Greetings and welcome back! We are in the home stretch of our prep now… as we turn the car south and head back into England – making a stop at Hadrian’s Wall before settling into the fine city of York, England.
We’ll be spending two nights and a full day in York. Using our process, we’ll determine:
What should we see?
Where should we sleep?
Where/What should we eat?
This will be day 17 and 18 of our England/Wales/Scotland adventure. York may be the end (at least for our rental car 🙂 ), but we have Hadrian’s Wall to visit before we get there.
Once a towering 20-foot tall fortification, these days Hadrian’s Wall is only about three feet wide and three to six feet high. Most of the wall is now found in the foundation of many local churches, farmhouses, and other structures. In most places, what’s left of the wall has been covered by centuries of sod, making it effectively disappear into the landscape. But for those of us intrigued by Roman history, Hadrian’s Wall provides a fine excuse to take our imaginations for a stroll.
Next to London, York is perhaps the best sightseeing city in England. It has a rich history. In AD 71 it was Eboracum, a Roman provincial capital, the northernmost city in the empire. Constantine was proclaimed emperor here in 306 AD. In the 5th century, as Rome was toppling, the Roman emperor sent a letter telling England that it was on its own, and York – then renamed Eoforwic – became the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.
The first church went up in 627 – and the town became an early Christian center of learning. The Vikings later took the town. From the 9th through the 11th century, it was the Danish trading center called Jorvik.
The Normans invaded, conquered, destroyed and then rebuilt the city, fortifying it with a castle and the walls that are so beloved today.
(Saint) Rick Steves says it deserves two nights and a day. So that’s what we’ll give to York. We’ll spend a good 36 hours in York, and plan on enjoying every minute of it.
Hadrian’s Wall stretches all the way across England.. but we’re going to focus our visit on a six-mile stretch identified by Saint Rick as the most “digestible” stretch. It is right in the middle of the wall, where we’ll find the best museums and some of the most enjoyable-to-hike stretches of the wall.
There are three top sights worth seeing in this area:
- The Homesteads Roman Fort shows you where the Romans lived.
- The Vindolanda’s Museum shows you how they lived.
- The Roman Army Museum explains the empire-wide military organization that brought them to England.
Museums are my thing… but not so much for my dear wife. So I’m going to bring her to the Vindolanda’s Museum to show her the ruins and the nice museum, and then we are going to go take a hike with the wall itself.
Hiking the Wall
It’s enjoyable to hike along the wall speaking Latin (I’m a bit rusty), even if only for a little while. You can’t actually walk “on” the wall. You normally will walk alongside the wall. There is a great three mile one-way hike between Steel Rigg and Housesteads Roman Fort. We unfortunately won’t have the time (or likely the Stamina) to do the entire walk – so we’ll start at Steel Rigg and walk a mile to Sycamore Gap and back again. We’ll climb up and down three times – in the middle gap is one of the best preserved milecastles, #39 – often called Castle NIck because it sits in a nick of a crag. In the third gap – called Sycamore Gap there is a large symmetrical tree in the middle. It is a bit famous… the tree was featured in the Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Vindolanda
A large Roman fort that is actually 40 years older than the wall itself. The ruins are cool, but the Museum is the most impressive. It is packed with artifacts that reveal intimate details of Roman life.
Hadrian’s Wall is just a stop for the day – as we jump back in and head down the road for our final stretch of driving into Historic York.
Once we arrive into town, we need to drop off our rental car by 4 PM. So our first night in York will be a small wander to get the feel of the place, and then dinner at a recommended restaurant (Cafe 8) at 6:30 PM.
What to See in York?
Here is our list of the must-sees for York:
- St. Mary’s Abbey
- The Wall of York
- Ogleforth
- Treasurer’s House
- Constantine Statue
- York Minster
- Snickelways
- The Shambles
- Shrine of St. Margret Clitherow
St. Mary’s Abbey – This abbey dates to the age of William the Conqueror – whose harsh policies consisted of massacres and destruction, including the burning of York’s main church. His son Rufus, who tried to improve relations in the 11th century, established a great church here. The Church became an abbey that thrived from the 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monestaries in the 16th century.
