Sunday 26 December 2010

York - arrival, sunrise and the River Ouse


York is a popular travel destination for shoppers, regional tourists and visitors from all over the world. I am continuing my series that I commenced before Christmas with the international market.

(( I am posting this early as I am planning a trip tomorrow for three days with my "Scarborough sand castle manager ! " to a place where there is heavy snow forecast.... not sure if we are going yet although I am packed... The dry days look to be misty for photos.... have a bad feeling about it all )).

There are many reasons that I believe the only way to arrive in York is by train....

"My train" this year is gradually becoming the saturday 07:00 Newcastle - London Kings Cross...
York - 24.04.10, London - 10.07.10, Peterborough - 02.10.10 and York - 11.12.10. I say this to give me an opportunity to display the 5 smaller images that you have not seen before from 24th April. I booked this ticket well ahead with East Coast and for the 1 hour (80mile/ 128km ) journey the ticket price cost less than the last time I parked my car in York for the day back in 2004 ! If the first time traveller arrives by car, a University degree is needed in working out the car park lettering codes. I once passed through York on the way to Bristol by coach.... not recommended either !

Although UK railway stations can be cold places as was the case today waiting for the train at 18:58 to return home, York railway station is a magnificent architectural place to see..








On leaving the railway station, the visitor is met by a city wall, where there is a great first view of York Minster. Just in time to see sunrise at 08:00. I didn't walk along the wall on this occasion as the ice made it too dangerous...


I followed the path in the direction of Lendal bridge in the centre of the above photo, then descended the steps down to the River Ouse to get a few better shots of the bridge.




Lendal Bridge was built in 1863 probably taking it's name from Lendal Tower to the left which is 700 years old. Interestingly enough, the Tower was up for sale as a property development in 2009 for £650,000. The rounded conical roof to the right of the bridge which seems to attracts the cities population of pigeons is called Barker Tower. This was built in the 14th century and was used as a toll booth for entering the city by ferry until ....as you have guessed it ... 1863.



Back up on the bridge, it was time to catch the morning light of the Lendal bridge lamps and the morning sunrise...


The York Boat river cruises are always popular with tourists in the summer, not sure about business during December.


Lendal Tower and bridge from under bridge street


The River Ouse that flows through York has a catchment area for nearly all of North Yorkshire and it is useful to own a boat living in a river apartment as flooding usually happens a few days after torrential rain or a severe thaw of Yorkshire snow. The most famous aspect of this is The Kings Arms public house on the opposite side of the river next to where I took the Bridge street image from.



This building has markings on the interior walls to signify the year when the flood waters rose to that level. It is always dramatic when the river is in full flow as Flooding at The Kings Arms ( York Press ) in this link shows.
Pigeon wake up call... " I wonder how much bread I can get today"



Yes, this is Petergate on a saturday in December...  ok, it is  early !!

Stonegate
When visiting York, it is good to have a plan as there is so much to see. I didn't have a plan on this occasion as I was a camera observer.
 It's time to go and have some breakfast and think about what to see today......




To be continued....


16 comments:

  1. I love the architecture of the train station, but also of York. So striking for me, as America does not have this kind of age and patina.

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  2. the first pic is amazing, i absolutely love the way the sun shine on he building, give the wow factor and the sun with boats by the canal. never been to york but you just convinced me to. ehhehe... have a blessed new year.

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  3. A lovely job you have made of this post. I too like York and have been a few times. Good luck with the weather. I think you are going to need it.

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  4. The railway station is great and I like the images of the city, but my favourite is the photo of the bridge!
    Have a nice new week:)

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  5. Beautiful sunrise shot! And the curves of the railway station are breathtaking! Thanks for the tour of York -- what a lovely city!

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  6. Wow! These photos are stunning! Love the architecture and the way you captured it!

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  7. Well, I will wait for the second part and for you to come back safely!
    After that I will post my opinion!
    A great one, for sure! ha ha
    Hmm...3 days...

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  8. Loved the shots of Lendel Tower and Bridge. The reflections in the river were "crystal clear". York looks like a lovely place to stroll down the streets and look in shop windows. I'd love to be there.

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  9. As usual, great photos. But especially love those shots of the train station! Okay, so how do you pronounce Ouse? like ooze?? And in Durham, how do you pronounce Wear - is it weeer? or ware? I wish everything came with a pronunciation guide. It's just a quirky thing I've got, but I hate mis-pronouncing place names (or people's names, for that matter.) So when I'm reading along in a book, I always get stuck at new names until I find out how they are pronounced.

    I'd love to be in York this week!

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  10. Very good photo series.
    You make us travel through your photo lenses!.

    Wish you a very good "travel" New Year!!

    Monika

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  11. The structure of York's train station and that of Lendal bridge are fine examples of clever, functional, and beautiful architecture.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  12. You know I have always wanted to visit England. Always! With a degree in English Lit and never been to the "homeland"... how is that possible? :)

    Your blog is truly a way to see it from here. BEAUTIFUL pictures.

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  13. Sooo beautiful.

    Glad that I found your site this year. Your works are great source of inspiration.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

    Wish you more travels next year. :)

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  14. Amazing pictures from a fascinating city. The architecture of the buildings and the brides in general is fabulous. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  15. Okay, I'm showing these pics (and the next two posts) to Kevin. Maybe that will stir up the 'gotta go to York' in him, too. Do you suppose if I put a DONATE button on my blog for 'Donate to Judy's trip to England' it would help? LOL My son suggested I write, 'Last day to donate your dollar!' and see if that would work. :-D

    P.S. Thanks for the mention in your York, Part 2 post.

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  16. Farmchick... York railway station has always impressed me & if I had to pick another 4 to go with it.... it would be St Pancras as a London station & Bristol Temple Meads then my heart telling me the atmosphere of Glasgow Central & my home of Newcastle Central. I feel I am just skimming around the edges with this post with no real meat. I am pleased you like what you see.

    Lily Riani... Thanks Lily, it was great to arrive early and catch the morning sun. At a guess, I would say that York is probably among the top 5 of places to visit from those people travelling from overseas. Some of the Ice sculptures I displayed before Christmas were shown in the street in pic 16... it was packed with people. Imagine what the city is like in August.

    Adrian... I think York is great too, but difficult for photographs as there are too many people about. I was lucky I only captured about 16 people in this post !

    Joo... The bridge reflections always seem to go down well.

    Vicki Lane... Thanks, I'm pleased you enjoyed the tour. The station curve and architecture are classic !!

    Denise... Thanks for your comments and I am pleased that I was able to show you around.

    Wind... As you know by now I didn't go away and as a result I am scraping around now looking for more material. I went for a drive in the car today and saw two places.

    forgetmenot... I was blown away when I saw the reflections. It doesn't show too well but there were huge sheets of ice floating down the river.

    Cranberry Morning... I've already spoken with you about the "ooze" and "weer". I realise the expense of it all... you might need a few last days to donate ! A lot of people reading this may like the idea of coming to explore, others I know have seen my trip, so they feel they have seen it. I'm just pleased that I can bring it to life for you to reminisce.

    Monika... Thanks for your comments. Hope 2011 is good to you too.

    Duta... There were some great builders here at one time that made fine structures.

    Allison... I aim to make this the next best thing to your dream !!

    Rizalenio... Thanks for your words of encouragement. A Happy New Year to you too.

    Phivos Nicolaides... Thanks fot your visit and good comments, A Happy New Year to you.

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