Yesterday afternoon we arrived in York. We're staying at Ace York, a beautiful old Georgian building that has been refurbished into a quite fancy hostel. It is inside the old castle/city walls of York and our top floor dorm affords great views across the city. Each room has a small plaque telling you who lived in this room - ours is the "wicked" butler's room. It seems he had loose morals, particularly when it came to young female servants.
The train ride to York was a great chance to catch glimpses of places we won't have time to visit. We spent just under an hour in Birmingham and had to pay to use the toilets at the train station! It was hilarious to see how many tourists had angry outbursts over this! Nevertheless the train was great and we got to see Derby, Sheffield and Leeds and their football stadiums, even if from afar.
Today we wandered around York in the morning to get a feel for the city. The weather is beautiful this weekend so the whole place was buzzing and full of people. It's beautifully old fashioned with cobbled streets, crooked houses and new shops forced to blend into the surroundings. McDonalds, Nandos and Pizza Hut looked quite nice! It was a good chance just to wander and plan for tomorrow.
At lunch time we caught the bus 15 miles to Castle Howard. So far we have seen quaint towns and some touristy/gimmicky sights. Castle Howard was something else altogether - truly breathtaking. I was in awe from the minute we spotted the first gate. Before we arrived I was skeptical as to why a stately home would be called a castle. After seeing it I can understand - not only is it huge, but the exterior and interiors are exactly like a castle should be, they are grand and truly spectacular.
It is over 300 years old (building commenced in 1699) and it was built by the 3rd Earl of Carlisle to impress the King. It has been used in films such as Brideshead Revisited and even Garfield 2! Apart from the amazing paintings, busts and statues, we loved that the Howard family still live their with their 9 year old twins and there are photos of the family throughout the house.
The gardens too were stunning, with statues dotted throughout, beautiful lakes, a large forest and green everywhere. We really enjoyed the hours we spent wandering through the house and grounds in the sunshine. Surprisingly the weather was actually... Hot! I find it hard to describe our afternoon at Castle Howard: I found it truly awe-inspiring and it really did take my breath away. Indeed I was particularly trigger happy with taking photos as I was so excited!!