Yorkshire

Founded by the Romans as Eboracum almost 2000 years ago, York was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior before being renamed York during the Middle Ages. The city was steeped in so much history, with many of the Roman ruins and medieval structures still part of the modern, lively city. Central York was a short 10 minute train ride form our digs in sleepy Church Fenton in the Yorkshire countryside, it was fun to be back on a train, even though it was a quick trip. York’s city walls were open to the public from dawn to dusk, and provided the perfect way in which to walk around the city center and view York Minster, York’s central landmark and the largest Gothic cathedral in England. The cathedral’s Great East Window is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. Such a commanding structure and – as with the towering Catedral de Sevilla in Seville – very difficult to get into the camera frame all at once from within the city.

We had some company for our day in York: Rowena’s daughter Jec (Rowena hosted us for our time in Maeshafn in Wales) joined us from Leeds to enjoy the city and show us some of the sights. I hadn’t seen Jec since a ski trip we took to France with Lisa’s parents and family friends back in 2006, it was great to reconnect with her after all these years. Jec and her husband Tom – both doctors – were working in Alice Springs when COVID hit last year and had to return to the UK early given their temporary visa status whilst working in Australia. A silver lining to COVID being able to enjoy Jec’s company for the day! We’d been trying to have proper English tea and scones at a tea house since arriving in England, but the timing never seemed to work… The rainy day in York provided the perfect opportunity to warm up with morning tea and some delicious homemade scones in the tea rooms at Parlormade. The clotted cream served with the scones was delectable, as thick as American cream cheese. Max couldn’t get enough. The big debate in England is whether the jam or cream should be spread on the scone first. Devon is cream first, Cornwall is jam first. We unanimously agreed: cream first!

We all enjoyed strolling around the open air markets and quaint alleyways of central York, especially the famous Shambles next to the markets. Shambles is one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe and was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies. Indeed, many of the storefronts – even those not associated with magic or souvenirs – looked like they were straight out of the movie series. It was absolutely bustling with activity during our visit (surprising given it was a frigid and rainy Monday!), so many charming little shops and the buildings had so much character. We all felt a little like we were actually in a Harry Potter movie as we explored Shambles, with wand stores and ghost shops lining portions of the centuries-old alley. There was even a spot to park your broom, should you choose to travel on one.

The wet and cold English winters demand a little creativity when it comes to beer gardens. We spotted The Lamb and Lion Inn in central York as we were strolling around the city walls from the train station and ended our day with a few pints in one of the cosy igloos behind the pub. Such a fun way to cap off an excellent day in York, sitting there with a few English ales, the rain pattering on the igloo roof while the five of us were covered in blankets. I hope it’s not another 14 years before we connect with Jec again!

We also ventured to nearby Leeds from Church Fenton a couple of times during our stay in Yorkshire. Jec recommended we visit The Royal Armories Museum in central Leeds, which is home to thousands upon thousands of artifacts chronicling the history of weaponry over more than a millennia. The collection of armor in the exhibit devoted to the history of war was incredible, multiple examples of centuries-old battle armor, most of which was actually made for and used by European royalty during the Middle Ages. If we looked closely we could see battle scars and nicks from sword blades in some of the pieces. Lilia was, of course, enamored with all the taxidermy horses decorated in shining battle armor. The artistry involved with some of the etching and engraving of armor for big names like King Henry was amazing, it would have taken an incredible amount of work. The 500 year old Lion Armor – last photo below – was embossed with 12 lions heads, all of them inlaid with intricate gold decorations. Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship. I think my favorite was the exhibit associated with World War II weaponry, quite mind boggling (and sobering) to see so many examples of the arms race between the Allies and Nazis during that period of history. British factories produced an astonishing seven billion rounds of ammunition during World War II. Two hours exploring the four floors of exhibits went by in the blink of an eye, a very worthwhile stop.

Kirkgate Market in Leeds is Europe’s largest indoor marketplace and – after some indoor exercise on the way into town at Planet Ice – was a great spot to spend a few hours during the wet weather we had during our last day in Yorkshire. There we so many stalls in the multiple halls, many of them hawking cheap trinkets, knock-off electronics and gaudy synthetic garb. A feast for the eyes. The real draw for us, however, was all the food and grocery vendors, there was an incredibly multicultural array of cheap eats on offer. We all had a little bit of choice overload trying to select our lunches. The kids opted for some divine Sardinian pasta, I dined on a delicious Turkish lamb wrap while Lisa devoured a traditional masala dosa (I did have a little bit of food envy when I saw Lisa’s choice, even though my Turkish wrap was exceptional…). The variety of seafood was also very diverse. The Irish oysters we uncovered at one of the seafood stalls were decidedly moreish, shucked and served with a tangy mignonette for £1.40 a piece. Nothing wrong with that, we went back a couple of times! The streets around Kirkgate were home to some very hip, independent clothing stores in which Lilia could have lost herself for hours. The unique old Corn Exchange – adjacent to Kirkgate Market – hosted a collection of independent stores encircling the grand central hall, everything from clothing to roller skates to old vinyl records. I very nearly walked away with a beautiful wool blazer, some great fashion on offer.

It definitely wasn’t a planned stop, but as we drove by the huge McLaren showroom on the outskirts of Leeds on our way home yesterday we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see so many supercars under one roof. Very impressive works of engineering and design, I think my favorite was the murdered-out 720S with a price tag of a cool £285K. Lilia would have gone for the bright orange 570S, a relative bargain at around£150K. The adjacent Lambo showroom was also super fun to walk through, with its collection of six sleek-looking Huracans. The friendly McLaren salesman told us that they sell an average of 12 cars a month from the Leeds showroom!