On Friday afternoon we headed to the King’s Cross station to catch the train to York which is 195 miles north of London.  York is described as one of the most historic cities in England and one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe.  It began as a Roman fort and over the subsequent centuries was controlled by the Saxons and then taken over by the Vikings in 866.  The enormous York Minister, the largest Gothic structure north of the Alps, dominates the city, 800 year old walls and gateways which include parts of the original Roman fortifications are still in place and some medieval buildings also still remain.

Upon arrival we set ourselves up at The Grange Hotel and then walked into the city centre to get our bearings for our full day on Saturday, participate in the Food Festival that was taking place and do some nebbing.  We started Saturday at The Minster which is over 500 feet long and about 250 feet wide (and 250 years to build) and houses the largest collection of medieval stained glass in Britain.  Think of its enormous size and then picture about every section having a massive section of stained glass.  Some of the glass dates to the late 12th century.  It turned out to be wise to begin here because we spent several hours on the sight.  The crypt has a wonderful history display including remains of the original Roman fortification, Viking, Norman and medieval carvings as well as tangible evidence of the history of the earliest chapel on the sight dating to about 1220.

The rest of our day took us to the Yorkshire Museum Gardens, many medieval ruins that remain in great condition including St. Mary’s Abbey, Clifford’s Tower, the Shambles with its timber framed buildings and Holy Trinity Church.  The small Holy Trinity Church is a must see with its founding in the first half of the 12th century, its architecture from the 13th and 14th centuries, its pewboxes from the 17th and 18th centuries and its stained glass from the late 15th century.

On Saturday night we had dinner with Jacquie Martinez and Gail Hammond who I have worked with for the last three seasons during my time working on Mayan ruins in Belize.  Jacquie just finished her Master’s studies in York and Gail begins her PhD studies in London this month.  Our thanks to Jacquie for her recommendations of sights to visit in York.  We will connect with them again this Friday in London where I am sure they will take one more shot at convincing Konnie to join us in jungle of Belize.  Good luck with that one ladies.

Back to London on Sunday afternoon.  Too many pictures (again) but York is a great visit.

Picture labels to come later.