Three in York

　
Welcome to my blog. My name is Alex Chester. I hope that you enjoy this blog, which reviews the various attractions in the county of Yorkshire.

For my first blog I will review my top three favourite attractions in the beautiful city of York.

Firstly I chose the city walls, as they give as sense of the history of York and offer magnificent views of the city. The walls surround the city and are available to the public to walk on.

The walls have been present since the time of the Romans and are the most intact city walls in England. They were originally constructed for the purpose of defence on the orders of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. The best time to walk on the walls is early Autumn as it adds an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. There is a delightful section of the wall that gives a splendid view of the Minster.

The wall walk that goes across Monk Bar gives a real feel of what the city was like in Medieval times. Bootham Bar also gives a good feel of the city’s Medieval period and gives a excellent view of the city as a whole and of the minister.
Micklegate Bar offers a grand entrance into York and gives a historical feel to the city. It also works as a good starting place to explore the various sections of the wall.

I hope this gives some idea of the feel of the walls and their history.

Secondly, the Jorvik Viking Centre is a museum built over the site of the Viking occupation of York or as they called it, Jorvik.

At the archaeological site, Viking artefacts were discovered including some of the timber buildings of the Viking settlers. The artefacts also include pottery, metal work and bones. Unusually, at the site, wood and leather items were found preserved in clay. Inside the Jorvik Centre, the Viking city is brought to life with the sights and smells of the era.

You take a ride in a chariot and are talked through the history of Jorvik and get to see an excellent recreation of the Viking society. Also in the museum area, beyond the time capsule ride, are interactive displays suitable for young children. The displays also include a replica of the Coppergate Helmet.

Lastly, the York Dungeons demonstrate the grisly past of York with the use of actors and models showing the stories of characters such as Dick Turpin and Eric Bloodaxe the Viking.

There is also an excellent show of the plague, which gives a grisly portrayal of the Black Death in York.

The dungeons may be frightening for the very young, but for older children can prove an exiting and entertaining day out.


　
I hope that people find this useful if they visit York.