A historical jumble, York mixes Georgian homes with Medieval wonders and Victorian train stations. In the shadow of an ancient castle you’ll find the chicest restaurant and a stone’s throw from a debtors prison turned museum is the most adorable, 60’s-focused vintage store around. There are ghost-harbouring snickleways and cobbles that hail from the days when York bore the name Eboracam, and Romans roamed the streets. It’s the birthplace of Judi Dench and Rowntree’s and boasts a teahouse with a rather mysterious name.
Yet York’s most beguiling feature is its rather northern character. Beautiful and thoroughly British, York is also, quite possible, one of the friendliest cities around. After all, Yorkshire is where you head for eye contact, smiles and to be called ‘pet’, ‘duck’, or ‘love’ by absolutely everybody.
While lost wandering York’s ancient walls a friendly local spotted my camera, picked me for a tourist and began to impart her local knowledge. I learnt that ‘The Shambles’ is the oldest shopping street in Europe and warranted a mention in the Domesday Book of 1086, York has been officially labeled the most haunted city in Europe and that the city has the only Japanese Bullet train outside Japan. Coming from London, where talking on the tube is somewhat unusual, chatting with a knowledgable stranger felt enjoyable.
In my B&B, the quaintly delightful Bloomsbury Guesthouse, which has rooms named after local flowers, I learnt about all the historical gems leading into town (such as Guy Fawkes’ school), was given tea aplenty and got lost in conversation with almost every other guest I encountered.
Friendliness also reigns supreme of the food front. Pig and Pastry, a packed café/restaurant/bakery, is designed for conversation with large communal tables and no Wi-Fi. It’s about enjoying food and company rather than checking emails. At J Baker’s Bistro Moderne you quickly learn that most of the customers are locals who visit on a weekly basis. Chef Jeff Baker also displays the menus of restaurants he admires. Who needs to be competitive anyway! Similarly, at Lime House Restaurant, chatty staff and a quaint interior give the dishes extra flavor. For whimsy and old-world elegance there’s Betty’s. Here you can dine on delicate tea and fat-rascals (a cross between rock cakes and scones) while pondering just who ‘Betty’ actually was. One of the original British coffee house, conversation and charm flows here as easily as it did in more refined days gone by.
Polished, elegant and utterly magical, few things are as moving as evensong in York Minster or a wander through York’s gardens as Spring takes hold. Go to York for the architecture, food and history but stay for its character.
