As all of you Londoners know, last weekend we had a bank holiday! It was a dream, honestly I don’t know why we don’t have four days weeks every week, and I for one would be much more productive! I suppose that would take away our general excitement in planning our amazing three day extravaganzas.
This time, it was decided upon York as the place to be. I have never been to York before, and have only heard good things about its beauty and medieval ambiance, so I was pretty keen to check it out and see what all the hype was about.
York Minster |
I have to admit, I certainly wasn't disappointed. It’s gorgeous, and there seems to be an unwritten rule that no building should be higher than the historical Minster, which gives an air of beauty wherever you look.
Rowntree Park |
Café’s and Quintessential England
There are no two ways about it –York is the home of petite café’s serving tea and scones. Everywhere you turn offers a little one of a kind, off the road place where you can relax in the tea room and be treated to a selection of cakes and tea. Perfect right?
My favourite by far was a little riverside cafe called DYLS, which is part of Skeldergate Bridge, overlooking the river Ouse. This was a brilliant little place which had the perfect mix of old and new, with the building itself dating back to the 1880’s giving you a real sense of the historic vs. modern. It also has tiny spiral stairs leading up to a quaint tea room which has been decorated with some pretty random things.
We however decided to sit outside and make the most of the last ray of sunlight that York had to offer us. We were a bit chilly but the café had that area covered too…
If it’s a nice day, then this is the perfect place to go with some friends, have a couple of beers and watch the ducks glide past.
Beer
On the subject of beer, York seems to be the place to be and I have to admit that this surprised me a bit. The reason is simple enough – I don’t drink alcohol, and because of this I sometimes find going to pubs a bit annoying as they don’t stock anything I can drink. But good old York did.
We also popped into a beer shop called House of Trembling Madness, which seemed to stock every beer under the sun, form non-alcoholic to gluten free, including…drum roll please…Kenya’s finest Tusker.
El Piano
I don’t usually write about restaurants, but this one was so unusual I felt that it had to be mentioned. Their restaurant’s mantra is ‘food for everyone' which is such a brilliant idea as it means whether you are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free or just about anything – there is a dish and drink for you. And the best part? You can choose whatever you want to be popped onto your plate! Now if that's not modern fine dining then I don't know what is.
The York Minster
Last on my list of things to do, though certainly not least was having a good old trek up the tower of the Minster to see the architecture up close and get some amazing views of York itself.
Admittedly, climbing up 275 stairs may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but tell me you can’t resist this view!
Luckily they do the tower in shifts so when you are winding your way up the tiny spiral staircase its very unlikely you will meet anyone coming the other way. The Minster itself is a fascinating building with a lot of great history surrounding it. Like many of the cathedrals built in the 1400’s has a Gothic theme to it, with statues of gargoyles to ward off unwanted visitors. Being the second largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, it’s definitely a place to pop on your England to do list.
And if you are on a tight budget and don’t particularly want to spend money on the building, its equally peaceful to chill out in the open area gardens surrounding it, or simply take a walk along the walls.
I really enjoyed my time in the city, and will definitely be visiting again soon. I mean who can say no to cream teas and good beer?
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