York is city in the North of England with its roots buried firmly right back during the time of Roman occupation. It's a beautiful, walled city with a cornucopia of architectural styles and due to extremely strict planning laws, has managed to retain its charm and unique place in British history.
I have posted some pictures before from York but not at Christmas time. These photos were taken a couple of days before Christmas when I took my Mum on the train as she loves the place but won't travel by train alone!
I'll admit, it is perhaps a smidgeon late for a Christmas post but since I've been back in England, I've had a load of little jobs and chores to do. I even cleaned the gutters on Boxing Day, but really, it's not Christmas for the Orthodox Christians until the 7th of January so in that respect, my timing is perfect!
It was as if stepping into a Dickensian novel, all that was missing was the snow. Let's have a little look around...
York Minster is the second most important Anglican place of worship in the UK. The building you see in the centre was built between 1230 and 1472 AD but there had been churches at this exact site since 672 AD. In 1984, a massive fire destroyed the South Transept. Lightening was to blame, or as the insurance company would say, "An act of God". Nothing says 'faith' more than a lightening conductor. As an atheist, I rest my case!
Currently a Solicitors, I think it's extremely ugly building and not my taste in design at all but have always been fascinated by it. I believe it to be a perfect example of the Jacobean style which would drop its construction date right at the beginning of the 17th century. I am a complete hobby architecture fanboy so hopefully 
or 
will be able to put me right!
I just had to drop a black and white filter on this photo as the building in the center, which is now a pub is quite obviously Tudor! If not for the double-yellow lines and street furniture, this would be exactly what you would have seen hundreds of years ago. The church is one of around 40 churches in the City of York, and without being specific, mostly all date back to Medieval times.
Until recently, I had this place tagged as neo-classical, but after reading a great book about architecture recently, I believe it to be an absolutely textbook example of Palladian architecture. Currently an Italian restaurant,I wish I'd have had a look inside now because despite the exterior being a little bland in my opinion, internally, the style called for ornate opulence! Opportunity missed on this occasion.
I'm losing it now! We have symmetry, faux roman columns, decorative cornice and a string course....I have been inside here before and its beautiful as well as being an incredible library and resource for the City's long history.
Like may buildings, the previous and next photo are examples of sympathetically developed food and beverage establishments.
St. Helen's Square is probably my favourite place to sit and people watch and as well as being a meeting of streets, it's also an intersection of styles and ages!
On the opposite corner is the famous Betty's Tea Rooms and despite travelling problems and the pandemic, there was still a huge queue of tourists waiting for that expensive afternoon tea and visit to the shop!
Yet another restaurant in what is a very odd looking building.
The streets were fairly busy, but not excessively so, especially for York and there was the obligatory Christmas food market (a bunch of cheap B&Q sheds!) who were doing a lot of trade which worked out well because it meant Marks and Sparks Cafe was almost empty!
Now I've always said how much I love cities after sundown and York is no exception, so we'll finish off with a few really Christmassy scenes just before we toddled off back to the Railway station for the trip home.
Browns in the background is the real reason we were visiting York. It's a very old fashioned, family run department store full of over priced, underwhelming old folks clothes and hence, my Mum's favourite shop and the main reason we went on this particular jaunt!
We're just missing a little boy with nowt' on his feet, carrying a goose under his arm and Scrooge himself peering out of a window!
That was the queue to get in Betty's for (late) afternoon tea!
There she is, Trish aged 82, likes a selfie! Would kill me if she ever saw this but I was a little short on photos!
And we'll end it with a gratuitous shot of the incredible York Railway Station which I might have mentioned before and the real reason I agreed to take her ;-)
