Day 140, 21 November 2012, York - The York Castle Museum and the Gaol.
We made it out of the hotel this morning in spite of the rain and general griminess of the day - it was very tempting to crawl back into bed after breakfast. Such a shame York has so much to see and do... so off we went to the York Castle Museum. The most hilarious exhibit was about Cleanliness. It followed the ways and means of washing and cleaning oneself and one's house from the earliest times. Fascinating exhibits of toilets, baths and washing machines - FYI - poor people could never afford soap - as a luxury item it had a tax on it. Unbelievable. There and people make fun of the English aversion to baths! We visited the Victorian Street exhibit and puttered through the cocoa shop, the pharmacy and the sweetshop (one of York's major industries has been confectionery - though the main companies of Rowntrees and Terrys are now owned by international companies Nestle and Kraft). They even had a hall devoted to the 1960s... The Who, The Beatles, a working 45 rpm jukebox - miniskirts, TV and moon landings. The final part of the visit was definitely worthwhile... standing in the prison cell believed to have been occupied by highwayman d*** Turpin. So much fun - almost too much history. Just walking around York we feel like time travellers - the pub we had lunch in was built in the 1800s... so quite young compared to the vast majority of local hostelries. In fact, walking through town hunting dinner tonight we passed The Three Tuns. (A tun being a barrel that takes 216 gallons of beer... so I suppose 3 tuns is enough for half a dozen punters on a quiet evening.) It's a gorgeous little pub that gave its renovating owners a little boost a few years ago. A cache of gold coins from the reign of Charles I were found hidden in one of the beams. Made us think how often treasure was stashed throughout the British Isles... and then people died, left town, got their head lopped off... and the treasure remains to be found. We eventually did a lap around the town and went for Chinese at a spot recommended by our new friends at Thomas's of York pub... and walked home along the river to Marygate. Half moon. Many stars. See breath in fog-like clouds in the air. Best case scenario will be a frost tomorrow for the Jorvik Viking Centre Archeological site. Worst (best?) case.... Snow! Have just checked the weather - apparently it's 5 degrees outside. Don't believe it. Simply don't! Must remember to take fur boots to Edinburgh next week. PS - Came home tonight and Christmas has arrived at the Jorvik Hotel, York - Yay!