My flat mates and I took our first UK adventure at the end of January! We went to York, and even though we missed our first train, we still had an amazing time. Brittany, Katie, Kaylyn, and I were supposed to leave the train station in Manchester at 6:54, but we missed the train by about three minutes. The double decker buses don’t run that early, which was something that we didn’t know until the morning of our trip. So, we walked the twenty-five minutes to the train station in the dark at six o’clock in the morning! We ended up having to buy another round of tickets, but the whole ordeal only set us back about 30 minutes.
My first train ride!
With the Harry Potter line, "Aaaanything from the trolley?" ringing in my head, I bough a Twix from the trolley while on the train!
Fearful of missing even a single thing in York, I made an intimidatingly detailed itinerary for us. Thankfully, this itinerary didn’t actually start for about 40 minutes after the original arrival time, so we didn’t miss anything! Here is the original itinerary:
o 6:15
am Leave flat for
Manchester Piccadilly Station
o 6:54
am Depart from Manchester
Piccadilly
o 8:20
am Arrive at York
Station, Leave for Bettys in St. Helen’s Square
o 9:00
am Bettys Café and Tea
Room opens
o 9:50
am Leave Bettys for York
Minster
o 9:55
am Arrive at York Minster
for 10:00 am tour
o 11:05
am Leave York Minster for Chocolate Story
o 11:10
am Arrive at Chocolate Story for 11:30 am tour
o 1:00
pm Leave Chocolate Story
for York Castle Museum
o 1:10
pm Arrive at York Castle
Museum
o 3:10
pm Leave York Castle
Museum for Clifford’s Tower
o 3:15
pm Arrive at Clifford’s
Tower
o 4:00
pm Leave Clifford’s Tower
for Earl Grey Tea Rooms
o 4:10
pm Arrive at Earl Grey
Tea Rooms
o 4:45
pm Leave Earl Grey Tea
Rooms for York Brewery & Visitor Centre
o 4:58
pm Arrive at York Brewery
& Visitor Centre for 5:00 tour
o 5:55
pm Leave York Brewery
& Visitor Centre for The Shambles
o 6:10
pm Arrive at The Shambles
o 7:45
pm Leave The Shambles for
Guy Fawkes Inn
o 7:
50 pm Arrive at Guy Fawkes
Inn
o 9:10
pm Leave Guy Fawkes Inn
for York Station
o 9:25
pm Arrive at York Station
o 9:46
pm Depart from York
Station
o 11:05
pm Arrive at Manchester Piccadilly
Scary, right? But
it was effective! The morning started
off with breakfast at Bettys. We had
proper English tea with our breakfast, and I even had my first macaroon!
Katie, Kaylyn, and I at Bettys.
My first macaroon, raspberry-flavored and delicious!
Next
on the itinerary was York Minster, the largest Gothic Cathedral in
Northern Europe. It is definitely on my list of the greatest things
I've seen in the UK.
After exploring the main floor of York Minster, Brittany, Katie, Kaylyn, and I went down into the Undercroft. This was the first moment, since I arrived in the UK, that really took my breath away. York Minster was built on top of a Roman fortress that dates back to the late ad 300s. In one area of the Undercroft, the glass floor reveal the remains of the Roman structure below.
This is the remains of the basilica that stood at the heart of the Roman fortress.
Surprisingly, many of the remains were not behind protective glass. In fact, they were hardly protected at all. The remains in the photo below are protected only by a railing. It would have been easy enough to have leaned over the railing and touched the remains!
This is part of the outside wall of a room that was added to the end of the basilica in the late ad 300s. The coins tossed down onto the stone are obviously newer additions to the Undercroft.
The last of the artifacts that we saw in the Undercroft was the York Gospels. It is thought that the York Gospels was probably made by Anglo-Saxon monks at Canterbury around 1020.
This book is the only book from before the Norman Conquest to survive at the Minster.
After the Undercroft, Brittany, Katie, Kaylyn, and I climbed York Minster Tower. It was an approximately 275-step climb (the four of us counted, and we each came out with different numbers), but it was so worth it! York Minster Tower gave the best views of York that we could find!
Climbing to the top of York Minster Tower.
After over one hundred and fifty steps, we were let out onto the first balcony.
The view from the first balcony.
At the very top of the Tower!
It was windy...
From York Minster, the four of us walked to York's Chocolate Story, a virtual chocolate factory tour. Fun fact: the Kit Kat originated in York. York's Chocolate Story taught us all about York's chocolate history and gave us free chocolate in the process. Then, we all got to make chocolate lollies (aka chocolate on a stick). From York's Chocolate Story, we walked to the York Castle Museum. This museum is built on site of the castle originally built by William the Conqueror, and now the museum is housed in old prison buildings.
This flagstone showing a prisoner's graffiti was removed from the prison's exercise yard. For some reason, when I look at this graffiti, I see a chicken holding a gun.
The view from the back courtyard of the York Castle Museum.
Kirkgate, York Castle Museum's recreated Victorian-era street.
After we were finished at the Museum, we walked across the street to Clifford's Tower. This was definitely a sight to behold. Clifford's Tower sits on top of a giant mound that was built by William the Conqueror. William the Conqueror built a structure out of wood on top of the mound, but the tower is now made of stone. In the 1500s, Henry VIII had the bodies of his enemies displayed at Clifford's Tower. Exploring the inside of the tower is incredible, but looking at the tower from the outside is pretty interesting as well. When I think of castles, or towers that used to be parts of castles, I think of looming structures in rural areas. But this is not the case for Clifford's Tower. It appears that the tower itself has remained untouched, but the modern city of York has been built up around it. There is literally a medieval tower sitting in the middle of a city!
Brittany, Katie, Kaylyn, and I on the steps leading to Clifford's Tower.
A model of York Castle in its prime, with Clifford's Tower on the left.
The inside of the tower.
Kaylyn and I climbed to the top of the tower!
In its heyday, Clifford's Tower had two floors. The octagon in the center of the photo was once a support column that ran through the first and second floors of the tower.
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This is the view of York Castle Museum from the top of Clifford's Tower. According to the model of York Castle, much of this area was once under water!
After Clifford's Tower, we had a late lunch at the Earl Grey Tea Rooms in The Shambles, a medieval street that is now home to shops and cafés.
The Shambles
From the Shambles, the four of us were off to a tour of the York Brewery. Their beers have won the title"Champion Beer of Britain," multiple times since the brewery's opening in 1996.
Great Walls of Fire, Centurion's Ghost Ale, Yorkshire Terrier, and Snowflake
According to the itinerary, we were headed to shop at the Shambles after the brewery tour, but the shops were all closed by the time the tour was over. Brittany, Katie, Kaylyn, and I headed to the next stop on the itinerary, dinner at Guy Fawkes Inn, but they were booked for the rest of the night. But, we did get to take pictures at the birthplace of Guy Fawkes!
Remember remember the 5th of November...
The four of us decided to head back to the train station and find something to eat there. We met a man on the train ride to York, and he told us that there was a very good pub right near the train station. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the pub, they were only selling cold food like sandwiches. We then tried a bar called the Duke of York, but it didn't look like they were selling food at all. So, we ended our lovely trip to York with a dinner at Burger King.
It really was a brilliant adventure, and I can't wait to tell you all about the next one!
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