Surgical Strike Day Trip: York, England

This medieval city is the seat of the primate of the north in the great cathedral, York Minster. The Shambles, Roman ruins, and various museums are a few of the things which lend the city character.

Fast Facts: 

• Distance from Edinburgh: 200 miles
• Using public transport: approx 2.5 hours by the fast train to London
• History: the Romans established a fort called Eboracum which the Vikings renamed Yorvik, later shortened to York. York took sides in the Wars of the Roses and today you can see the white rose everywhere. It became the centre of the railway system in the Victorian era.
• What there is to do: 
• York Minster, the cathedral
• the National Railway museum 
• the Yorvik museum (closed till April 2017 due to damage and rebuilding - parts of it can be found in the basement of York Minster and a couple other locations)
• Yorkshire Museum 
• Museum Gardens
• walk the city walls
• stroll along the banks of the River Ouse (pronounced 'Ooz')
• wander the Shambles
• climb the hill to Clifford's Tower
• Castle Museum
• York art gallery
• York St. Mary's
• visit the shop 'The Armory' with a great weapon selection

Pros:

• there are plenty of in door activities in case of rain
• York can be great to explore on a pleasant day
• friendly Yorkshire people live here - we overheard one resident giving an impromptu G.R.R. Martin themed tour of an old gate
• they make great pies - I had a creamy vegetable pie but they make meat pies
• also famous for Yorkshire puddings - a history masters student from King's Manor told me they used to serve plentiful Yorkshire puddings before meals to sort of fill you up before the rather mean meat course.
• the city is highly walkable, without the crippling hills that other cities have
• the rail station's bathrooms are free and clean! 90% clean bathrooms everywhere we went
• easy access to coffee at all times

Cons:

• You have to book tickets in advance, not knowing whether the weather or your health will be up to a busy day trip
• sometimes it can be hard to extract oneself from chatty, friendly Yorkshire people - this didn't happen to us but apparently it is a common problem for polite Englishmen and Englishwomen.

Timings - how to do it as a day trip from Edinburgh
6:26 train can get you into York at 9 am, just enough time for a wander of the walls, a bacon sandwich and a cup of coffee before the museums open. York Minster is open from much earlier though so we headed there first.
11:10 left the cathedral to get lunch
12:10 wandered the museum gardens
12:30 strolled through the cathedral gardens
1:00 visited the Shambles, stocking up on fruit from the open air market for the train ride home
2:30 train to Edinburgh, getting in about 5. We were home for dinner and an early bed!

Also see my post about York with kids!