Back to the UK after 50 years

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And speaking of Rowntree - a local lad made good.





Clifford's Tower

Clifford's Tower: History of York

The Shambles by day - crowded like normal










The back view








We had a very nice shared lunch at Mannion & Co with some interesting drinks



That night my wife was under the weather and didn't want an evening meal so I decided to try a Five Guys Burger. We had been walking past their various outlets for a number of years and never been inside and I should have maintained that practice. I average about one takeaway burger a year or two. On the plus side there were free peanuts in their shells and 'endless' drink top-ups - even though half the dispensers were empty.

Better than a McDonald's - not a high bar to reach - but not much better. The bun was very blah and the meat pretty tasteless.

 

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My wife always likes to follow some local trail - the hunt for bronze mice in the Eckhart in the City Scavenger Hunt in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island in Canada, the gnomes/dwarves of Wroclaw etc. In York it was for statuary cats. We didn't do as well here as we normally do. I think we were just so tired by this stage of our trip.

York Cat Trail Map | Free Self-Guided Cat Walk

Follow the York Cat Trail - a quirky, free walking tour hunting down cat sculptures across York’s streets, riverside and historic buildings

www.yorkluckycats.co.uk

There were more cat related shops





One evening we went to the Museum Gardens at dusk - just before the gates were locked





We were amazed at how bold the numerous squirrels were

The remains of St Mary's Abbey destroyed during the during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII





There were still some nice blooms around



The wire 'statues' were part of a ghost in the gardens festival.





And speaking of ghosts. There were plenty of ghost tours all round York - to which I can only say pshaw!

 

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While we were in York we met up with two other attendees of the Cambridge reunion who live in Hannover. They had hired a car and were in York for a couple of days before heading further north. They offered to take us for a day trip to several places near York.

He and my wife are related through two brothers who were born in Ulm in the mid 18th Century. My wife's ancestor sailed to Malacca with the Dutch East India Company in 1789 while his stayed in Germany. He organised the previous family reunion in Berlin 2022. Actually it was organised several times as it was due to happen in 2020 and we had already done our bookings when 'something' happened. The last time we had seen them before Cambridge was when we spent several days together in Nuremberg in December 2023 to visit the Christmas Markets and a few other spots.



The first stop was at Castle Howard which was built over a long period of time - 1699 to1811. The original design was by the famous architect Sir Jon Vanbrugh. It has been featured in many movies and TV Shows like Brideshead Revisited, Barry Lyndon and Bridgerton.

Castle Howard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Castle Howard House and Gardens - A Place Like No Other

www.castlehoward.co.uk

A scene from Bridgerton



and Bridesheads Revisited - complete with Teddy Bear






The Earl of Carlisle was a owner of Castle Howard during the 19th C. The monument was completed in 1869.

Monument to the 7th Earl of Carlisle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Coming up the driveway with the Castle Howard Obelisk (1702) in view -

The Obelisk, Castle Howard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

We parked nearby the Stable Block which now houses the Entrance, Farm Shop and a cafe



We had some tea and scones at the café later on



The was a free shuttle to the main house



The formal entrance - we of course didn't enter through there





The reverse view



First few steps inside

 

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The tour continued. We got there shortly after opening time so it was not crowded.



Some of the rooms - many have been restored fairly recently

















Obviously not decorated by someone who believed in the 'less is more' ethos

 

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Into the Great Hall - 21 metres high. Almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1940 and now beautifully restored

 

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Moving on



The view from the rear



The Long Gallery - completed in 1801 - 1811. The floorboards were very creaky





We even got a little bit of Clair de Lune by Debussey played for us. Please ignore my heavy breathing I have a bad habit of gritting my teeth tightly and not controlling my breathing when taking a video on my phone.

Looking the other way