similar). Back in the 1980s a friend of mine led these walk & talks so the claims may be correct. Try the tour here.
What's your favourite city to visit in the UK? Is it a favourite because of it's history or your history (I love York extra amounts because I was a student there & my Dad used to run the Friargate Wax Museum - now sadly long shut, but that's the reason I didn't mention the Jorvik Viking Centre...)
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