York, part 2

Not being the sort of people to let things go, we decided to do York again. But we had a totally different trip this time. See my posts about visiting York and doing York with children.

We took the medieval wall walk from the station

to Clifford's Tower.

 and attempted to climb the hill - which we discovered later via signage that you are not supposed to do!

 We explored the inside.

and admired the view from the top!

We nipped across the street to the York Castle Museum. We enjoyed the vintage toys section, the Victorian street and the fashion exhibition with a sacque-back gown and other period pieces!

 We were tempted to leave the kids in prison.

 But took them for icecream instead.

We visited the Birds of Prey in the Museum Gardens! Then we explored the ruins and ran wild around the beautifully maintained flower beds and hills leading down to the river.

Also we decided the best place to eat with picky kids in York is Spurriergate Cafe at St. Michaels Chambers. It has lots of variety, lots of space and a mini soft play in the corner so you can supervise the kids whilst you eat! D loved the full English breakfast all day option and my veggie lasagna was a feast. They do a soup of the day and top quality roll for 4.20. The bathrooms were clean and there was a baby changing, as well as highchair facilities.

I am a month away from having this baby so this may be the last trip-related post for a while!

Day Trip: Holy Island, Lindisfarne

Holy Island is the site of the first Viking attack. With a castle, a ruined monastery and several beaches complete with an icecream truck, what more could you want in a day trip? This is one of our favorite places to go for the day.

Fast Facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 70 miles but some of it is under water periodically so check your tide schedule carefully when planning this trip!

• Using public transport: 2 hours and 12 minutes

• History: St Aidan established a monastery in 635 AD

• What there is to do: explore the hills surrounding Lindisfarne Castle, stack pebbles on the rocky beach, visit the church and the ruined monastery and imagine the Viking attack!

• Tip: after getting of the train in Berwick-upon-Tweed, coerce all family members especially kids to use the toilet before getting on the bumpy bus to Holy Island!

The church is well worth a visit - and free! This awesome live-size sculpture didn't impress our youngest but we thought it was a fascinating nod to the history.

Do not miss out on the lovely beaches - some sides of the island are all pebbles but near where the monks went out to pray there is a lovely sandy beach.

The toilets are reasonably clean and free at the bus stop. We have never actually gone into the castle, which is of Victorian origins, but it looks beautiful.