Tuesday 11 December 2012

A weekend in York- part 1

We've had a wonderful, busy, exhausting weekend in York....and really needed a week to fit in all we wanted to do!!
We were based at The Limes guest house.....I would highly recommend it if you ever stay in York......lovely hosts,cosy bedrooms,lounge bar with a roaring fire and a delicious, substantial breakfast.
First thing Saturday morning it was a delightful,brisk one mile walk into the city centre along the [very swollen] banks of the Ouse.
We spent the morning shopping.......first at the Christmas Market.....which was the only disappointment of the weekend......hardly a market at all.....and not a patch on the one we went to at Bath last year.
And then throughout the centre.....and the many ancient,quirky little streets that surround it.....most of them pedestrianised......so no cars to worry about......and York has enough shops.....and enough variety.......to keep the most ardent shopaholic going for days!!!!!
After lunch we wandered up to see the Minster........a magnificent cathedral......but decided we didn't have enough time to warrant the price of admission.......as we really wanted to go to the Jorvic Viking Centre.
photo courtesy of google
No photos allowed......but it was a fascinating look at York's past as a Viking stronghold......with a complete Viking village [smells and all!!!].......based on what the archaeologists had discovered beneath parts of the city.
It was late afternoon by the time we'd walked back to The Limes......we picked up the car to drive the 4 miles to York's Designer Outlet Village.....spending a few more hours finishing off our christmas shopping......even managing to buy OH's christmas present [normally a very difficult feat].....having a meal.......and admiring the fun fair and outdoor ice rink......we decided not to risk life and limb on it though!!
We arrived back at The Limes in time to collapse into a comfy chair for a couple of drinks in the cosy lounge.......we'd certainly walked a few miles.......and had a lot more planned for Sunday!!!!!

10 comments:

Kathyk said...

Thanks, Jacky, I really enjoyed my virtual trip to York with you - and quite pleased to have missed the smells! (I remember those smells from my own trip round the Jorvik too)

Thanks for sharing

Kathyk

Sian said...

It sounds wonderful! We went to York a few years back and TSO loved Jorvik so much she insisted on going back again the following day - she said she would ask for anything else all holiday if only she could go again. So her dad took her while we sat in Starbucks.

That's a gorgeous picture of the cathedral

Denise said...

Looks like you had a lovely time,at least the weather didn't look too bad! I've never walked so much as we did in Germany recently!

Karen said...

Sounds like a lovely weekend, and the photographs are wonderful! Too bad the Christmas Market was a disappointment.

Amy said...

I don't think I want to even imagine the smells out of the Jorvic village!
Thanks for the tour Jacky - I'll pop York on the list of places to see ... one day!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jacky, thanks for the well wishes on my blog! It was lovely to see photos of York (and in teh sunshine too!). Brings back many happy memories, especially singing in the Minster with Staffs Youth Choir!

Rhona said...

We went to York a couple of years ago and had lunch in one of those little side streets (the chocolate shop was opposite the restaurant). It really is a beautiful city - unfortunately when we were there my camera battery ran out and I didn't get all the photos I'd have liked. Glad you had a lovely time.

Beverly said...

I love reading about your trips. Someday the Chosen One and I are going to make a trip just to do Christmas markets. You will be my resource person ;)

Elizabeth said...

I thoroughly enjoy viewing photos of your travels. We have a York, Pennsylvania in the US (in fact, my brother lives there) but it's nothing like your York!

Jimjams said...

Shame about the Christmas market. We loved Jorvik too and wished we lived closer to York - a lot of the entry prices include all year admission. We missed the ork Castle Museum (which you visited in Part 2) because the summer queues were too big. We'll definitely queue next time as it does look fab!