The Lakes district to York
Next morning we set off on the road to the grand old
town of York. Along the way we passed
Lambrigg Wind Farm. I am constantly
amazed by the quantity of wind farms in this country as every hill you drive
over there is a stack of wind turbines sitting silently churning out
energy. Britain has taken the plunge
into wind power and also surprisingly in lots of areas solar energy. What a great example and initiative for all
to ponder in this world of rapidly changing values.
We pushed on through a damp and misty landscape
stopping occasionally to take photos before moving on toward York
 |
| Market Town in the wet |
As we entered the city of York it was evident
that this is a very historic town. It is
a lot like Dublin in that right among the more modern homes you will find the occasional
medieval structure jutting out
 |
| Honey there is a Turret in our back yard |
 |
| Sharon - Think I lived here in a past life! |
 |
| The Walled City |
York started out as a
Roman City however over the centuries other generations simply built over the
existing city and as a result they are still finding artifacts every time a
building gets knocked over.
Some parts
of the Roman city are apparently 6-7 feet under the current structures. The Roman wall was the main reason we are
here in York and I was not disappointed.
We got the hop on / off bus here and for anyone making the trip it is
great value as it takes in the entire city and gives you some insight as to
what is worth seeing
 |
| No its not falling down that's just how it is |
 |
| How did that get here? |
 |
| Almost as good as the day it was built |
When we took our bus ride in Dublin they passed a
building with a tiny door which was supposed to be the smallest house in the
UK. Well in York they claim to also have
the smallest house and this time I managed to get a photo
 |
| The door is the same width as the house |
The last thing I expected to see in York was Art Deco
yet there it was The Odeon
After the bus ride we
made our way through an ancient abbey and entered a Botanic Garden. It was a beautiful place and we wandered
through the various ruins and gardens.
We passed some people with a big bag of nuts who were feeding the mischievous
squirrels who inhabited this area
 |
| Just like a movie set only its real |
Finally we reached York Minster which is one of the
most famous & magnificent old Cathedrals’ in the country & possibly the
world. It Majestically towers over everything and this photo reveals a simply stunning backdrop. Hard to imagine we had the ability to construct something like this in the primitive ages
They had a late service just beginning as we arrived,
which meant free entry so we decided to attend and take advantage of the opportunity
 |
| Simply Stunning |
Like we had done
previously in Derry City we climbed onto York City walls and set off for a
stroll overlooking the ancient city
Then we discovered a tiny little church. From the outside it looked quite old and at
this time of the evening no one was around so we decided to take a peek. Inside we discovered the Priory Church of the
Holy Trinity and were just amazed at the history of this place. The church was once part of a large and
important monastery belonging to monks of the Benedictine order.
Apparently it had been semi demolished and
rebuilt on several occasions over the centuries. The pillars in the north wall & south
isle dated from the 13th century and the Nave is all that remains of
the original monastery church. The Chancel
was built in 1887 on the site of the central tower of the former monastery church
which collapsed in 1551. Every corner of
the building has history from the great west window, the octagonal font, St
Nicholas chapel which dates from 1453, there were animal head carvings, roof
bosses, a beautiful 13th century Bestiary and on it went. Holy Trinity is the only former monastic
building to have survived as a place of worship in the city of York
 |
| Like time stood still |
We stopped for dinner
on our way back to the accommodation and had a lovely Thai meal. After dinner we made our way through the narrow
ancient Shambles stopping to take photos in the fading light of some of the
incredibly old buildings some of which have such bent structures one wonders
how it is actually standing
 |
| Banana Bender comes to mind |
 |
| The Shambles |
