Oh what a glorious day blue sky I can feel the warm sun rays coming through the window warming my bones the first time since arriving in the UK in May has it been a beautiful day. Seeing it is such a gorgeous day we decided to catch the No.5 bus into York instead of driving in, the parking is quite expensive and a day ticket is less that a 5 hours parking ticket with no stress of worrying about the time.

A relaxing 30 minute trip into York through the suburbs and countryside in between nothing like seeing fields of grain between villages. The curved townhouses in St Leonards Place reminds me of Royal Crescent in Bath where we got off the bus and catch it across the road later. York is a walled city that was founded by the ancient Romans, its ancient walls are three miles long making them the longest city walls in England and enclosing an area of about 263 acres and form a walkway on both sides of the River Ouse.

The funny thing is while other British cities were built on steel, coal or wool York’s fame and fortune have rested on chocolate for almost 300 years, even though much has changed over the centuries York remains the UK’s home of chocolate. So you see lots of chocolate shops walking round the city and you can visit “York’s Chocolate Story” to see how chocolate is made, which we have seen before.

On the first crossroad there are so many old historical buildings St Michael’s Church, the huge 13th-century Gothic cathedral York Minster has medieval stained glass with 2 functioning bell towers and you can take a fascinating 2000 year journey through interactive underground chambers and follow in the footsteps of Roman soldiers and discover the stories of some of the people whose lives have been influenced by York Minster. We didn’t go in as we have been cathedral and castled out after seeing a few across the UK. If you like museums York is home to over 30 museums and attractions more than any other comparable historical city in Britain.

We only walked the city wall from one side of River Ouse to the other, the wall is narrow with railing in most sections, can be dangerous if wet with a steep fall where there is no railing. Not much to look at over the city wall only the huge York Railway Station, parts of the War Memorial Gardens, homes and the modern buildings or rooftops. Nice view of the old buildings in the street of Micklegate or you can go in the Micklegate Bar pay to see the old buildings of Henry VII.

Crossed over Skeldergate Bridge, on top on an earth mound is the 13th century Clifford’s Tower the largest remaining part of York Castle, once the centre of government for the north of England. The 11th-century timber tower was burned down in 1190, after York’s Jewish community some 150 strong was besieged here by a mob and committed mass suicide (a bit of history there).

Strolled along the riverside where you can take a river cruise or enjoy a coffee and meal at the Kings Arms or café. Ambled through the streets of old York, a Food Festival is on at the moment, lots of stalls set up near the Shambles Market (like our Fremantle or Wanneroo Market). From here is the Shambles one of the best preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe, once known as The Great Flesh Shambles (flesh shelves) and today there are exterior wooden shelves reminders of when cuts of meat were served from open windows. I didn’t know “Shambles” is a term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market that is why the street is narrow to keep the meat out of direct sunlight, but centuries ago there were no sanitary facilities, so the guts, offal and blood were thrown in the channel running down the middle of the street. That is where the name “Shambles” originates from. Now it is a picturesque street with small lanes between the buildings, lots of buskers to watch.

Looked for the Roman Bathhouse only to find it is now an Inn and you pay £3.50 to go down to the basement to see the ruins, well we know what ruins look like from when we were in Bath.

We have enjoyed our day exploring the old street of York, so much to see or do, the clouds are looking very threatening with a few sun showers so we decide to call it a day and catch the No.5 Bus back to Strensall. Lucky for us one arrived as we neared St Leonard’s Street, a double-decker with front seat views for our ride back.

Nothing like an afternoon cuppa sit back to enjoy the scenery, till the rain sets in and you retire to the motorhome for the evening. Hope it is not raining tomorrow for our long drive to Chesterfield and the Peak District National Park the next leg of our journey.