Discovering the beauty of York

Although York may not be a huge city, it sure crams a lot into its city walls. As soon as you step through the wall entrance, you immediately sense the medieval history it's famed for. I had an inclination that York would be a beautiful city, but what I hadn't realised, was just HOW beautiful this wonderful little place is. Having spent some time this month exploring through it's cobbled streets and hiking up hunners (yes it's back, the Glaswegian hunners phrase) of stairs to the top of towers, here's my pick of the best of York.

York Minster

Having the title of one of the biggest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, York Minster is an absolute masterpiece in Gothic architecture, stone masonry and stained glass. You can't miss the place. It's slap-bang-in-your face and proudly should be so. The detail externally and internally, is just out of this world. It literally took my breath away.

When you manage to tear yourself away from roaming around inside the Minster, head up the central tower for some superb panoramic views over the city. 275 tight (very tight) steps up 230 feet, this is not one for those with a fear of heights, that's for sure! 

Tickets for the Minster and tower cost £15 - but make sure you get there earlier (or pre-book) to have a time slot to hike up that tower.

Boat Trip Along River Ouse

With only two days to explore York, we were practically having to drag ourselves away on the bank holiday Monday. One thing we luckily managed to squeeze in before we headed on the roadtrip home, was a York City Cruise along the River Ouse. With the sun absolutely beaming outside and the temperature set at around 25C, it was the most perfect, relaxing end to our trip. 

Clifford Tower

I was fairly eager to explore Clifford whilst in York. So eager in fact, I ended up being the first one to enter it at 9am. The pictures below will show you why! Soak up the history, meet the resident pigeons (a new baby pigeon was around when we were there: just the cutest wee thing) and take in another excellent view of the York skyline, this one including the magnificent York Minster.

Wander Around the Cobbled Streets

Take some time to explore and wander around the pretty little quaint streets filled with traditional sweet shops, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and more.

 An old charming street in the Shambles area with overhanging timber

If you're roaming around this area and a little peckish, head over to Strada for a bite to eat - they do awesome pizza and have a lovely outdoor area you can relax in.

Explore the River area

With the sun out in full force, we took advantage by exploring the bars around the River. Slug & Lettuce and Missoula provide great food with fantastic views out onto the River, whilst the River banks are full of little pubs with outdoor seating areas (and a nice little ice-cream van too). Soak up the rays and the atmosphere in this part of town.

 Loading up on Mac n Cheese carbs at Missoula

 Veggie Burger at Slug & Lettuce

The beautiful River pond we discovered near Clifford Tower

Castle Museum

York has ample supply of museums and visitor attractions and it was difficult to pick just one to focus our attention on. With great reviews on TripAdvisor, and being handily located across the road from Clifford Tower when we visited, we settled on the Castle Museum. Taking us back in time, the museum covered everything, from wartime York, chocolate and sweetie York (this is the home of Nestle/Rowentree's after all), jail time York, school days York and many many more. My favourite section was definitely the replica Kirkgate Victorian Street. So authentic looking that they even have little stores and pharmacies with staff (check out the sweetie one where you can grab some boiled sweets to take home).

Until next time York...
Leanne x