Scotland - Day 11 Home

I'm writing this blog from home. James is in the bath. And we have kit from our holiday strewn half across the house. Most of that is for tomorrow to sort out.

We awoke this morning in York to another sunny day. (It was 31 degrees here in Windsor). We had originally planned to get on the road straight away. But last night we discovered a charming and historic city in York. So it was an easy decision to postpone the drive home and spend the morning exploring.

Merrilyn was keen to tour Yorkminster. And James just wanted to get back to the playground opposite the B&B. I, on the other hand, wanted to walk the historic Roman city walls to get a unique view of the town. So straight after our breakfast we decided to split and meet at 10:30am outside Yorkminster.

As I'm writing this blog tonight you'll get my perspective of the morning.

It is possible to walk on the old city walls that ring perhaps 50% of the centre of York. Most of the walls are about 4 metres in height and most have earthern ramparts on the interior. From this height you get a good perspective of the minster and other buildings - not to mention some wonderful back yards!

The walk starts at Bootham Bar - the North Gate. There has been a gate here for over 2000 years. Roman legions marched through this gate northwards into present day Scotland. I climbed about 15 steps and started off. The morning was still and quiet so it was very enjoyable to walk past the Minster and on to about 6 other gates in the walls. Along the way I saw an ancient ice storage locker (looked like a brick igloo). Apparently ice was collected in the winter and stored for later use. Most of the locker is under ground and what emerges are thick walls and a domed roof.

I finished my morning walk off at Clifford's Tower. This is a quatrefoil keep (four round towers that are grouped together) and located on a raised earth mound. I understand the castle was built in the late 13th century.

I circled back and met Merrilyn and James outside Yorkminster. We enjoyed coffee and shared a scone in the park before walking back to the B&B and leaving about 11:30am.

Making our way south we basically had a long drive back. Nothing is ever easy on the motorways and we had to detour off the M1 due to a closure today. We made an early detour to avoid the bottleneck of traffic and the long tailbacks. So our journey was a little longer and more circuitous than planned.

But we're home. And James - I know - has had enough of cars. He complained today that he didn't want to get in the car again. I know how he feels! Tonight we dined at a favourite local Japanese restaurant. James was supposed to give us his good manners but was a little naughty; climbing under the tables and banging and crashing the table. I think its good to be home.

Tomorrow - its back to work for me. Merrilyn will no doubt spend time cleaning up and getting ready for the arrival of my folks from Melbourne in a few days.