We started the day very slowly letting Helen catch up on some sleep.

Once all showered and breakfasted we started the walk into town. We checked the river route first- and amazingly the river had abated and we could now walk along the path. However it was a little muddy! I had a big skid initially but stayed on my feet. Here’s us cleaning our shoes on the grass in front of a muddy section.

We crossed the River Foss where it joins the River Ouse.

We came to Clifford’s tower on the edge of York city. William the Conqueror first established the original castle mound and timber palisade – so just after 1066. The stone tower seen today was built in the 1250s by King Henry III.

We went into the busy streets – there is a food festival on this week so it was especially busy. We found the huge York Minster. It’s hard to get a photo of us and the minster with the correct scale – you can choose from these below.

The entry fee was 20 GBP so Glenn decided to go for a walk instead – fair enough!

Helen and I went in and joined the 1pm tour group.

We were told that York minster is the oldest medieval gothic cathedral in the UK. Canterbury Cathedral has been its main competitor for importance for hundreds of years.

The rose window was being checked 40 years after its repair due to the fire in 1984 after a lightning strike.

The quire carvings were only 200 year old copies of the originals. A mentally ill person who disagreed with the way the catholic faith was being conducted burned all the wooden sections. Luckily the fire was put out before the whole place went up.

We finished the tour at 2.05 and went outside to meet up with George, Lech and Glenn. We then needed some sustenance. We went for lunch at the Royal Oak in the Shambles sitting in the small conservatory area. We enjoyed pub class dishes including drink for 12 GBP – a good deal!

Afterwards the girls went shopping for shoes while the boys pottered around.

Glenn found this:

The girls scored 3 pairs of shoes. Glenn found 2 new pairs of glasses – one pair red and very trendy. Thank goodness that the 2 pairs of glasses with 1 leg each have been replaced!

Later in the evening we went to George and Lech’s for a bread and cheese and M&S goodies snack dinner including our favourite cheese – Comte. No one was hungry after that!