Bank holiday my dad and my brother decided to visit me for the weekend... didn't exactly know what to do with them.. so we ended up in York for the day!! and what a city! Can't believe i've never been there before. Walking around the centre there are several lined streets with old pubs and small shops ranging from souviners to antiques you really get the sense of how old the city is. The wall surrounding the city amazed me, I've grown up in towns and cities with castles, even used to sit in Caerphilly Castle on my lunch break when I used to work near by, but I've never seen a wall surrounding a city!! I definatly want to go back and stay for one of the famous ghost walks too... but the biggest attraction at York was, without a doubt, York Minster.
York Minster. One of the most amazing buildings I've seen. Being one of the largest gothic cathedrals the architecture is breathtaking in itself.
The minster has a cruciform plan with a chapter house attached at the back. The chapter house shows some of the best gothic sculture in the country, lined with sculptured heads, no two faces a-like. The carvings and sculptures lining the walls of this great building could keep you occupied for hours.
The stained glass showing different scenes are beutiful, despite restoring work taking place on many of them. The great east window displays the worlds largest area of medieval stained glass in a single window. Telling the story of the beginning to the end of the world as told by the Books of Genisis and Revelation.
Whilst sitting opposite this window I'd also like to point out that there are several graves under you marked by flagstones of members of clergy that died in battles etc. Very Chilling.
Another aspect of the cathedral you just have to see is the central tower, though there is one, small obstacle. Stairs, and lots of 'em, 275 to be exact, spiralling at a pretty steep angle, and roughly about 2ft wide.
Standing in the queue at the bottom, reading the various warning signs dotted at the entrance to the tower, thinking "ah they're just being over cautious" "Won't be that bad". Even the flushed, sweaty people returning from the previous trip, shaking their heads as they pass didn't even deter litle old niave me.
Grinning as we were let in, taunting my brother, I happily started to count the steps as we went, big mistake, I was soon rasping number '23' before realising i needed to shut up and save every last bit of energy I had for the next 242 steps. The pace is constant as theres people in front and behind of you, you cant daudle as theres simple no room to let anyone pass you. Roughly about 100 steps in, you come out in line with the 2 smaller towers, fooling you into thinking you had reached the top already. Instead your on a metal roof walkway barely able to fit one person width wise. If your not one for heights, it's painful.
Eventually after the longest 15 minutes of my life, my brother (whos 14) kindly pulled me up the last 10 steps into the fresh air to reach the top of the 234ft tower.
Was it worth it?
Just about!!.... the views across York were breathtaking (if you had any left after getting to the freaking top!) you could easily see for miles.
Heres some of the pics from the top, not half as scary as the ledge on the middle!!
Best bit of the tower?? My brother shaking from fright on the way back down... his right for gettign up there so easily!
York Minster is truly a magnificant building, which just shows the craftmanship and effort put itto building it in the 12th century. Well worth seeing.
