We left early today, for our much anticipated trip to York. The first part of the journey was picturesque and then, of course, we ended up on a motorway! Not too bad and we'd been advised not to drive right into York but to park at the Park and Ride station. This was a brilliant piece of advice. We parked the car (free of charge), walked over to the bus, paid 6 pounds return (two pounds each), and off we went! The journey took no longer then 30 minutes and ended within a short walk of the Minster. We were very impressed, especially when we found out that the return journey could be taken up to 8pm.
We walked up to the Minster and paid for a guided tour, plus an audio tour of the Undercroft. Whilst the guide left something to be desired inasmuch as she wasn't a very articulate speaker, her knowledge of the Minster and its history was excellent.
York Minster is the largest medieval gothic cathedral in Northern Europe and is both a Minster (the Anglo-Saxon name for a missionary church) and a Cathedral (the mother church of a diocese). The Archbishop of York is second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury although, originally, the Primacy was supposed to alternate between the two.
The Transepts were built between 1220 and 1270 and much of the rest of the building dates from the 15th century, with some of the stained glass windows earlier than that. The Nave dates from 1291.
The Undercroft and Treasury tell the story of the Minster through the ages - below ground are the remains of the Roman fortress, Viking, Norman and medievil carvings as well as treasures and jewels of the archbishops. The Crypt is still used for special services and is the final resting place of St William of York.
After our tours, we were very hungry so went out into the area where the Shambles is. Around the same area are lovely narrow lanes, filled with really interesting shops where, naturally, we spent some money! Ron had to buy a new camera as his died in the Minster! Just upped and expired! He is very pleased with his new one (far more modern!).
Around 4pm, rather wearily, we headed for our bus and relaxed for half an hour until we reached the car park. Unfortunately (!) this was adjacent to a huge complex of Designer Outlets so, as you can imagine, we just had to have a sticky beak. I'm proud to say that I was the only one who didn't buy anything (this time). Ron bought a shirt and Sam a pair of wedges (shoes)which she'd been looking for for ages. Both items were extremely well priced.
We'll all be having an early night as Jeremy (Di and Jim's nephew, who is travelling around Europe by himself) arrives in Huddersfield at 7am for a quick visit!
