A day in York

York is a wonderful place; I am really loving it.

Today started with a visit to the National Railway Museum, which contained a bonus for us. We had not expected to see the Flying Scotsman there, however we discovered that the NRM acquired it a few years ago. As luck would have it, the Scotsman is currently under repair and so we actually saw it in the workshop dismantled! This was fine, as I have seen the Scotsman when it came to Melbourne twenty years ago, so the dismantled engine was a bonus!
There are many other treasures to be seen at the NRM - the famous Mallard is there, and also the Royal train with carriages from Victoria's era onwards.
This visit took up the whole morning - a fabulous place!

From Roman remains yesterday, to Vikings today! After lunch, we strolled up Coppergate Walk, a very old street in York. Excavations there have revealed the remnants of the Viking settlement of Yorvik (the Viking name for York). A recreation of Coppergate as it was in the time of the Vikings can now be viewed under Coppergate Walk, and we toured it this afternoon. All the street and Viking life scenes have been based on the archeological findings in the area, giving this display a real authenticity.

Back to the Normans......We also wandered up to York Castle today. Clifford's Tower (originally built by William the Conqueror) still stands, and we climbed this, giving us a birds eye view across the city. Clifford's Tower is one of 2 remaining castle towers in the clover shape (the other is in France).

We finished the day with a boat trip down the River Ouse, which runs through York. Not a minute wasted today!!