November is not normally the best month to travel as the weather can be a bit dicey, but with a new set of wheels, we thought it opportune to venture forth and see a bit more of England that we haven't seen.
We had heard many good reports of York being a good "city visit" so took off for a couple of nights, passing through Sherwood Forest on the way. Totally underwhelming but had to stop for the Pic at least!
Our hotel was within the city walls and under the shadow of the York Minster. Quite a remarkable edifice and much stained glass. Our guide told us that 85% of the stained glass on the planet was in Europe, 85% of the stained glass in Europe is in Engand and 85% of the stained glass in England is in the York Minster. Can't help thinking she was extolling a bit of an urban myth!!
Anyway, there is much history to take in within the city walls, as much of English history occurred close by in days of yore. Romans, Vikings, Normans, Saxons, etc.
The city walls are very much in tact and the old gates well preserved. Despite the ubiquitous white vans!
York is also very well known for one of Europe's best preserved medieval streets, The Shambles. Very spooky at night!!
From York we drove Eastwards about an hour for a couple of nights at Whitby. For no other reason really than Whitby was where James Cook set sail to discover New Zealand and Australia.
We were a little disappointed that the replica of the Endeavour was not still moored in the harbour. It is now resident in Australia. They have a miniature version in Whitby, but I don't know why they bothered!!
I was very fortunate during our time in Queenstown to be invited over to Milford Sound in 1995 when the Endeavour replica visited NZ and was moored up against the bush in the Sound for a few days. A very memorable sight.
Whitby these days is a thriving English seaside resort with good fishing and many visitors. I would hate to go there during school holidays!! We had to avail of the local Whitby crab and the local Fish and Chips were well promoted, but any fishing village should be able to boast about their own Fish and Chips?
Another claim to fame is that it is the home of Whitby Jet, a precious gemstone. The Jet comes from fossilised Monkey Puzzle trees dating back to the Jurassic period, 180 million years ago. Mining has been banned but it still appears in the cliffs along a seven mile stretch of the coast, especially after heavy seas. The raw product is quite grey or brown in colour but when milled is very black. Hence the term "Jet Black"!
Whitby is also known for it's Cistercian Abbey ruin which overlooks the cliffs. Closed for the winter but was quite an impressive sight just the same.
Who knows where the road may take us next? And by the way, the Passat performed beautifully and we felt much safer than travelling the open road in the Jazz.
