Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: York

  • LDWA History Group – York Visit

    LDWA History Group – York Visit

    And a little advert below for the LDWA’s history group, which can be joined by any member of the LDWA. It was thought a marvellous idea for me to lead a two-hour history walk for anyone who wanted to come along during the NEC weekend a couple of weeks ago. Rather pleasingly, I can report that there were no disasters. No-one got lost, stomped off, complained (to my knowledge) or left the LDWA. I’m fairly sure that the redoutable Stuart Bain (the NEC’s Environment and Risk Officer) was impressed as well. Win-win!

    The city walls around York, which are some of the most complete in the country. York Minster looks rather beautiful from the walls as well. I must admit to quickly rushing around the walls before the walk started to check that they were still there, although to be fair they’ve lasted quite a few centuries. I also had to check, several times, when they shut, which was fortunately just after we would be leaving them. As can be seen, there was a lot of preparation here…..

    A photo opportunity with the York sign in front of the Minster, and a view from the city walls. The handy thing about leading a two hour history walk for the LDWA is that the distance was much shorter than our usual efforts, so it was likely just under five miles in length.

    As another one of my irrelevant asides, I was one of the people who complained a few years ago at the hideous development that English Heritage were planning at Clifford’s Tower, ploughing straight into the mound with a new visitor centre. If I may say so, the proposals from English Heritage were arrogant, insensitive and showed a complete disregard for heritage, the latter of which really isn’t ideal given their name. In 2018, English Heritage scrapped the visitor centre element and said in a statement:

    “English Heritage also has a new director for the north of England, Andrea Selley, who has been listening to the views of the local community. And while the proposed visitor building would have sat within a relatively modern part of the mound (dating from the 1930s) and did not pose a risk to the archaeology, it was clear that many people love the shape of the mound and disliked the thought of its circumference being broken. Because of these reasons, English Heritage will not now place a visitor building within the mound.”

    Why they got so far with their proposals is another matter, but I digress…. Their new project is much better and respects the site’s integrity.

    Coppergate, which is actually named after coopers, the men (as it was usually men during the medieval period who made barrels, casks and the like.

    And some photos of York at night. I’d stress here that I didn’t get everyone lost for hours, I took these photos after the pub visit and on my way back to the hotel. I look forwards to leading a history walk in whatever town or city the NEC next spend a weekend in. Here’s to the next LDWA adventure!

  • York – Holiday Inn Tadcaster Road

    York – Holiday Inn Tadcaster Road

    Going back a week (I’ve got a bit behind with these posts….), this is my stay at the Holiday Inn on Tadcaster Road for the LDWA NEC weekend. It’s a bit of a walk from York city centre, about forty minutes, but it’s a decent enough route to meander along. It passes by Tyburn, where criminals were executed in centuries gone by, to add a little spice to the walk. I’d add that there are regular buses for those who don’t feel the need to walk absolutely everywhere.

    In about 90% of occasions I think the quality of a hotel is evident in the welcome at reception. Some hotels do this really well and their whole service ethic is just a delight. A few are, to be honest, bloody hopeless and that theme usually continues. Anyway, this hotel had a warm welcome, a friendly team member and there was an air of competence about proceedings. It transpired that this set the theme for the stay.

    The room, which was spotlessly clean, with the exception of an old red wine stain that has clearly wrecked the carpet (not in the photo) at some point in the past. You don’t get that with beer…… There was a photocopied note from the area manager on the desk which said to please bear with them whilst they get supplies and staffing back to normal. I didn’t experience any issues, but I appreciated their honesty that things might not be perfect. It does seem though that they’ve had a number of staff leave and it has proved challenging to replace them, but I’m fairly sure that’s been a problem across the hospitality industry.

    The view from my window, which fortunately opened as I’ve muttered on before about how I don’t like sterile rooms where everything is sealed. It’s not pleasant, it’s annoying. This hotel let their customers have some air.

    There was a Kit Kat in the mini fridge, so I was immediately sold on the hotel. I’m easily won over….

    And hot chocolate, that’s a decadent little treat.

    The reviews for the hotel seem generally positive, although there are a fair few saying that the rooms look old fashioned. I thought that mine was fine and I can’t see any photos of different room designs, but perhaps they’ve shoved some people they don’t like in some old annex. There probably is a bit of renovation to do as they could do with some plugs near to the bed, but I can’t see that anything major needs doing.

    My stay was for two nights and there was little remarkable else to say, which is a great compliment as it meant nothing went wrong. Although the hotel was clearly nearly full, there was no noise either internally or externally. The room was cleaned after the first night, something that some hotels are still trying to avoid doing. All told, I couldn’t find anything to fault the hotel on, it was all really rather lovely and another positive IHG experience.

  • York – Brigantes Closing

    York – Brigantes Closing

    I visited Brigantes a few days before all pubs were forced to close in the UK and I thought that it was a well-deserved entry into the Good Beer Guide. Anyway, it’s been confirmed today that Brigantes won’t be re-opening when pubs are allowed to, so the closure is permanent.

