14/15 August

Still feeling disappointed with not getting a couple of weeks camping in Scotland because we didn’t fancy getting a soaking yet again, we booked a cheeky couple of nights in York.

York is a city we have both visited frequently over the years but only Monday trips, we have never actually stayed.  So, after getting the shopping fix at the designer outlet out of our system we checked into our hotel and set off to explore in the early evening sunshine.  We have never approached the city from the south so it was exciting to see it in a new light, entering through the ancient city walls at Micklegate Bar.  There was definitely a holiday atmosphere about the place, lots of street entertainers with fascinated crowds surrounding them.  A drinks festival was taking place in the main square and the various pop-up bars were doing a brisk trade.  The Sunday market was closing up as we wandered through the marketplace towards the Shambles, a tiny old street which is the centrepiece of York.  You can almost reach out of the windows on each side and touch others on the other side of the street.  It was here forty years ago that shopping with my parents we found my silver belt buckle to celebrate my passing my final nursing exams.  Sadly these days its not de-rigeur to wear a belt buckle on a nursing uniform so it has laid sadly in a drawer.  No purchases today, but after a pleasant walk around we stopped for fish and chips before calling it a day.