York Part 2

This morning we headed back into York where we parked easily and found our way into the walled part of the city. Cathedrals have this irresistable urge and this one pulled us towards it. We just had to go inside and explore. The tower to this one was open. Keith is a mountain goat and needs to climb to the top of anything that can be climbed. It was 275 steps up - around and around and it got narrower and narrower. If I were a true woman of traditional build, I would not have fitted and would have been stuck, just like Winne the Pooh who had to stay there until he grew a little thinner.

The climb was worth it - the view was glorious. Blue skies and a howling wind. We could see gardens, remnants of the wall, bits of the castle, houses and the industrial cities that lie south and west.



The Cathedral, again, carries many stories in its walls and plaques. There was the young minister's wife, Mary, who was travelling north to recover her health who died aged 22.



After our exploring of the Cathedral, we walked to the wall, and walked around about one third of the city's circumference. We were reminded that this is a "working city" as the first tower had a few homeless men, seeking shelter from the wind and rain, drinking their beer. The wall was amazing to walk around and imagine it standing and protecting this city for almost two thousand years is incredible.



This is a photo of one of the gates to enter the city of York.



I loved peeking through this window in one of the turrets while climbing down from the wall - I could see a toy shop with a model train set on display. I couldn't get over the changes that have taken place in this place over the centuries.

After our lunch, we needed to get going, as we had to drive down to Heathrow for the night. The drive down the M1 was wet and gloomy. We are now getting ourselves organised for our four days in Paris - I can't quite believe this is really happening!