Today started at 7:45 for Courtney with a trip to the car park in her PJs. They take their parking fines quite seriously here. 70 pounds, which is about $100. They have these Pay and Display things in most public parking areas. You park, then go to the little dispenser, pay, and get a ticket/sticker to display on your windshield. We were all good til 8AM….hence the early morning trip.

 We had a nice continental breakfast in the convent cafe. It was a nice switch from the days and days of traditional full English breakfasts. The cafe overlooked the convent gardens. We headed out afterward to walk to the York town center via the ancient walls. Parts of these walls were constructed by the Romans in AD 71. Later, the Vikings came and piled up earth around them, and even later, in Medieval times, more height was added to the walls and towers and the city was fortified once again. The views from the walls were amazing, especially of the York Minster – England’s largest church. Once inside the walls, we accidentally found Dame Judi Dench Walk – a lovely walk along the River Ouse. Nearby were the ruins of a Roman tower – the Multi-angular Tower. Also nearby were the remains of the Saint Mary’s Abbey. The charred remains of walls and empty arched windows were stark reminders of Henry VIII’s dissolving of the Catholic Abbeys in England. All through the park, though, chunks of the demolished abbey were used as garden decor, and lined walkways and garden beds. What a wonderful re-purposing of these remains.

 We had been hearing church bells ringing for an hour as we strolled through the park and ruins. Talk about setting the ambiance!! We finally found the church they were coming from. It was St. Mary’s church and a  group of “Ringers” was visiting. They were just pulling away at those ropes, almost coming up off the floor! They were ringing what is called a peel, which can take up to 8 hours to complete! They went in shifts, rubbing sore arms in between. Who knew?! I had no idea such a group existed, or that it was such a hard work out, but it obviously is quite strenuous.

 On to the Minster! But first, we happened upon a street filled with charity shops. In the UK, most charities run little shops. Boutiques, really. They are like a Goodwill, only nicer, smaller, more stylish, and cleaner. We love shopping here and always find treasures. We found cool shirts, jewelry, a scarf, a print of the town of York, and other little gift items. Oxfam, Save the Children, the Heart Association, etc….they went on and on…We will be hitting them in every town for sure.

 We arrived at the Minster 3 minutes before the guided tour began. Perfect timing. This is the largest cathedral in Northern Europe, which literally competed with Canterbury since the assassination of Beckett. Canterbury was older, but York was bigger!! It is called a minster, not a cathedral, because it sends out missionaries, “ministers” as one of the purposes of its existence. Another famous minster is Westminster in London. During the 70 minute tour, we examined and learned about the stained glass windows – the Monkey Funeral window, and the Bell Maker window. They told stories about daily life in the knave, some even serving as advertisements for the donors, but as you got into the quire, the windows became Biblical. The largest one is being restored, and they have 5 panels on display down low. Remarkable, We literally were a centimeter away from each one, and got to examine them up close. So rare to get to have an opportunity like this. The scenes on the panels we saw were from the book of Revelation from the Bible. So interesting to see how the glass maker interpreted these passages 800 years ago.

 Next we headed into the series of narrow, twisty pedestrian streets and alleys known as the Shambles. This was in Medieval times where butchers sold their meats. Now, you can still see some of the meat hooks and display shelves in the facades of shops like Starbucks and the chocolatiers. The buildings were made close together to block out the sun from the meat, and troughs were built into the street to catch the blood and offal from the butchers’ waste. Much more pleasant today than back then I would imagine!

 We found a cute little tea room on the “Little Shambles” street next to the open air market. Had a bite of lunch – a real lunch today! Courtney had a tomato and cheddar melt and I had a jacket potato (a baked potato in the US) with chicken bacon mayonnaise. That is what Americans would call chicken salad. For dessert, a homemade flapjack! Flapjacks have no resemblance at all to pancakes. They are made with oats, butter and sugar. Dense, chewy deliciousness!

 We hit the road again on the way to the Lake District. Joyce had us going a nice, quick 2.5 journey on the main roads. But Courtney had other plans, and had me find us a nice route through the Yorkshire Dales National Park. No problem. I did just that. Oh did I find us a route!! It took 4.5 hours of twisty, hilly, roller-coaster roads. At times the roads became gravel. But the scenery was unmatched in beauty! The B roads are often ridiculous (Courtney’s description). No more than a lane and a half at most points, and sometimes buses are coming the other way. That is always fun. Courtney kept asking how I was doing, but really I was more concerned with how she was doing, as my life was in her hands at every twist!! She is a phenomenal driver, so ironically, I was actually quite at ease.

 At last, at 8:55 we found the tiny little village of Hawksead and the tinier road called Wordsworth Road and our B & B, Ann Tyson’s House. The lane was so narrow, Courtney could not get the car through, so I jumped out to find out where to park, and was met in the street by Mrs. Watson, the little firy, energetic grandma lady who owns the place. She was on her way to give our room away as she was expecting us earlier, and was giving us until 9:00 to get there before giving up on us. We literally arrived just in the nick of time. I just caught her! And she did not move slowly! Next, she got it the car with Courtney to show her another way around the impassable lane, to another alleyway that was nearly impassable. We had not stopped for dinner. (Restaurants do not abound in the Yorkshire Dales National Park!) In a near frenzy, Mrs. Watson guided us from pub to pub, trying to get one of them to serve us, since most stop food service at 9PM. We could barely keep up with her pace! It was 9:10. All but the very last pub in town turned us away – two road-weary moms. Really? How could they? The Red Lion cook came out, saw us, and said he would be happy to make us something. So we had our favorite – chicken and mushroom pie with vegetable stuffed mashed potatoes and a pint of cider! Believe me, that place will get a stellar online review from us!

 Full and happy, we settled into our wooden-beamed, cozy little room. For literature fans, this room holds particular interest because it is where William Wordsworth stayed for a few years while attending the grammar school here in Hawkshead!! Pretty cool, huh? On another literary note, Beatrix Potter and her husband also live in the town of Hawkshead!

 Enjoying the Journey from Wordsworth’s room-

 Heather and Courtney