After several weeks of writing things other than Travel Tales (which I hope you enjoyed) I will now tell you about our return to York on the 9th June 2016. We were supposed to make our way to Stratord-on-Avon, see a Shakespearean play, enjoy the town, then return to Banbury by a series of trains with a major change in Birmingham.
However, after the recent terrifying drive through the storm in the Lake District, further possible adventures were removed from our itinerary and we decided to return to York on a road we now knew (sort of), spend a night in a hotel there and get back to Banbury by direct train the next day.
By ten o’clock we were loaded up and on our way out of Ambleside. The car had to be back at the depot in York by 5pm, but we had plenty of time.
A Gypsy Caravan. Sorry if the term offends, I don’t know what else to call them.
Susanne had never seen a gypsy caravan, so we stopped to photograph this colourful example, parked at the side of the road, as we drove into a village at about midday.
My tired sister, waiting for our pub lunch
Adding character to the decor
blog, but we still wandered along and around
The Shambles where we found buildings so old, we wondered how they were still standing. The great thing about these old buildings, apart from their beauty, character and history, is the fact that, unlike many similar looking buildings and ancient towns in Europe, York’s structures are genuine originals. (Maybe with additions and renovations, but basically as they were back in the 14th – 16th centuries.)
Another shop which won our custom was the Edinburgh Woolen Shop. Found all over the UK, they sell the sort of quality knitware–scarves, gloves, hats, coats etc–that lasts for years and when the temperature plummeted, I had to have those ear muffs. i still have and use a lot in winter, a cashmere shawl that I bought from one of their stores in Scotland back in the 80s. So light and warm, it’s also a blanket on my travels.
the wind that was so biting it had given me an earache, I ran into this jovial fellow who enlightened us about an event which would take place in the Minster that night. The Mystery Plays have been performed at various venues around York, initially traveling with mobile stages (probably horse and buggy varieties) and performing throughout the day – Feast of Corpus Christi – in different parts of the town. In 2016, for the first time since 2000, the drama took place inside the Minster and I think almost every citizen of the city played some part in the massive production.
Stephen even mentioned the squirrels – see the little fellow that we met, along with pigeons (or are they doves? I never know the difference.
The Museum Gardens are situated about two minutes walk from our accommodation and are the most direct route to the centre of town, so, whenever possible (the gates are closed every night) we walked through it, coming out at Museum St on the other side.
(which puzzled us as that wasn’t on the original route) we were informed that an incident on the track ahead of us had forced the closure of that section of the line. We were then advised to stay in our seats while a group of passengers from the affected train were loaded onto ours. Everyone closed gaps