igoiseeishoot: England-Scotland Day 2 (Part 2) – Getting into the City of York and our B&B accommodation at York

4 April 2010

York is a city of extraordinary cultural and historical wealth and was one of the city we intended to stay over while on our road trip. It is surrounded by an old city wall that is worth a walk and in its city center, there is the immense, awe-inspiring York Minster, one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the world.

We arrived at York at about 2.30 PM. After check-in, we walked towards the York city centre to get our lunch.

Bootham Bar - York City Wall.

Friendly neighbourhood cat just outside our B&B.

The old town of York is surrounded by an old city wall. We had to pass through one of the gates (or Bar) to get into the city centre. In this city, gate means street and bar means gate. Confused?

Parts of the old outer City Wall. Roman built.

Could imagine arrows coming out from here during the medieval days.

Bootham Bar - York City Wall.

Bootham Bar – Bar here refers to “gate”, not a place to get drunk. This gate is one of the four main entrances to the old Roman fortress. We went through the gates of the York City Wall and into the town centre. One of the key attractions in York is the York Minster.

Outside York Minster, on the West side.

York Minster - The largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe. Built between the 1220s and the 1470s.

Beautiful stone carvings on the York Minster.

After seeing the exterior of the York Minster, we went into the pedestrian-only shopping areas in the city centre.

Where we stayed in York:

I had chosen to stay at the The Holme Lea Manor, a Bed & Breakfast accommodation in York. The B&B is located in the Bootham area, within walking distance of the York City Centre. There are many B&Bs along that street and in that area. The plan was only to stay one night in York and we would only be visiting the attractions in the town centre on foot.

I had booked a Family room for the 4 of us and the room allocated to us was on the top floor of the Victorian house. Learning from our experience with our B&B yesterday, we had packed a small hand-carry bag with only stuff that we would need for the overnight stay, and left the rest of our luggage in our car.

Entrance to our Family Room.