Discover England's Medieval City: York

Hi Steemian Friends,

Do you love history? Do you love Vikings, gothic cathedrals, and ghost stories? Step back into the middle ages with me, and I will introduce you to a little city called York. Now, when I say little, I mean tiny. Tiny city, that is. I would have called it a town, but I would be technically incorrect. So let’s just say city. But tiny… OK, I think you get it.

Within its ancient, encircling walls (Yes, York is surrounded by walls built by the Romans. FUN FACT: The original walls were built around 71 AD. Woah!) York’s medieval streets and buildings are beautifully preserved and the historic heart of the city is mostly traffic-free, making it quiet, clean and very pleasant to stroll around, day or night.

We definitely took our time exploring this magnificent city!

The York of today is quite fashionable. It combines its heritage and marvelous historic architecture with classy designer shops, delicious restaurants, pubs and cafes, to attract tourists from all over the world. Once first arriving in York, I discovered that every aspect of York’s modern life is very much linked with its past. Even their evening entertainment included ghost walks through the city’s shadowy streets. I took it upon myself to do this ghost walk, and I was so impressed. I will post pictures below of the streets at night.

I just thought I'd throw this picture in! Because there are no vehicles allowed on these pathways, there were so many bicycles. This one caught my eye:

Stonegate and Petergate, York’s two most tasteful shopping streets, still occupy the same routes as they did over 2,000 years ago. Back then they were called Via Praetoria and Via Principalis. If you were to follow these streets, it would lead you to the massive Roman headquarters which once occupied the very same site where the gothic Minster stands today.

You simply can’t miss York Minister, which is one of the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe. It is also one of the most gothic churches in the world.

This magnificent building took over 250 years to build and was blessed in 1472. I was told that the great window in the east was thought to be the largest area of stained glass in the world.

This was our favorite coffee shop! Take a look down below:

This is where we enjoyed the cafe's specialty treats:

Here is another view of it from the side:

The overhanging timber-framed houses and old-fashioned shopfronts of The Shambles makes it one of England’s most historic, and picturesque streets. Take a look below:

York used to be called Jorvik, and was once the capital of a Viking territory. You can head back in time to learn more about this incredible period in history, and experience the wonders of that time at the “Jorvik Viking Centre.” I did this too, and was very happy I did. Highly recommend.

You can reach York from London in two hours by train, or from the city of Leeds, which is just a 20-minute train ride. I have been to York twice now, and can say that camping on the outskirts of York is a lot cheaper, which exactly what I did the second time I visited, and it was only a 15 minute bus ride in.

Below you will find the rest of the photos from our trip!

I always try to photograph in a creative way:

I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read my post! These are all my photographs, and I hope you learned something new! Please let me know your thoughts and upvote if you found my post interesting! Find me on Instagram to see more of my travels: https://www.instagram.com/soul.searching.traveler/

Best wishes to all of you,

Stephanie
xox