    Sad news and I agree with Roger Protz who posted on Twitter:

  • York – Brewdog

    York – Brewdog

    I’m writing this shortly after the Prime Minister’s announcement that all pubs, bars and restaurants should close from tonight. It was a week ago today that I was in Brewdog in York, feels much longer given how much has changed with the virus situation. Anyway, it’ll all blow over soon hopefully.

    I hadn’t realised that there was a Brewdog in York, it was only walking by that I happened to notice it, a reminder that I need to look at their list of UK pubs more often. Well, after this virus has finished faffing about with the British pub scene anyway.

    The staff member was friendly and helpful, something that the chain tends to get right. Not the most vibrant of atmospheres, since there was only one other customer on a Friday afternoon, but I didn’t require a nightclub feel, so all was well.

    I opted for the Velvet Merkin by Firestone Brewing, all the way from California. It’s not cheap, at just over £10 per pint, but this isn’t a drink that needs to be purchased in such a large measure. It felt like its 8.5%, with this being the barrel aged version of the brewery’s Velvet Merlin beer. The beer was marvellous, rich in initial flavour and there were afternotes of chocolate, vanilla and coffee. A multi-layered drink and very decadent, an excellent guest choice from Brewdog.

    The packed bar….. Everything felt welcoming about the location though, no loud music, the temperature was appropriate and the toilets were clean and fully stocked, something particularly important at the time.

    There are a few different sections to this Brewdog, this is the seating area at the rear. It makes me feel rather quite sad to know that for several weeks this bar, and tens of thousands of others, will be closed.

    Anyway, the pub is well reviewed on-line, but I felt the need to have a little look at the grumpy reviews on TripAdvisor. This is one of the 1/5 reviews, they didn’t like what I would call the on trend decor:

    “The worst part though is the venue itself. It’s like walking into a building site. What a total mess it looks. Maybe they are trying to be trendy I don’t know but it’s a right tip. Rough walls, filthy floor, cables and tat hanging from the roof. The bar is made of outdoor road paving slabs that looked like they hadn’t had a wipe down in days. The front of the bar is just rough old pallets with bloody great splinters sticking out.”

    And another unhappy customer who didn’t like the design:

    “The decor is a dump.. think it’s meant to be trendy, but it’s still a dump… and beer at up to £12.50 a bottle… mmmm don’t think I will bother again..”

    On a matter of principle, a really innovative craft beer bar is inevitably going to have bottles at over £10, such as the cost of importation.

    “Shame. I loath decorating and DIY so why would I feel relaxed in a placed that intentionally gives itself the ambience of a renovation project?”

    And another one, the bar seems to get more complaints about its decor than anything else.

    I imagine there’s quite a student feel to this bar on evenings throughout the year, it’s on the infamous Micklegate bar crawl and it’s all suitably on-trend. I liked this Brewdog though, and the staff member remembered what I’d ordered and asked if I’d enjoyed it. Now, I accept that this wasn’t a huge feat of memory given the number of customers, but it’s still a nice touch.

     

  • York – Ibis York Centre

    York – Ibis York Centre

    I booked this hotel as part of the Black Friday offer from Accor, all the way back in December. It was the last of the 50 or so room nights that I’d booked in this offer across January, February and March, all fortunately taken before the virus has limited my travel somewhat.

    The Ibis York Centre isn’t in the heart of York, but it’s a short walk to the railway station and was convenient enough for me. It’s rated badly, TripAdvisor put it at 46th out of 47 hotels in York, so there’s clearly some work to do.

    This was the room that I was given, although it transpired that the lock didn’t work and so I couldn’t lock the room. Two staff members came to resolve it before the maintenance man was called, although it transpired that he had gone home. I was given another room promptly enough though, it was all handled well. The room was basic, no welcome amenity, but it was all clean and comfortable. Reading some reviews of the hotel, the door locks do seem to be a problem, and some guests can only resolve that by slamming the doors, which might be their only option, but still disturbing for others.

    The beer selection was very weak, although that’s not surprising for a hotel bar which isn’t even in the very centre of a city. I asked for a Bud, to which the staff member said they didn’t have any. I could see the bottle, so I tried again and thought he’d misheard me, he then said they don’t sell Bud. I asked for a Budweiser, and got my Bud. Although the barman decided that he wouldn’t offer me a glass with my exciting bottle of Bud.

    The breakfast was fine, to the side there was a hot selection of bacon, sausages and hash browns, with cereals, muffins and other standard Ibis fare in the central section. It took the staff some time to replenish empty items, but that was more down to how busy they were than any lack of effort. My breakfast came included with the room price, otherwise I’d have probably passed over it and walked into York to get something a bit more exciting.

    The hotel has a newer wing to it, which is badly built and gives limited sound protection between floors, so Ibis are always going to have problems here. I suspect they’d probably be better off giving up with this building as I can’t see that they’ll ever shift off near bottom spot with the noise problems in the hotel, although having written that, I didn’t personally get too disturbed.

