York
We took the scenic route from Edinburgh to York - taking the coastal route. The Scottish Borders region is hilly and wooded. We made a short stop at Holy Island - Lindisfarne - a really interesting island - that is connected to the mainland at lowtide - and the road is completely under water when the tide comes in. Incredible rough and rugged scenery, with an abbey on an island outcrop. There is a North Northumberland Heritage Walk - which is tidal and can only be walked at low tide.
We stopped off at Almwick and Almwick Castle - of Harry Potter fame. Again - what a picturesque and historic town. Just incredible !!!
In York we are staying in the city centre in an old Victorian house right next to the historic city walls. We walked into the centre of town for some groceries and were quite taken aback by the beauty and diversity of the architecture of the town. Remnants from the eras of occupation from the Romans, the Vikings, the Normans, the Tudars are mixed with Georgian and Victorian architecture.
The ruins of St Mary's Cathedral have a similar feel to the St Andrews Cathedral ruins. Again - interesting nooks, crannies, churches, alleys (The Shambles), squares, roads and pubs just everywhere. This is the town where Guy Fawkes was born and went to school - and were the Roman Emperor Constantine was crowned in the 4th century. Must have seemed the centre of the universe at one point !
Tonight we joined a tour - The York Terror Trail - where we were regalled with stories about the history of the town, with the focus on the atrocities that happened here, especially the punishments meeted out against offenders against the moral code or belief system of the day. Whoever thought of all those barbaric torture methods ?!?!?! My queasy stomach was taking REAL strain.
As on all of our road trips in the UK - we have been listening to the BBC - Radio4. Fantastic journalistic skills, challenging interviews, great radio drama, very clever game shows with incredibly skilled contestants and generally very sharp and humerous commentaries. Very informative and entertaining at the same time.
Then - just one question - why are there so many single shoes on the roads all over the UK ? Wherever we have travelled and daily (sometimes even more than once) I have seen single shoes on the road or at the roadside - sneakers, new leather shoes, hiking boots, etc - how do they get there ? Where is the other one ? Really weird ?!
Then - need to mention (confirmed on Radio4), that we are lucky to have experienced the best summer since 2006 - the driest, sunniest and hottest. In fact - to be honest - had we not been told we would not really have noticed, except for the lack of continuous rain, as there has still been lots of cloud cover and the average temperature has been around 18 degrees - BUT we are extremely grateful that the weather gods have been so kind to us. It does make all the difference (to me anyway !).