Travel
York and Yorkshire Dales
I had the pleasure of revisiting York in Spring with daffodils in full bloom. This time we went on a packed tour of the Yorkshire Dales, with the best view at the top of Beggarman’s Pass.
A highlight of the trip is a visit to the triple-flight of waterfalls on the River Ure. The falls is variable during the year so Spring is a good time. Summer can be over run with tourists. The broad, dramatic rush of water over the limestone steps creates quite a noise. If the scenery looks familiar, it’s because Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood fought Little John right here in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Viewing it from the perimeter, this 14th-century fortress is a feat of medieval engineering, creating a forbidding silhouette on Wensleydale below. Unlike Middleham Castle, parts of the internal buildings are still fully intact. The castle was one of the many “luxury” prisons for Mary, Queen of Scots; she was held here for six months and reportedly escaped through a window, only to be caught nearby at “Queen’s Gap.”
York Castle Museum
This museum is a full afternoon’s visit and includes twentieth-century history, which I enjoyed, but my wife skipped. The standout feature is Kirkgate, the recreated Victorian street, where you can walk into the shops. The building’s grim past—the museum is actually housed in 18th-century prison buildings is brought to life by the voices of prisoners; it is caught up in a confusing museum layout. You can still see original graffiti scratched into the cell walls by former inmates.
York Minster
There is much to enjoy about this cathedral, not least its astronomical clock. A highlight is the Great East Window; it’s the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country. The price of admission is steep, but the guided tour makes up for it and explains its hundreds of years of troubled history.
