York for the weekend

The city of York was one place we never saw while living in London. Our only attempt to visit in the winter of 2008 was thwarted by a storm bringing icy Arctic conditions to the northeast. At the time we’d been on vacation in Scotland and Edinburgh and had planned to return home via York and the eastern seaboard. However, as the weather deteriorated, Garry and I didn’t fancy wandering York in a blizzard or driving through drifting snow and black ice.

I’m delighted to report that 15 years later we’ve finally made it to York. After spending a week in London on business we had a weekend to fill before flying to Germany for another week of work. We decided to catch an express train from Kings Cross to York and spend a couple of days exploring this historic city. We were also swayed by the fact that the train journey from London took less than two hours, making it easy to maximise our time on the ground.

We checked out of our serviced apartment in Kensington shortly after 7:00am. By 10:30am we were disembarking in York. Our hotel, The Grand York, kindly checked us in early. This establishment certainly lived up to its name. This Edwardian building originally opened in 1906, as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway (then one of the richest organisations in Britain), before being converted to a luxury boutique hotel in 2010.

Once we’d settled in, we made our way into town walking along the crest of the city’s lovingly restored medieval stone walls. Our first tourist destination for the day was the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey. Construction of this impressive complex began in 1089. 

In its heyday, the grounds featured stables, granaries, a bakery, and a brewery. However, it was a magnificent abbey church, cloister, and chapter house that dominated the York landscape here until it was forcibly closed by Henry VIII as part of the Reformation.

Nearby lie the remnants of a Roman-era defensive wall. We were quickly learning that York’s history stretches back almost two millennia. At various times, the Romans, the Vikings, and the Saxons have all made their home here. I had no idea York had such a rich and varied heritage.

Our next stop was York Minister. Without a doubt, this is the “modern” city’s claim to fame. This imposing cathedral dominates the city skyline. The Minster is 160 metres long with a central tower soaring 72 metres. It took more than two centuries to build, before being completed and consecrated in 1472. We joined an informative guided tour that brought to life many of the building’s extraordinary features. 

We were surprised to learn that sections of the Nave's dramatic stained glass window are original, dating back to the Middle Ages. Apparently the older the glass, the more lead trim it contains. Stained glass windows are under constant repair. These are often made by slicing existing glass segments into smaller pieces. As a result, over time, the same window progressively accumulates more and more lead framing.  Our guides pointed out the darkest sections of the window, an indication of their advanced age.  You can see some of these sections in the image above.

The Minster's Undercroft Museum built underneath the Nave floor was equally impressive. A survey in 1967 survey revealed that the building's central tower was close to collapse. Repairs were undertaken over five years to reinforce and strengthen its foundations. These works uncovered the remains of the Roman Principia (headquarters of the Roman fort of Eboracum) under the south transept, along with remains of an earlier Norman cathedral. Today you can tour a series of underfloor caverns where these foundations and artifacts have been carefully preserved.

You can also climb the central tower to enjoy some stirling views of York.  However, tickets were sold out by the time we arrived. We weren't too upset as the tower climb involved 275 steps.

The remainder of our day was spent wandering The Shambles, a series of medieval laneways in the heart of the old city. It’s said that these cobblestone streets were the inspiration for some of the defining scenes in the Harry Potter series of books. We finished our wandering at the foot of Clifford’s Tower, the restored keep of a former Norman castle.

Dinner on Saturday was a lavish affair. Months earlier I’d reserved a table in the hotel's formal restaurant. The Legacy seats less than 30 people and offers an impressive tasting menu focused on produce from the local area. The chef even came out of the kitchen to personally greet us. We only saw him do this one other table.

Garry and I enjoyed a memorable meal that included delicacies like hand-dived Orkney scallops, Venison with blackberry and lapsang smoked haunch, and Spice Plum with Gingerbread and Earl Grey syrup. We retired for the evening feeling well and truly wined and dined.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we made our way back into town to explore more of the city’s sights. We booked tickets for two popular tourist attractions: the Jovik Viking Centre and the York Dungeons. Without a doubt, the Jovik Centre was a real highlight.

It sits on the site of one of the most astounding discoveries of modern archaeology. In 1976, during excavations for a new shopping centre, archaeologists unexpectedly uncovered artifacts and building foundations from the Viking city of Jorvik. An interactive museum was built to preserve its ruins. It now exhibits what was uncovered, alongside a clever reconstruction of the daily world its people inhabited almost 1,000 years ago.

We’d started our day walking the southern wall of the old city. Hence, we decided to finish our time in York by walking the remaining perimeter as it wound its way past York Minister back towards our hotel. Then, as the sun began setting, we collected our luggage and caught the 4:30pm train to London. We were back in our Covent Garden hotel shortly after 7:00pm. Martin, a local friend, then joined us for dinner at Balans in Soho.