Wow, just had a totally amazing day in York with my sister Sue!
You’d think that I’d be bored of the place since I’ve lived in York in the past and visited the place so many times since. But no, you can never tire of a place like York!
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York Minster
We started the day with a spot of lunch at the world famous
Bettys Café Tea Rooms. Quite simply, Bettys Café Tea Rooms serve traditional meals with a winning combination of influences from both Switzerland and Yorkshire. The St Helen’s Square café in York became Bettys’ York flagship. Apparently, It was inspired by the magnificent RMS
Queen Mary cruise liner and became increasingly popular, especially during World War II when the basement ‘Bettys Bar’ became a particular favourite with American and Canadian ‘Bomber Boys’ who were stationed around York. Many of them engraved their signatures with a diamond pen on
‘Bettys Mirror’ which remains on display at the branch today.
The main Café Tea Room at Bettys in York.
After much contemplation, we decided on the delicious salmon and potato salad finished off with a mouth-watering dessert, and of course, the obligatory glass of crisp white wine to accompany it! After we had finished lunch, we browsed through all the tempting array of delicious Yorkshire and Continental confections in the shop and ended up buying their famous Fat Rascals plus their more recent Little Rascals!
Bettys Shop full of delicious looking treats!
Next, our mission was to hit the shops big time! York has a fantastic mixture of independent, high street and antique shops to choose from. The amazing boutiques and beauty shops particularly caught our eyes and provided an experience well beyond any of our normal shopping days. Wandering around Stonegate and The Shambles is always a highlight in any trip I’ve made to York as the web of cobbled streets create a magical set for any shopping expedition.
Amazing medieval architecture!
Let’s also not forget the wonderful choice of delicatessens, themed cafe’s and beer gardens readily available for when you need that well deserved rest!
The Shambles wonderful cobbled streets.
Having had our fill of shopping, we next decided to explore the magical York Museum Gardens. Visiting these gardens is an incredible experience as you become witness to some of the most fascinating and historically rich buildings in York. From the remains of a Roman Fort and Anglian Tower to the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey Church, the buildings signify the rich and varied past of York’s Roman and Medieval history in glorious detail.
The Hospitium – a 14th century listed building linked to St Mary’s Abbey ; now used as a conference and wedding venue.
With the beauty and rich history of the sights we had just witnessed still in our minds, we decided to go on and look for another kind of history altogether – GHOSTS! There are apparently numerous ghosts that have been witnessed over the years in York and their famous ghost walks are a good way of exploring these ghostly legends. I’ve joined ‘The York Ghost Walk Experience' in the past and found it to be really insightful and sad, as well as downright creepy. However, the place I really wanted to see again was the the ‘Golden Fleece Inn’, which has appeared on the television programme ‘Most Haunted’!
Nothing better than having a nice glass of wine in the company of ghosts!!!
Unfortunately, the day had to end too quickly and our thoughts had to decipher where exactly we had parked the car! No worries, we had a little help on the way from a family of geese which cheered us up no end as we had to leave the gloriously ancient yet vibrant City of York! For now anyway – we’ll be back, watch this space…………….
So cute! The little baby had trouble getting up the step but managed in the end.