Our journey to York ran smoothly despite experiencing some erratic drivers along the various motorways. When it was time for lunch we stopped at Woodall services with its never endimg walkway to reach Waitrose on the opposite side of the road. In Waitrose we picked up sandwiches for our in-car picnic.

Comfortably replete we continued our journey to York where we parked in the hotel car park and checked in before heading into York. We visited Cliffords Tower which has recently undergone some changes that allow visitors more open access to the tower. The transformation is amazing and I would recommend the Tower to anyone who visits York. After the lofty heights of the Tower we visited the nearby York Army Museum which displays the history of both the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Royal Dragoon Guards in joint chronological order.

It was now time for afternoon refreshments so we stopped off at Fenwick’s where I chose Elderflower Presse and refrained from indulging in one of the ‘naughty cakes’.

By the time we got back to the hotel our room was ready so we collected the key and unloaded our car. The room was fantastic and there were several complimentary drinks, including a bottle of wine, for us to enjoy during our stay.

We had plenty of time to chill out in our gorgeous room before it was time to dine in the Olive Tree which is situated next to Clifford’s Tower. There had been an incident earlier in the evening which meant that part of the restaurant had been taped off until the police arrived to access the situation. The service was good and our meals were enjoyable but not gourmet.

After dining we headed back towards the hotel expecting to stop off at a pub along the way. Unfortunately all the famous pubs had bouncers on the door which wasn’t very inviting so we settled on a pub nearer to the hotel. I found a seat, not very comfortable, whilst Mr C ordered drinks at the bar. Some time later Mr C came back without drinks… The service was too slow.

We found a pub that was almost next door to the hotel. The comfortable laid back atmosphere was wonderful.

The three neoclassical buildings in the courtyard are the Debtors’ Prison of 1705, with its clock tower and cupola (opposite), the Assize Courts of 1773-77 (on the right) and the Female Prison (on the left).  This group of buildings, although much late in date that the medieval castle, emphasises the continuing status of the castle as a centre for law and order.  The Assize Courts and the Female Prison were designed by the celebrated York architect John Carr (1723-1807) who was responsible for many of the public buildings and town houses in the city.  both the Debtors’ Prison and the Female Prison are today open to the public as museums maintained by York District Council. *

*From the Clifford’s Tower guide book.

For now I am emailing from my computer and if that works I shall try again to configure my mobile phone to send emails. I struggled with it last time but I think I know where I went wrong.

Below is a picture that I took from the top of Clifford’s Tower. I thought I was very brave going up there because I don’t do heights very well!

• The grass-covered earth mound which dates from William the conquerors reign

• The stone keep that was built on the orders of Henry III in the mid-thirteenth century

• The gatehouse that was erected in the seventeenth century to replace an earlier entrance

The English Heritage guide book gives a brief summary:

Clifford’s Tower is the central strong-hold of York Castle.  The castle was first built by William the Conqueror to secure his hold on the north of England.  It featured earthwork defences, a timber tower on top of the mound or motte, and domestic buildings in the courtyard (now occupied by the law courts and museum).  Over a century after its construction, in 1190, the Jews of York took refuge from a murderous mob in this tower.  This tragic episode ended in their mass suicide, during which the tower was consumed by flames.

It was rebuilt in stone by Henry III between 1245 and 1272, and has since survived floods, fire and partial destruction.  Little now remains, however, of the curtain walls, towers and gates of the courtyard or outer bailey.

Whilst in the tea shop the mizzle had now turned to torrential rain, so a quick change of plan was in order and I headed back to York in order to visit the Castle Museum.  I can’t say the journey back was very pleasant because it was too rainy to see the scenery.  I dropped the car back off at the hotel and rather than walk all the way into town decided to have lunch in the Castle Museum.  Unfortunately the cafe was closed due to the refurbishment that is taking place in the museum.  Next stop was the National Trust cafe whose kitchens were closed due to an art exhibition that was taking place there.  Do you detect a theme here?  Eventually a suitable place for lunch was found, although I declined on the food front (I was still full of cake) and just had a cup of tea.

By this time it had mostly stopped raining and because the castle museum was on the opposite side of town by now we were onto plan C of things to do.  This turned out to be walking around two segments of the town walls and visiting Clifford’s Tower.  Those of you who know York well will know that by this time I was back by the Castle Museum, but a visit there was saved for another day…  It was the day of the carnival and it was nice just to soak up the atmosphere in town before going back to the hotel for dinner.