York
A walled medieval city in North Yorkshire, and one I’ve fallen for.
York is known for its medieval walls, its narrow streets, and York Minster towering over both. I’ve been three times: once on the way home from the 2014 trip to Tanzania, again with my now ex-wife in February 2023, and once more in March 2024 with the family, because I’d always thought the kids would love it. It’s a happy place for me, and I’d go back tomorrow. My favorite city in England.
Things to See
Below the Roman Bath pub. The pub itself is lovely, but underneath it are the remains of the Roman baths from when York was a Roman colony. The ruins take all of twenty minutes to see, and they’re well worth it for the footprints left in the floor by a Roman soldier’s boot, and for the description of how the bath would have worked.
Notable Walks
The city walls. Walking the old defensive walls is the fastest way to understand how the city is laid out. It’s short enough to do the whole circuit in a couple of hours, but a number of the old gatehouses have cafés inside them, so you can make a morning of it instead.
The Snickelways. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of A Walk Around the Snickelways of York by Mark W. Jones. The route it lays out is great fun to follow, and the dry, witty prose he uses to describe the paths is a pleasure on its own.