June 30, 1996
After a two hour train ride from London’s King Cross station, we arrived in what would prove to be my favorite place in England. When we got off the train and walked out of the station in York, the first thing I saw was the Minster off in the distance, slightly out of focus due to the haze in the air. It was a beautiful and mysterious first view of the city. Our hotel, the Royal York, was next to the station and we were soon checked into a lovely room in this historic hotel once visited by Queen Victoria. It was fairly late in the day, so we had dinner at Pierre Victoire, and then retired to our hotel for the night.
July 1, 1996
This was the first of two and a half days that Kevin would be working at the facility in Selby, so I was on my own. I was excited to be in England with a new city to explore – this is just the sort of adventure I love! Jet lag had caught up with me a bit, however, and I ended up sleeping very late (11:30) before wandering on my own into York to change some currency. Under a light drizzle, I discovered that the York City Centre is a charming warren of shops, pubs, and ancient buildings. I stopped for a lunch of tea and mushroom soup at a place called Betty’s (also called Taylor’s Tea or Coffee Shop). Next, I took the guided tour bus through the city. These tours are a wonderful way to get an overview of the sights there are to see, which helps me figure out what places I might want to explore on my own later in the trip.
After the tour, I decided to visit York Minster. I have found myself to be hooked on cathedrals – I just love them so much! The religious aspect of things still doesn’t appeal to me, but there is a grandeur and sense of peace in these places that I love. I took a wonderful guided tour, then visited the Crypt and the Chapter House. What beautiful architecture. Awesome, literally.
From there, I took a stroll through the Museum Gardens. These are beautiful gardens with a natural history museum (although I never made it into the museum – I spent all my time wandering in the gardens to look at the wildlife). I enjoyed walking through the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey (originally founded in 1055), and the Octagonal Tower. I absolutely loved these gardens- peaceful, cool and green, relaxing and very comfortable. And of course, I enjoyed seeing a lot of birds, and some fairly brazen wildlife – clearly the rabbits and squirrels are used to the presence of people.
Birds seen in the gardens included Swifts (the only species of swift in Britain). They’re very cute, and similar to our North American varieties when seen in flight. I also saw at least one wren, and again, there is just one species of European Wren, the same species that we call the Winter Wren* back home. Very tiny, and very cute! Saw many beautiful Eurasian Blackbirds today, and was happy to see another new species of thrush as well, the Song Thrush. Exotic Indian Peafowl are also found in the gardens, and while I won’t count them, they are beautiful, and can be seen (and heard) here.
After Kevin was finished with work, we met Lee, John and Sue for dinner. We walked to La Piazza, an Italian restaurant that offered very good food, housed in a Tudor-era building. After eating, we wandered through the City Centre where we saw, among other things, a reconstructed Tudor banquet hall.
After dinner, Kevin, Lee and I went to an Irish pub called Scruffy Murphy’s. An Irish band was playing music from a table near the bar. Great music, but it also made me a bit sad. I so much wanted to sing, wanted to be part of this world, but I just didn’t know how to even start to engage with folks when I’m just here for a couple of days.
It was a wonderful day.
*Note: this species has subsequently been split: European Wrens are now Troglodytes troglodytes while the Winter Wren is Troglodytes hiemalis.
July 2, 1996
A tiring day, but one with its high spots.
Woke at 5:30 and took a morning walk through the Royal York Hotel Gardens and Memorial Garden. I saw a good variety of birds. Some of my favorites were several European Magpies, who seem to fill the niche filled by the Blue Jay in the eastern half of North America. They are gorgeous, and it’s fun and interesting to watch their antics, and what appears to be a complex social structure. Although simply called Robin in Britain, the little European Robin is very different from our North American variety. Not a thrush, it is much smaller, and has very distinctive markings. Yes, both species have a red breast, but it would be very difficult to confuse these two species. Woodpigeon, Rock Dove and Stock Dove were all present in the garden, as were European Blackbirds and Carrion Crow.
After the garden, I had thought to walk through the Museum Gardens again, but they weren’t open yet for the day, so instead I walked west on the River Walk that runs alongside the River Ouze. On the way to the river, I spotted my first Collared Dove, a beautiful bird that is very similar to our Mourning Doves in the U.S., but with distinctive markings so that, even side-by-side, they’d be easy to tell apart. The bird was sitting on a light fixture about 8 feet off the ground, allowing me to get a good, long look.
