Rough Guide Staycations York (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781839052514
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Rough Guides Staycations York
Make the most of your time on Earth with the ultimate travel guides. Inspirational and informative new pocket guide, making the most of holidaying at home in the UK through clearly laid-out walks and tours. Explore the best of York with this unique travel guide, packed full of insider information and stunning images. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see, top attractions like the Minster, the city walls and All Saints Church, to discovering cultural gems, including a spot of afternoon tea at Bettys, learning all things Vikings at the Jorvik Viking Centre and taking in the pretty views at the top of Clifford's Tower, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking and driving routes will save you time, and help you plan and enhance your staycation in York. Features of this travel guide to York:
- 11 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
- Local highlights: discover the area's top sights and unique attractions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Time-saving itineraries: carefully planned routes will help inspire and inform your on-the-road experiences
- Historical and cultural insights: learn more about the York's rich history with fascinating cultural insights throughout
- Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
- Rainy day recommendations: uncover plenty of options, whatever the weather throws at you
- Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: from transport to hours of operation, we've got you covered
- New for 2022: the latest guidance to all the places you should discover in York- Covers: The Heart of York, Shopping Streets, Markets and Museums, An Aerial View of York's Railway History, Steam Trains and Dinosaurs, Narrow Streets and Hidden Treasures, From Riches to Rags, Excursion to Yorkshire's Coast, Excursion around Harrogate, Excursion to James Herriot Country, Excursion to Castle HowardLooking for a comprehensive guide to England? Check out Rough Guides England for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer. About Rough Guides: Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy 'tell it like it is' ethos, the Rough Guides list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.

Tour 1: The Heart of York

This walk focuses on the Gothic heart of York – the Minster. At under 3km (2 miles) long, it could be completed in half a day, but there’s so much of interest you’ll want a full day

Highlights

The Minster

St William’s College

Minster Library

Treasurer’s House

Monk Bar

Bootham Bar

York Art Gallery

This tour covers just a small corner of the city, but encompasses almost 2,000 years of history, giving you the opportunity to see everything from Roman remains to 20th-century artworks. Not bad for one day.

The Minster’s Gothic towers.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

It starts at York’s fabulous Gothic cathedral, the mother church for England’s ‘Northern Province’, erected on a site once occupied by a Roman fort. It has many treasures, most notably its fine stained glass. The walk then takes you around the environs of the Minster, including St William’s College and Treasurer’s House, before climbing up onto the medieval walls at Monk Bar for a picturesque walk along the ramparts and a semi-aerial view of the Old City. The walk ends at the city’s Art Gallery, whose paintings span 600 years.

The Minster

The Minster 1 [map] (tel: [phone]; www.yorkminster.org; Mon–Sat 9.30am–3.45pm, Sun 12.45–2.45pm; at least four services throughout the day; guided tours Mon–Sat 10am–3pm, plus specialist tours of the Minster’s medieval stained glass each weekday at 1.30pm) is the largest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps and is both a cathedral and a minster – a cathedral because of its Archbishop’s Throne and a minster because it has been served since Saxon times by a team of clergy. It has the widest nave in England; it stands 60m (197ft) high, is 158m (518ft) long and 76m (249ft) wide across the transepts. Despite its size, restorations and cleaning give the visitor an impression of airy lightness. Its dimensions may make an immediate impression, but its ornate detail makes it an attraction worth spending an entire day exploring.

The Minster’s east door.

Fotolia

A long-spanning history

The history of the Minster is the history of England. A Roman legion’s headquarters stood here from AD71 before the first wooden church was founded in 627; it was named for St Peter (as the cathedral still is today) and was built for the baptism of the Anglo-Saxon King Edwin of Northumbria. It was almost immediately rebuilt in stone, but this was damaged by fire in 1069, when the Normans came to York. Between 1080 and 1100, work was carried out on a new Minster, which was much altered and enlarged over the years. In 1295 work began on the Nave – and continued for 70 years. The word ‘nave’ comes from the Latin for ship, navis, and likens the cathedral to a vessel of salvation. The present Gothic cathedral was finally completed in 1472, taking more than 250 years to build.

There was major restoration after two serious 19th-century fires. In 1829 a religious fanatic, Jonathan Martin, set fire to the choir (quire) area, destroying its stalls and roof. A workman’s candle set fire to the South West Tower in 1840 and severely damaged the nave. A third fire – thought to have been caused by lightning in 1984 – destroyed the South Transept roof. It occurred just three days after controversial clergyman David Jenkins had been consecrated Bishop of Durham and it was seen by some as divine retribution (others preferred to blame a UFO). The fire raged for over three hours, causing damage to the famous Rose Window, as well as the roof. It cost £2.25 million to carry out all the repairs. The restored transept was finally rededicated by the Queen in 1988. Major restoration work was also carried out between 1967 and 1972 when cracks were found in the Central Tower and other parts of the cathedral were found to be unstable. Repairs involved giving the tower new steel-reinforced concrete ‘feet’, which can be seen in the Minster’s Undercroft Museum. An ongoing programme of work continues with the restoration of the South Quire Aisle, expected to cost around £11 million and take 11 years to complete.

The Heart of York

This is still a living church, and regular pauses for prayer are announced over a speaker system. It is also the site for the enthronement of the Archbishop of York. The Archbishop, John Sentamu, enthroned in 2005 and in office until 2020, was the first black archbishop in the Church of England.

Visitors enter via ticket barriers in the South Transept. Anger at the introduction of an entry fee made it all the way to Parliament, where one MP described the imposition as ‘tacky’. Nevertheless, claimed Church officials, the money for ongoing restorations must be found somewhere, especially as the Minster costs £23,000 a day to maintain.

York Minster – a source of wonder.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

The Five Sisters’ Window at the North Transept in York Minster.

Bigstock

Navigating the Minster

Begin your tour in the Nave A [map] to the west (left as you enter). The main body of the Minster is Decorated Gothic in style and was completed in the 1350s. The 14th-century West Window B [map] painted in 1338 has become known as the ‘Heart of Yorkshire’ because of the heart shape in the ornate tracery. The stonework became badly eroded and was replaced and rededicated in 1989. Beneath the window you can see a statue of St Peter, the patron saint of York.

Minster Facts

The Central Tower is large enough to house the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

One of only seven cathedra...

Table of contents

• 10 Things not to miss
• Introduction to York
• Food and Drink
• Tour 1: The Heart of York
• Tour 2: Shopping Streets
• Feature: The Art Scene
• Tour 3: Markets and Museums
• Tour 4: An Aerial View of York’s Railway History
• Feature: North York Moors National Park
• Tour 5: Steam Trains and Dinosaurs
• Tour 6: Narrow Streets and Hidden Treasures
• Tour 7: From Riches to Rags
• Feature: Roman and Viking York
• Tour 8: Excursion to Yorkshire’s Coast
• Tour 9: Excursion around Harrogate
• Tour 10: Excursion to James Herriot Country
• Tour 11: Excursion to Castle Howard
• Active Pursuits
• Themed Holidays
• Practical Information
• Accommodation