York Minster Chapter House

The journey into York passed without incident and we made our way to the Minster. The first big decision of the day would be, do we get tickets to go up to the top of the tower? The answer was Yes!

Unlike the Scott Monument, which is just a free for all squeeze your way past or back up or down until you reach a landing, the York Minster trip is a well organised, well oiled machine. You are given a ticket and a time for your trip. You go up as a party and come down when you like (within reason, as some found out) before the next trip sets off. We had about an hour before we were due to ascend the 270 steps to the top, so we went our separate ways to wander round this magnificent gothic cathedral. The architecture was truly amazing, but of all the areas within, it was the octagonal Chapter House which impressed the most. The seven huge stained glass windows capped with a breathtakingly decorated vaulted ceiling. The Chapter House is one of the oldest parts of the Minster, having been constructed between 1260 and 1286. The stained glass used in the elaborate windows are also among the oldest examples, dating from around 1270. Heh, early bird that I was, I hogged the centre of the room for a wee while as I took these. I hadn't realised quite a gathering had formed around me as I stood dead centre bent over backwards to shoot the ceiling.

Then it was time to head to the tower. The climb was fine, broken by a stop halfway up to walk along the roofline from the steps from the church to get to the tower itself. The view from the top was amazing. However, it was spoilt somewhat by the use of heavy grating across the crenelated top, with just small openings to stick your camera lens though. Health and Safety gone mad... again! The weather was still pretty grey, although Christine managed to capture a wonderful vista from the top.

Down we came again and it was off to lunch before we headed our separate ways again. Christine hadn't been able to see everything she wanted before the tower trip, so it was back to the Minster for her. I opted for a wander along a section of the city walls and A headed off back into town.

We all met up and had a final wander through town before dinner. Our final act of the trip was to take one of the city ghost tours. A wonderful piece of entertainment but not much in the way of ghosts would be the best way to describe it. Then it was off back to the hostel and time to pack. Of course, that took a wee bit of time, in between the obligatory cards and a wee night cap to toast the end of a wonderful trip.

I think it was about 3am when we hit the sack.