York - The North

Half term provided our last opportunity for a week long adventure. We decided to explore the north. First stop, York. This first stop had all the trappings one could ask for: Vikings, ghosts, and castles. Guy Fawkes, the man that tried to blow up parliament was from York. The street to the left is the Shambles. This was butcher's row and there are nice tails of gore. One of the ghost stories has a headless corpse searching for his noggin. The original castle was constructed by William the Conqueror. This wooden structure was burned down during the Jewish Riots of 1190 and was replaced with the present day stone version thanks to Henry III. The coolest attractions for those over 40 was York Minster. It is claimed to be the largest Gothic cathedral in England. Quite incredible inside. What was exceptionally cool was that beneath, they have uncovered layer upon layer of history dating back to the Roman occupation in 71AD. There was later an 11th century Norman cathedral and the present minster was started in 1220. I could ramble on about the cool gardens in the old abbey or the amazing walk around the old city walls or the cool nooks like the courtyard at St Williams College (small picture on right) but all that would be boring. The kids highlight was the Haunted York tour we took the night we arrived. York claims to be the most haunted city in the world. One particular story involved the basement of the Treasury House. It is quite documented and studied and is quite the compelling story involving a young plumber being in the deep cellar (that sits on top of the old Roman road - you can even step on the original road). He sees Roman soldiers and there are even ghost horses). Others have also seen them and all the stories seem to match. Here are the kids at the wall where the troops emerge.

Other finds were the worlds best milkshake shop. You can see us slurping down York's finest. You can also see that dad is on his phone. Go figure.

There was also a very cool old church hidden in a small lane off a side street. It has the old stalls that the wealthy church members would buy for their families.