York is a remarkable city whose dukes once held the English throne. It has also been a major Roman garrison and the capital of Viking Britain which is why, still today, its streets are named ‘gates’ and its city gates are named ‘bars’.
Start your day at York’s railway station, a splendid and highly practical curving structure in yellow brick. When it opened in 1877 this station had 13 platforms, making it the largest in the world. Dainty, painted pedestrian bridges that wouldn’t be out of place in a Victorian municipal park link all those platforms.
Outside the terminus, take Station Road north towards the River Ouse. As soon as you can, climb onto York’s white medieval limestone walls. From here there is a wonderful view of the city, with its Georgian townhouses dominated by the soaring, solid majesty of York Minster, a huge cathedral dedicated to St Peter that is the seat of the second-most important bishop in Britain.
The city walls