While walking on the trail, I saw Swift, a few Black-headed Gulls, Mallard and House Sparrows. I was also able to get good enough looks to confidently identify Sand Martins flying over the river. I think this is the same bird as our Bank Swallow, but I somehow prefer calling this group of birds “martins” – it seems more natural to me for some reason. I also saw some European Starlings, which are of course quite familiar as invasive birds back home. It was nice to see them in their native habitat and I found that when I’m not feeling overwhelmed by sheer numbers (and resenting their presence in North America), I was able to stop and notice that this really is a striking, beautifully-colored little bird (even if they are somewhat annoying otherwise, even here in Britain).
After my walk, I had breakfast with Kevin and Lee, and then went into town on my own. I walked through the (now open) Museum Gardens, where I saw a couple of new birds. I spotted a handsome little corvid on the steps of the natural history museum, and recognized immediately that this was no small crow – I was excited to see my first Jackdaw! The name is so familiar to me – from literary references, I think – and they are attractive and charming to watch. I would see several more during my stay in Britain, but I will always remember this one individual fondly for hanging around long enough for me to look them up in the book! I spotted another new bird – a small one, somewhat drab and yellowish-green – high in a tree near the edge of the park. It took me a while to ID . . . actually, I was unable to really figure out what sort of bird this was until later that evening, when I scoured the field guide. This Greenfinch is a very pretty little bird, even if it was somewhat elusive (in the field guide, at least haha).
After the gardens, I took a walk along the Northern Wall. I’d intended to go to the Castle, but made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the community of Heworth. I wandered around, lost for about an hour and a half before I finally took a bus back to Monksgate. Tiring, and somewhat frustrating to realize that I had no idea where I was, or how to get back to where I’d wanted to be, but it was a reasonably nice walk, and an adventure nonetheless.
I finally made it to the Castle area, where I went through the Castle Museum, which was interesting but not spectacularly. Climbing Clifford’s Tower, however, was spectacular. Such an amazing view from the top, and the thought of being inside a structure built by William the Conqueror is fairly mind-blowing.
I’d arranged to meet Kevin at 2:00 at Jorvik (the Viking archeological site), so I looked around for somewhere to have lunch. Nothing struck my fancy, and I ended up at Bella Pasta, which was okay. After lunch, I got into the queue for Jorvik, even though Kevin hadn’t yet arrived. He ended up being extremely late, but we were able to get through the museum all right. It was interesting – very much tourist-oriented, and with some interesting history about the area.
Then, on to the Minster. We walked a bit with a guided tour, and I lit a candle at the Chapel of All Saints. We decided to attend Evensong, and the service was beautiful. When the choir sang the Anthem (by Mendelssohn), tears sprang into my eyes uncontrollably. It was incredibly moving, although I can’t explain quite why it had such a profound effect on me. Perhaps the combination of the gorgeous music being sung by children, the amazing setting, the golden light that filled the cathedral, and just being in England – a place I’ve yearned to visit as long as I can remember. Whatever the reason, it was a lovely and very memorable moment.
After the service, we took a river cruise and then tried to have our evening meal at the Black Swan, but they’d stopped serving, so we ate at a place called Hole in the Wall, where I had a delicious Yorkshire pudding. Absolutely delicious!
Our last adventure of the day was the Haunted Walk, which was historical and interesting (moreso than being spooky), but we had a wonderful guide and heard some fascinating stories about the local area.
Then, back to the room for a bath and bed. Hopefully tonight I will be able to sleep; considering that I’ve been awake since 5:30, I’m guessing that sleep won’t be a problem.
July 3, 1996
I allowed myself to sleep until 9:00 this morning, because it was raining, so I wasn’t particularly motivated to get outside. I took my time packing and vacating the hotel, as this was our last morning in York, and then I headed into the city.
I decided not to walk the Museum Gardens first (again, due to the rain), so I walked into town instead and bought myself an umbrella! I also bought a couple of pork pies for lunch, and then visited the Shrine of St. Margaret Clitherow, who is said to answer prayers asking for the strength of convictions. I also stopped at the National Trust Tea Room for tea and potato leek soup, and then on to the Minster one last time.
At the Minster, I went down to the Foundation exhibit, which was well worth it! Fascinating history, plus some beautiful silver chalices and the like. Walking through the Minster that final time I wanted to cry to be leaving. I took a few pictures, and then walked back through the Museum Gardens to photograph St Mary’s Abbey ruins.
I met up with Kevin, and we rented a car for the next leg of our trip, and stopped by Clifford’s Tower so he could see it. As we left town, again I was so sad I wanted to cry. I looked back at the city until I could no longer see the Minster in the distance, before turning my face forward to the adventures that still awaited us.
Let me know what you think!