A wander around York

This is the second part of my previous post which you can read here.

After an almost 4 hour drive from Bristol, we arrived at the Mount Royale Hotel. Walking into the grandiose building with its antique furniture, was like walking onto a film set. We checked in and were lead up a staircase, along a narrow corridor, to another staircase, along another winding corridor and finally to our room. Unfortunately we didn’t have power in our bathroom, so we were lead all the way back down and into another room.

It was so hard to keep a straight face as the staff profusely apologised for the inconvenience. To say we had an upgrade is an understatement. As soon as the door closed, Mitch and I frolicked around the room whispering “woo hoo!” and punching the air. It was absolutely huge and we had a double bed… EACH!

After some dancing, a cup of tea and complimentary biscuits, we left the hotel and wandered into the town.

Surrounding York are the historic City Walls. These walls are the most complete example of a medieval city in the UK today. Hidden beneath the stonework are the original parts of the wall, which was first built by the Romans in 75AD.

With such a long and bloody history, it’s no wonder York has a reputation for being the most haunted city in England. Home to the legendary ghost stories of the knocking stick man at number 35, the flying book in the cellar, the headless coachman and more, it’s the perfect place for a ghost tour. You can read these ghost stories written by Rachel Lacey here.

One my favourite things about York is the cat sculpture trail. Dotted around the town are 22 of these adorable cats to find. I think we managed about five, not a great effort!

The next day we visited the York Minster. One of the largest churches in Europe and the UK, the Minster is a beautiful piece of architecture dating all the way back to Roman times.

The York Minster took 252 years to build between 1220 and 1472. It is home to The York Gospels, which I desperately wanted to see. The Gospels was originally created in Canterbury and came to York around 1020. It is a very well preserved and treasured piece of history and a glimpse of life over 1000 years ago.

After doing a full circle and trying to figure out how to get in, I found the visitor sign and read CLOSED ON TUESDAYS. Can you believe it?! Just my luck.

Oh well, at least if we visit again, there won’t be any scaffolding up I guess!

After a bit of lunch, Mitch and I made our way back to Bristol. It was a lovely short trip and great to get away for the night. A shame about the Minster but there’s always next time.