Weekend in a Walled City

My next trip was soon after my parents’ visit. When they came to Europe, we had used an Interrail pass to reserve tickets, and I had one more journey to use before it expired. I decided to stay within England for a quick weekend trip and landed on York as somewhat of a last-minute decision and destination: I decided on Friday and was on the train there on Saturday morning.

Once I arrived at the station, my first destination was to check out a few main landmarks around the town in the northeast of England. The skies were clear so I stopped by a park featuring the ruins of an Abbey. After enjoying the sunshine for a bit, I walked around York Minster and admired the impressive stained glass from the outside.

Then I passed through the Shambles neighborhood, which some say inspired Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series. The leaning buildings and wooden buildings definitely gave that feeling. My hostel was outside of the city centre, so I walked along the canal a bit to check in and drop off my bags.

I cleaned up a bit before I headed back to into town to grab some dinner and enjoy the evening. I checked out Clifford’s tower as the sun was setting before finding some good food and drink at an eccentric pub. At night, the city was very lively, lots of people out together and several bachelorette parties (“hen-do’s”). I called it a night not too long after, going back to the hostel again.

The next morning, I got an early start and was excited to walk the walls of the city. York is famous for being a Roman-walled city, many of which are still intact. Around the city there are different ‘bars’ or gate houses which used to serve as military outposts and control points for entry to and exit from the city.

It was a beautiful day and there were beautiful views of York Minster and the town centre from all around. With it being summer, the city was very green with many plants nearing their peak or at full bloom. At times, the path offered views of the canal which bordered the town as well. Altogether, it was a great way to spend the morning.

I took a pause from the walk around the city at York Castle, near Clifford Tower which I’d briefly visited the night before. Some sort of unique motorcycle rally was going on, many of the participants had old motorbikes and were wearing period clothing-- not sure why but it was interesting to watch!

I took my detour a bit further into the center towards the Shambles to check out a market that was going on. There were lots of crafts, delicious looking foods, and tons of Harry Potter merch. There were multiple shops along the road which were dedicated to Potter-themed items, one was fully focused on potions.

After a while I continued my walk along the walls, ending near the Abbey park where I’d started my tour of the city the day prior. Feeling a bit parched from so much walking and so much sun, I headed to a pub along the river to grab a pint. I found one which had an interesting history: it floods repeatedly, once every few years, and they mark the height the water reaches on one of the pub walls.

I headed to another pub for lunch and enjoyed a delicious gin & tonic made with York Gin, with a roman berry flavor which was delicious. It went very well with a fish and chips sandwich. The pub was in a really interesting building, leaning really significantly, and had a fun feel to it.

After lunch, I continued my tour of the city, enjoying myself with everything I came across, such as a fully cat-themed shop where I picked up a new toy for Bonita of course. I stepped into a few other unique pubs and shops, and enjoyed the Minster bells ringing one of the times I passed near it.

Finally, I headed back to the hostel to grab my bags before making a quick stop in the garden to read and to rest in the sun. From my time in England, it was super rare to have two super sunny days back to back.

It was finally time to head back to the train station, which ended up being a bit of an adventure because one of the main rail lines in the North East was having problems so all of the trains heading back towards London were packed. I was lucky to find a spot where I could squeeze in and sit on the floor so I still got back around the time I was hoping to.

York was a great spot to visit for a quick weekend trip, and the weather couldn’t have been better! And very grateful for the continuation of the trip with my parents, even if this leg was on my own.