The
celebrated city of York wears its layers of history with pride:
Roman, Viking, Anglo-Saxon, medieval, Georgian and Victorian.
Buoyed by the double whammy of monastic wealth and wool, York
played second city to London for half a millennia and has been
capital of the north for nigh on 2000 years. The gem at the
heart of this walled and gated city is the Gothic York Minster
and its peerless collection of medieval stained glass.
York has
its feet planted firmly in the past, but visit the city outside
July and August and you'll find it's no soulless theme park.
Sneak into a snicket (an alleyway to you and me); walk the ghostly
city walls and fruitlessly ask for beer in an unlicensed bar
(otherwise known as a gateway); and find yourself in a medieval
shambles of askew timbered houses and cockeyed lanes. And as
the hub of northeastern Britain's rail network, it's a trainspotter's
paradise. Spare anorak anyone ?
