Szilvia GombolaYork - A Modern Medieval City
September 2nd 2008 00:53
To visit York in Northern England is to step back in time to the middle ages, when cities where protected by walls and public beheadings were entertainment.
With its cobbled streets, and fifteenth century architecture, surrounded by a medieval wall, York is one of the most beautiful historical cities in Britain.
It is a small city and easy to get around by foot. Therefore, we decided to spend our first day walking around admiring the architecture and orienting ourselves.
One of the biggest draw cards for visiting York was its age, and the fact that it is a walled city. So we started with a walk around the city wall. There are more miles of intact walls in York than any other part of Britain, some sections of which date back to Roman times. This beautifully preserved wall is 3.4kms long. Walking the perimeter of the wall is a great way to orientate yourself, there are also some fantastic views of the city to be had. Allow 2.5 hours if you want to do a complete circuit.
Next, we visited the St Peters Cathedral, one of the best-loved cathedrals in the UK. The cathedral is better known as the York Minster or just The Minster. It dates back to 1220, and took over 250 years to build. The Minster is one of the tallest structures in the area; it dominates the town and can be seen for miles. Inside there you will find some of the most spectacular stained glass windows, and an amazing ribbed ceiling. For those that do not want to strain their necks looking up mirrors are available in the nave.
We climbed the 275 steps to the Minsters tower, where we could see not only the narrow cobbled streets of York but also some of the stunning countryside that surrounds the city.
Back down at street level we decided to visit Europe’s most famous medieval street, Shambles. The buildings, which date back to the fifteenth century, are amazing; they lean in toward the middle of the street.
The Shambles was once a street of butchers; the street was made narrow in order to shade the meat from the sun. Along some of the lower windows of the buildings, the shelves remain over which the meat was sold.
The pavements are raised up so that the butchers could wash waste products, blood and offal, down the street twice weekly.
Today there are no butchers along the shambles instead; you will find a number of jewellery and antique shops catering for tourists.
York is a very easy city to walk around and you do not have to pay any money to see some of the most beautiful and historical sites. When you need to refuel after all that walking, stop at Betty’s Tearoom for a traditional Devonshire Tea (yum scones with clotted cream).
With its cobbled streets, and fifteenth century architecture, surrounded by a medieval wall, York is one of the most beautiful historical cities in Britain.
It is a small city and easy to get around by foot. Therefore, we decided to spend our first day walking around admiring the architecture and orienting ourselves.
One of the biggest draw cards for visiting York was its age, and the fact that it is a walled city. So we started with a walk around the city wall. There are more miles of intact walls in York than any other part of Britain, some sections of which date back to Roman times. This beautifully preserved wall is 3.4kms long. Walking the perimeter of the wall is a great way to orientate yourself, there are also some fantastic views of the city to be had. Allow 2.5 hours if you want to do a complete circuit.
Next, we visited the St Peters Cathedral, one of the best-loved cathedrals in the UK. The cathedral is better known as the York Minster or just The Minster. It dates back to 1220, and took over 250 years to build. The Minster is one of the tallest structures in the area; it dominates the town and can be seen for miles. Inside there you will find some of the most spectacular stained glass windows, and an amazing ribbed ceiling. For those that do not want to strain their necks looking up mirrors are available in the nave.
ceiling of York Minster
We climbed the 275 steps to the Minsters tower, where we could see not only the narrow cobbled streets of York but also some of the stunning countryside that surrounds the city.
York Minster
Back down at street level we decided to visit Europe’s most famous medieval street, Shambles. The buildings, which date back to the fifteenth century, are amazing; they lean in toward the middle of the street.
The Shambles was once a street of butchers; the street was made narrow in order to shade the meat from the sun. Along some of the lower windows of the buildings, the shelves remain over which the meat was sold.
The pavements are raised up so that the butchers could wash waste products, blood and offal, down the street twice weekly.
Shambles
Today there are no butchers along the shambles instead; you will find a number of jewellery and antique shops catering for tourists.
York is a very easy city to walk around and you do not have to pay any money to see some of the most beautiful and historical sites. When you need to refuel after all that walking, stop at Betty’s Tearoom for a traditional Devonshire Tea (yum scones with clotted cream).
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