Welcome to the historic walled city of York, located at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England.  This, and the next two posts, are dedicated to this city in the North of England and all photos we’re taken during our weekend trip back in 2016.

As with most of the historic cities and villages in the UK you can find your way easily around the town’s points of interest using these signposts. I’ve become very fond of them, so will be featuring them on most posts dedicated to British towns and villages. Perhaps the most well known, and least useful, is the one situated in Land’s End.

Reopened in 2015, after major redevelopment, the York Art Gallery was established in 1822 and houses a collection of paintings from 14th-century to contemporary, prints, watercolours, drawings, and ceramics. In 2016 the gallery was in the final select for the Museum of the Year award, a title that ended up going to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

The back of the gallery connects to the Yorkshire Museum Gardens and the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. At the time of our visit, this strange art installation adorned the grounds, giving a surreal view of the traditional buildings of the streets surrounding the gallery. If the weather is nice, this a great walk to do, since most people tend to head straight to the Museum. 

St. Mary's Abbey ruins is most likely the second most visited attraction in the city of York. Once the richest abbey in the north of England, it lies in what are now the Yorkshire Museum Gardens, to the west of York Minster.
The original church on the site was founded in 1055 and dedicated to Saint Olaf II of Norway.  The abbey church was refounded in 1088 when the King, William Rufus, visited York in January or February of that year and gave the monks additional lands. In 1137 the abbey was badly damaged by a great fire.[5] The surviving ruins date from a rebuilding programme begun in 1271 and finished by 1294.

All that remains today are the north and west walls, plus a few other remnants: the half-timbered Pilgrims' Hospitium, the West Gate and the 14th-century timber-framed Abbot's House (now called the King's Manor).
From 1667 to 1688, it was the residence of the Governor of York. After 1688, the building was hired out to private tenants until the nineteenth century, when it was taken over and expanded by the Yorkshire School for the Blind. On the departure of the Blind School in 1958, the Manor was acquired by York City Council, who leased it to the University in 1963. The University later moved to the Heslington Campus, but still maintains King's Manor for its Department of Archaeology (including the Archaeology Data Service), Centre for Medieval Studies, and Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies

Leaving the Museum gardens through to Marygate road, the walk back to the York Minster and the City Walls, you are rewarded with a quiet road full of english character. If you do go up to the city walls, keep an eye out for the great views over the city's rooftops.

One of the less known little churches worth a visit it the Holy Trinity Church in Goodramgate. Next week I'll publish an image from the interior, but for now would like to draw your attention to the bell that hangs at its door with the invitation 'Ring for Peace'.  The Defence Of the Realm Act forbade the ringing of some church bells during war time – this project asks people to ring a bell for peace to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WW1. With permission of The York Bell Fund, three remaining bells from the old church of Holy Trinity or Christchurch (The Butchers’ Church), King's Square have been located across the City.

I'll end this long post with another image of the Lendal Bridge, where we finished our first day in York. The day started under heavy clouds, but ended with great sunshine, which took me to the river's edge with my trusty travel tripod to do some long exposures. Hope you liked the introduction to the city of York, next week there will be more.
Until then, 
Keep wandering...