Hiking the Wall – York’s 13th-century walls are three miles long. The stretch we’ll follow is the original Roman wall. Norman kings built up the walls to asset control over northern England. The walls were extensively renovated in the 19th century.
Ogleforth is one of the original streets in old town. Both sides of this narrow lane have charming little brick houses. Further up we’ll come to the Treasurer’s House, where a beautiful tranquil garden awaits.
Constantine’s Statue. Five emperors visited York when it was the Roman city of Eboracum. Constantine was here when his father died. The troops declared him the Roman emperor in AD 306 at this site, and six years later, he went to Rome to claim his throne. In AD 312, Constantine legalized Christianity, and in AD 314, York got its first bishop.
Snickelways is a made-up York word combining “snicket” ( a passageway between walls or fences, “ginnel” (a narrow passageway between buildings), and “alleyways” (any narrow passage) – making snickelway. York has about 50 of these public passages in old town.
The Shambles is a colorful old street that was once the “street of the butchers.” The name was derived from “shammell” – a butcher’s bench upon which he’d cut and display his meat. In the 16th century, this lane was dripping with red meat. You can still see the hooks – once used to hang rabit, pheasant, beef, lamb and pigs’ heads – under the eaves. Tourist shops now fill these fine, half-timbered Tudor buildings. Fire has never touched this are (rare for English town centers). The Shambles reminds many of the Diagon Alley in Harry Potter films. While this lane inspired the set design, no filming was ever done in the Shambles.
The York Minster is the pride of York. It is the largest Gothic church north of the Alps. It is 540 feet long and 200 feet tall. The High Middle Ages were far from dark. The word “minster” means an important church chartered with a mission to evangelize. As it’s the seat of a bishop, York Minster is also a cathedral. It seats 2000 comfortably.
Here is list of other attractions/places to see that should be considered to squeeze into a visit:
- Yorkshire Museum
- Merchant Adventurers Hall
- Jovik Viking Center
- Fairfax House
- York Castle Museum
- National Railway Museum
Here is a more specialized list – perhaps one of these stops is exactly what you are looking for:
- Barley Hall
- Holy Trinity Church
- Richard III Museum
- King’s Square
- York’s Chocolate Story (Kit Kats or Peppermint Patties, anyone? 🙂 )
- Clifford’s Tower
Where to stay?
Rick Steve’s guidebook has a number of very nice places identified to give a try in York:
- St. Raphael Guesthouse
- Abbey Guest House
- Number 23 St. Mary’s B&B
- Dean Court Hotel
- Greys Court Hotel
- Hedley House Hotel
There is not a bad location on the list. Wandering Old town York you find that is surprisingly small – you could easily walk across it in less than 30 minutes. In August, I stayed at the St. Raphael Guesthouse. Perfectly homey, it was perfect for a dude by himself in a room. Nothing fancy, but clean with a solid breakfast. Blessed with Jackie joining me… I splurged for the Grays Court Hotel. A stately mansion – positively creaking with charm. I am hoping that Saint Rick did not steer me wrong. 🙂
Where to Eat?
Since it is a great sightseeing town, there is a good choice of both Eating Well restaurants and Eating Pub fare. Here is my list of both:
Eating Well
- Skosh
- Roots Restaurant
- Cafe No. 8
- Hole in the wall pub
Eating Pub
- The Maltings
- The Blue Bell
- The House of the Trembling Maddness
- Evil Eye Lounge
- The Golden Fleece
We are going to take in Cafe #8 on our first night. The second night is open… perhaps we’ll take advantage of the fare at one of the many excellent pubs. Thus far my favorite in all of England is here… we’ll see if I still think so when we do our summary report.
So there you have it… here is our preliminary itinerary for Day 17 and Day 18 at Hadrian’s Wall and York, UK
- Visit Hadrian’s Wall – hike along the wall and take in the Vindolanda’s fort ruins and Museum
- Drop off the rental car in York.
- Grab dinner at Cafe No. 8 after settling in at the Grays Court Hotel.
- Wander York – taking in St. Mary’s Abbey, Walk the York Walls, wander down Ogleforth Street to the Treasurer’s House, admire the Constantine Statue, tour the jewel that is the York Minster before taking in the Shambles with its Snickelways and wonderful shops and pubs.
I hope you have found this helpful. Next Up – take the train to London for the last five days of our adventure!