I awoke in Wheatlands Lodge Hotel; a well-established, family run hotel with incredibly friendly staff (http://www.wheatlandslodge.co.uk/)! Their fabulous breakfast was a great start to the day and from there I had a 10 minute stroll into York centre!
The first gorgeous piece of York history I encountered was the city wall. It is really quite impressive how much of the wall remains considering its age, you can walk along great parts of it and the stone gate entrances are very pretty!
From here I visited Clifford’s tower, one of many ancient pieces of architecture which, along with the cobbled roads and paths of York, give it a real old worldly feel!
My next stop was to take a peek at a very well-known old worldly street in York; the Shambles. Known to be used in filming the size of the Shambles and its tilted housing makes it almost appear as if the houses on each side of the street are touching!
After having a stroll around the Shambles and its surrounding markets(!) I headed over to see the remains of St Mary’s Abbey. York’s museum gardens is one of the more peaceful places in this busy tourist filled city and although the museum gardens are far from empty its nice having a little break from some of the tiny claustrophobic streets in York.
I love ruins but the remains of St Mary’s Abbey is not the only attraction in the Museum Gardens, apart from the museum itself it is also home to York’s observatory and hospitium amongst other ancient buildings and even some plants and wildlife.
I then stopped for lunch in Costa! York is full of places to eat, pubs and shops. I would definitely recommend York as a shopping city; it boasts all the high street stores you would expect to find in a city but also has local shops, souvenir shops and markets. To eat there are many restaurants as well as fast food places or you could go for pub grub in one of York’s pubs (there are over 350!).
The afternoon I spent in the second largest gothic cathedral in Europe; York Minster! This cathedral is beautiful both inside and out! It is incredibly impressive to look at from a distance but once inside you’ll be amazed at the detail, the stain glass windows and the number of people buried in there!
Your ticket to the Minster includes a guided tour (although the tour is not compulsory and you can show yourself around if you’d prefer) and you can also pay extra to go up the tower so get an aerial view of York!
I ended my day in York with fish and chips and a few drinks with a friend on the York University Campus.
All in all, York is worth a day trip. If you are a museum geek you could spend several days wandering around York and learning about the city, and there are many things to consider doing and visiting in the surrounding area. However, to get the most out of York try and go during the summer months as some tourist activities in and around York are seasonal.
