Post by Kim on Dec 15, 2001 12:31:16 GMT -5
Saturday, 15 Dec
Inverness
Hi ya,
Going to have to try and do a bit of catching up in the next couple of days. Have loads to relate and have gotten quite a bit behind.
To go on.....York. I simply adored it. It is a terribly visitor friendly city. Although the town itself has of course grown far outside it's original boundries, the main things and part that you would want to see are all within a 15 minute walk. I took the free walking tour as I had in Bath. These are the best things ever. A really informed guide walks you round for a couple of hours and shares parts of the city and sights that you would most likely never see on your own, of if you did happen to stumble upon them, you'd not know what you were seeing. This town is very old, with a huge Roman presence and muchevidence of it to be seen.
Of course the main thing in town is the York Minster....what a church that is! | attended an evensong service one evening while I was there and it was magical. The choir is behind the screen, not seen by the congregation in the nave. The place is enourmous, full of valuted ceilings, arches, nooks....amazing. And to sit there and hear that huge organ blasting away and the choirs voices joining in....the sound cascades and floats around you, seeming to come from the walls itself. Sure to be a favorite memory without a doubt.
You just can't imagine what it sounds like. So moving and beautiful indeed.
The main shopping area of town has been 'restored' basically incorporating all the old lanes and alley ways that were the homes and shops of the old guilds long ago. Of particular note is the area known as the 'Shambles' which was the home of the butchers and still retains most of the old buildings, including meat hooks on the buildings, but which is now just chock full of shops and cafes selling the most glorious things! Thanks god I am toting a backpack or I would
be quite destitute by now.
There is a terrific museaum there, The York Castle Museum which is well worth the visit. It is a history of 'life' in the town and is full of recreated rooms, shops, etc. from the life of the town. There is one room that has a huge collection of fireplaces and mantles, from the most basic of the 1500-1600's up to some really grand ones from the very wealthy homes of the early 1900s. They have a wonderful exhibit there called From Cradle to Grave and it is a collection of everything from Maternity clothes, baby items, wedding things and funeral items. And everything in between, with items from the early 1700's to the present. Really well done.
Probably the most fun I had in York was the National Railway Museum. I had thought to give it an hour or so, merely take a quick glance. Wrong! Spent the whole day there! What a place! Even if you are not a train afficianado (which I am not) you can't help but be thrilled with this. Must have a hundred old engines, many 'royal' cars, dining cars, old sleepers, you name it. Probably the neatest thing about it though is that it is so accessible. There is a HUGE warehouse attached where they store all the many items they have that are not on display. Everything from engines to old platform signs, seats, drinking fountains, anything and everything. And it is open for you to wander through as well. AND....the workshops where they are currently restoring the old cars and
engines they have acquired are likewise open to view. There is a catwalk of sorts all around the shop and you can just sit and watch them working and even ask questions. What a place!
It is a fabulous town to just wander in. There are terrific gardens all along the river with lovely walks, the city walls are still accessible in many places and you will see the locals walking them regularly to get up above the traffic. Several of the old town gates are also still there, and used.
I loved York, had a fine time there and stayed an extra day and was glad I did. Oh, the old castle, last built by Henry VIII is gone now,but the big tower that was in the center of it survives. It's called Clifford Tower, way up on a quite steep hill and has the best views out over the city from on top. However, all in all from the documentation they have it does not seem that compared to many castles I have seen so far that this was all that much when it was there. Sorry Henry!
Got to run, bus to Culloden leaves in 15 and I must get on it.
love,
ginger
Inverness
Hi ya,
Going to have to try and do a bit of catching up in the next couple of days. Have loads to relate and have gotten quite a bit behind.
To go on.....York. I simply adored it. It is a terribly visitor friendly city. Although the town itself has of course grown far outside it's original boundries, the main things and part that you would want to see are all within a 15 minute walk. I took the free walking tour as I had in Bath. These are the best things ever. A really informed guide walks you round for a couple of hours and shares parts of the city and sights that you would most likely never see on your own, of if you did happen to stumble upon them, you'd not know what you were seeing. This town is very old, with a huge Roman presence and muchevidence of it to be seen.
Of course the main thing in town is the York Minster....what a church that is! | attended an evensong service one evening while I was there and it was magical. The choir is behind the screen, not seen by the congregation in the nave. The place is enourmous, full of valuted ceilings, arches, nooks....amazing. And to sit there and hear that huge organ blasting away and the choirs voices joining in....the sound cascades and floats around you, seeming to come from the walls itself. Sure to be a favorite memory without a doubt.
You just can't imagine what it sounds like. So moving and beautiful indeed.
The main shopping area of town has been 'restored' basically incorporating all the old lanes and alley ways that were the homes and shops of the old guilds long ago. Of particular note is the area known as the 'Shambles' which was the home of the butchers and still retains most of the old buildings, including meat hooks on the buildings, but which is now just chock full of shops and cafes selling the most glorious things! Thanks god I am toting a backpack or I would
be quite destitute by now.
There is a terrific museaum there, The York Castle Museum which is well worth the visit. It is a history of 'life' in the town and is full of recreated rooms, shops, etc. from the life of the town. There is one room that has a huge collection of fireplaces and mantles, from the most basic of the 1500-1600's up to some really grand ones from the very wealthy homes of the early 1900s. They have a wonderful exhibit there called From Cradle to Grave and it is a collection of everything from Maternity clothes, baby items, wedding things and funeral items. And everything in between, with items from the early 1700's to the present. Really well done.
Probably the most fun I had in York was the National Railway Museum. I had thought to give it an hour or so, merely take a quick glance. Wrong! Spent the whole day there! What a place! Even if you are not a train afficianado (which I am not) you can't help but be thrilled with this. Must have a hundred old engines, many 'royal' cars, dining cars, old sleepers, you name it. Probably the neatest thing about it though is that it is so accessible. There is a HUGE warehouse attached where they store all the many items they have that are not on display. Everything from engines to old platform signs, seats, drinking fountains, anything and everything. And it is open for you to wander through as well. AND....the workshops where they are currently restoring the old cars and
engines they have acquired are likewise open to view. There is a catwalk of sorts all around the shop and you can just sit and watch them working and even ask questions. What a place!
It is a fabulous town to just wander in. There are terrific gardens all along the river with lovely walks, the city walls are still accessible in many places and you will see the locals walking them regularly to get up above the traffic. Several of the old town gates are also still there, and used.
I loved York, had a fine time there and stayed an extra day and was glad I did. Oh, the old castle, last built by Henry VIII is gone now,but the big tower that was in the center of it survives. It's called Clifford Tower, way up on a quite steep hill and has the best views out over the city from on top. However, all in all from the documentation they have it does not seem that compared to many castles I have seen so far that this was all that much when it was there. Sorry Henry!
Got to run, bus to Culloden leaves in 15 and I must get on it.
love,
ginger