    If they are committed to the building, it does need a modernisation of the rooms as well, they’re feeling a bit battered and the bathrooms certainly need some attention to bring them up the standard of Ibis hotels, which frankly isn’t that high a bar to reach. The manager responded in one review written by a disgruntled guest that the hotel is formed of three separate historic buildings, but that a modernisation programme is being considered.

    The staffing in the hotel was generally pretty good, although I wonder whether the hotel management should just leave Accor and run this as an independent budget hotel, or switch to being an Ibis Budget. The hotel was around £40 including breakfast, which I thought was perfectly acceptable, although usually the hotel is more expensive then this.

  • York – National Railway Museum (Stephenson’s Rocket)

    York – National Railway Museum (Stephenson’s Rocket)

    I’ve posted about numerous more peripheral exhibits that intrigued me in the National Railway Museum’s store, but it’s the original Stephenson’s Rocket that must be one of the museum’s most important in historic terms.

    I haven’t seen this locomotive at the museum before, as it only arrived here in 2019 after it spent a period at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and before that, the Newcastle Discovery Museum. Prior to that, it was at the National Science Museum in London (other than for a short spell in Japan and York) and I’m sure I must have seen it there, but like most things, I’ve forgotten.

    The locomotive has been well cared for most of its history, although it has also been modified and knocked about a bit since it was originally built in 1829. It was given to the Patent Office Museum in London in 1862, which later became the South Kensington Museum and much of their collection was taken over by the National Science Museum. It’s there that the locomotive remained until 2018.

    It is a thing of beauty, designed by Robert Stephenson and it was the winner at the Rainhill Trials when five different locomotives were entered into a competition to be used on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The other four locomotives didn’t finish the 1.75 mile length of track that had been laid out, so the contract went to Robert and George Stephenson. It must have been an exciting day, the Liverpool Mercury went into some detail about the locomotives, treating the five competitors like it had been some grand horse race.

    The first day of the locomotive’s use was a grand affair, attended by none other than the Prime Minister of the time, the Duke of Wellington. The first day wasn’t an entire success as the locomotive ran over, and killed, William Huskisson, the then MP for Liverpool. This gave him the unwanted honour of being the first person to be killed in a railway accident on the publicly operated rail network.

    Not much is known about what happened to the locomotive during its working life, the initial excitement in the newspapers tailed off somewhat. It’s moderately surprising that the locomotive wasn’t just scrapped given that railway heritage couldn’t have been much of a thing in the 1850s. But, here it remains today, on display at the National Railway Museum until at least 2030.

  • York – National Railway Museum (Keystone from Stockton & Darlington Railway)

    York – National Railway Museum (Keystone from Stockton & Darlington Railway)

    And another item in the National Railway Museum’s stores…..

    This might not seem exciting at first (or perhaps at all), but it’s a keystone from a decorative arch on the Stockton & Darlington railway. On one side there’s a human head and on the other are grapes. The notes for this item state that it comes from Stockton railway station, now known as Thornaby railway station. The Stockton & Darlington railway was the first public network in the world to use steam locomotives and it opened in 1825, so the 200th anniversary isn’t that far away.

  • York – National Railway Museum (Early Ascom Ticket Machine)

    York – National Railway Museum (Early Ascom Ticket Machine)

    And another in what I consider interesting items located at the store of the National Railway Museum in York.

    This is why having a large store at the National Railway Museum is such a marvellous idea, it allows them to display items which most people probably have little interest in, but they’re still a reminder of the history of the rail network. Unfortunately, the museum don’t seem to know which station this particular machine was from, but it does state that it’s a B8050 ‘Quickfare’ machine. Wikipedia mention that there are none of these left on the network, other than on the Isle of Wight where a few remain in use. I have no knowledge of railway ticket machines but I liked looking at it  🙂

  • York – National Railway Museum (McCorquodale Printers)

    York – National Railway Museum (McCorquodale Printers)

    And another item in the stores of the National Railway Museum in York.

    This was presented in 1980 by the printers, McCorquodale, to the British Railways Board to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester railway service.

    There’s a fascinating amount of detail here, this is a railway timetable from the days of Monotype, all before computerised printing…. There’s also a route map, British Railways logo and printing equipment as part of the set-up.

  • York – National Railway Museum (Memorial Plaque – Midland Railway Company)

    York – National Railway Museum (Memorial Plaque – Midland Railway Company)

    And another exhibit in the stores of the National Railway Museum in York.

    This is a memorial tablet which was presented by St. Leonard’s Church in Chapel Le Dale, commemorating those who lost their lives building the railway between Settle and Dent Head. I did ponder at first whether it was appropriate to remove it from its original location, but all is well as the sign says that a new one was installed as this one was damaged. Looking at a few photos of the church, it’s nice to see that the new tablet is visible and that the memories of those who lost their lives aren’t entirely forgotten.

    The number of people who died isn’t known, although over eighty people died from a smallpox epidemic at Batty Green, which was almost a shanty town for railway construction workers. Many others died during work on the line, a spectacular piece of railway engineering which required the construction of several viaducts.