A Medieval City: Wandering Through York

Since travel is not an option this summer, I'm continuing with my wanderlust summer series. This time, it's a medieval city in England - the quintessentially historic York. After we toured this famous town, Olivia and I agreed its one of the places in England we'd love to live!

​What a day. I'm sure a pedometer would have registered at least four miles. We walked into town from our B & B, and saw some gorgeous homes along the river:

​Our first stop was another city bus tour, which gave us the lay of the land. Again, quite helpful to get our bearings. ​Here is the York Railway Station and the Royal Hotel in the background (no Royals stayed there!)

​Queen Victoria stayed in the original station hotel, shown below, with Albert and the children. When a server gave her a bill for their meal, she was furious, and vowed never to come to York again!

​Then we went to the visitor's centre, and received some very helpful advice for our trip to Ripon via auto the next day. Not surprisingly, I bit off more than we could chew, and  attempted to eliminate some destinations, which is extremely difficult for me. But, alas, had to be done.

​Then, since it was my birthday while in York, we had tea in the famous Betty's Tea Room. I was surprised to see a "birth"day cake in the window made especially for me. ;-}

Afterwards, we walked by a very Dickensian Starbucks:

Then on to York Minster:

​Next, the Yorvik (original Viking name for York) Museum. Fascinating recreations of the social life of the Vikings and the archaeological remains that helped them piece together their way of life:

​After lunch, we returned to the York Castle Museum to visit the Debtor's Prison, ​and hear the sad stories of its ghost-like occupants:

​The same museum also had a WW1 exhibit. This is a "dummy head" the soldiers would hold up from a trench, hoping it would receive a bullet. When it did, they would remove it and determine which direction the enemy fire was coming from:

​We took a last stroll through the city. ​The old homes with their uneven surfaces and structure, along with streets designed for horses and carts:

​We found the new mixed in with the old:

Exquisite hats!

Then, we walked up to Clifford's Tower, the castle's central stronghold:

​And finally, walked on top of York's medieval walls, which are the most complete walls in Europe. They were broken in three or four places. . .

Have you visited the UK? If so, did you have a favorite city or museum? Let me know in the comments below. . .

Did you know that my MG historical fiction, The Heart Changer, has a teacher's guide? Check it out at my publisher's link, and scroll down till you see the icon as it appears above. The guide is packed with info, questions, and recipes to use in the classroom - whether public, private or homeschool. Check it out!