I’ve grown to love walking on the old city walls of medieval cities. They have often been restored and provide a nice vantage point for seeing an old city with new eyes. York, England has a section that has been very nicely restored.
York’s 13th-century walls are three miles long. This stretch follows the original Roman wall. Norman kings built up the walls to asset control over northern England.
Notice the pivots in the crenellations (square notches at the top of a medieval wall), which once held wooden hatches to provide cover for archers. The wall was extensively renovated in the 19th century. Victorians may have saved the walls, but the fortifications were not “medieval” enough for their taste, so they ornamented them with fanciful extras, adding little touches such as Romantic arrow slits.
As we walk down the wall, we come to a corner that has some wooden benches. This is the Robin Hood’s Tower. Here you can lean out and see the original moat outside. This was originally the Roman ditch that surrounded the fortified garrison town. If you look at a town map, you can still make out the rectangular footprint of that original occupiers’ green zone.
Most of the walk allowed intimate glimpses inside the wall into the backyards of some of the mansions. At each peek you often get a chance to see the Minster poking up as the centerpiece of this wonderful town.
Here is a couple of peeks in to the backyard of our lodge we stayed – (see previous posts for review – hint – it was incredible!!)
