HYDERABAD: We continued our walk through York with Matthew Greenwood, our guide who took us along the historic York. In the 18th century the moneyed classes regarded York as an attractive and elegant alternative to London and today, the city’s lingering Georgian town houses and buildings are a precious reminder of its most elegant manifestation. There is so much to see and do in York: even their evening entertainment includes ghost walks through city’s shadowy snickelways and ginnels to find haunted pubs – of which York boasts a great many. But I chose to opt out of this adventure, as I am not too fond of ghosts.
York Art Gallery
This multi award-winning Art Gallery’s attractions include an impressive collection of paintings from 14th century to contemporary (including Picasso); Italian altarpieces, 17th century Dutch morality works; 19th century French artists; British paintings (from 16th century); a large collection of studio ceramics, Chinese and Korean pottery, glassware and other decorative objects.
I found a painting by Philip Mercier (1689-1760) – “A Scene from the Careless Husband” interesting and funny. I always like paintings that tell a story. In this scene from the popular 18th century play, his wife finds Sir Charles Easy in a compromising situation with a maid. However, instead of being angry, Lady Easy worries that her husband may catch a cold and gently covers his bare head. The loss of his wig was especially significant as it was considered shocking for a man to expose his naked, shaven head. I thought his exposed adultery is much more shameful and shocking!
JORVIK
One of the most popular visitor attractions in UK, the week-long JORVIK Viking Festival had just started that day: York wore a festive look, celebrating its rich Norse heritage. Inspired by the ancient Viking celebration of “Jolablot” - a Norse festival that heralded the end of winter hardships and the coming of spring, this thousand year old tradition was long forgotten until it was brought back to life in the 1980s. Matt said proudly that the festival’s fun-filled events, and battle re-enactments attract over 40,000 visitors from across the globe. We saw many people dressed up as Vikings: small children holding swords and posing for pictures; men dressed as pirates with fully set up shops; women in equally interesting Viking costumes, it was a journey back to the Viking era.
At JORVIK Viking Centre, during the ride, one can experience the recreated sights, sounds and smells, of the Viking-Age based on the excavations, as it stood in the 10th century York. It is said that over 15,000 objects were recovered in the process of uncovering a Viking village complete with workshops, rubbish pits, latrines and wells. The authentically recreated flora and fauna growing in the ground; the breeds of animals portrayed; the splashes of natural dyes found in one of the backyards; the ancient languages spoken from Old English, Norse and even Ancient Arabic, all depicted a true Viking village that York once was.
National Railway Museum
York’s first railway station was built in 1839, and the present magnificent edifice dates from 1877. When it was opened, it was the largest station of its type in Europe: the city was naturally an ideal setting for the National Railway Museum. The giant halls are full of steam and diesel engines alongside railway legends including Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive. With over 200 years of history, and innumerable railway objects, the museum receives close to half a million visitors each year. The star attractions are Stephenson’s Rocket, Station Hall - home to queen Victoria’s favourite saloon and the world’s finest collection of royal carriages.
The Chocolate City
We had a lovely chocolate break - don’t we all know that York is famous for its chocolates? While other British cities were built on steel, coal or wool, York’s fame and fortune have rested on chocolate for almost 300 years and still remains UK’s home of chocolate. Nestle (formerly Rowntrees) and Terry’s chocolate factories grew up here - Kit Kat too was born here! We indulged in sinful chocolates of all kinds and bought some to carry home.
Minster
A massive, imposing statue of the Roman emperor Constantine greeted us at the entrance as we reached the world-famous York Minster. It is said that Constantine the Great was crowned in York in 306 AD, and is the only Roman emperor to have been crowned anywhere outside of Rome. York Minster is said to be the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe.
Today it stands to dominate the city: with roots in the nation’s earliest history. The glorious structure is said to have taken 250 years to build, from 1220 until its consecration in 1472. A masterpiece in stained glass and stone, the great East Window is known to be the largest area of medieval stained glass in the world. It looked like an enormous canvas with innumerable colourful paintings, all illustrating different stories from the Bible.While we sat admiring the stunningly beautiful interiors, we could hear the choir rehearsing for the evensong. As the notes of the divine music filled the lofty space, I could sense an all-encompassing peace and heavenliness.
(The author is a documentary filmmaker and travel writer; she blogs at vijayaprataptravelandbeyond.com)
Useful links:
www.visityork.org
www.visitbritain.com