On Tuesday, March 1, I didn’t have school because there was another teacher strike. Of the two teachers I’m working with, one of them striked (is that the right word?) and the other one came into work. The teachers are striking because they want higher pay from what I can understand. It’s such a terrible shame that this is happening all over the world. Teachers are undervalued. It’s disheartening to say the least. I stand in solidarity with these teachers. This is the second one that has happened since I have been in the UK. The first one was a February 1st and this one happened in March 1st.
Anyway, several people had suggested I visit York while I am in Castleford because it’s very close and a unique city to see. So I did! It’s a short hour and a half train ride up.
In the morning I found a cute coffee shop to go sit in and work in because I was really behind on things like emails and planning and blogging. So I went to the super cute coffee shop in Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, which is apparently a medieval guild hall. They do tours and things, but I did not do that. I didn’t know anything about it but online the pictures looked really cozy and inviting. And it was exactly that! I enjoyed walking through town to find it. When I got there, I was surprised at how cute the building itself was. I ordered a latte and a sweet treat then I sat down and got to work. I worked for about probably 2 1/2 hours.
Then I decided to look up tours that might be happening in the afternoon. Luckily, there was a witch tour that was happening, so I jumped on board. I don’t retain much on these tours, but it’s a great way to see the highlights of a town – one, you’re not by yourself, and two, you get information that you couldn’t get if you were just wandering around town. I also realize that I enjoy being entertained for an hour or so and this tour was exactly all of that. The girl was dressed up like a witch, which was…whatever, but she did give some good historical information about some of the women who were thought to be witches in York. Apparently, witch-hunts were happening between about 1500 and 1800. The tour told us about specific women who were considered witches. Some of them were herbalists, some killed their husbands because they were being abused, others likely had mental health problems that were not diagnosed yet. Things like that. During that time there was a frenzy of people who were out to believe women were witches if they stepped out of line with the typical narrative of what a woman should be – a nurturing wife and mother, blah blah blah. So, a lot of women in particular were killed around the York area, because people had these weird superstitions about what a witch was and did. I can’t guarantee that this website is particularly accurate, but it gives you a sense of some of the stories of some of these women. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/history/notorious-witches-yorkshire-tragic-chilling-21242693
These days, it’s preposterous that people actually thought that. Today, the idea of what I think a modern-day witch is, is more one of an empowered woman who may intimidate others (particularly the patriarchy) and I’m way on board with that. And of course, we do still see certain people (the patriarchy) going after powerful women, don’t we?
Anyway, the witch tour was a lovely way to walk around and see some sites in the city. After that I walked around the city wall. You can actually go and walk on top of a long portion of it. Super cool! I got some awesome pictures from that.
Why was York a walled city, you ask? Well, I got this info from a history site:
“The York City Walls were originally established in 71 AD during Roman times, built to protect the 9th Legion from locals. Very little of the Roman walls remain, except from the Multiangular Tower, an imposing 3rd-century ten-sided stone tower located in the York Museum Gardens.
Renovated, fortified and extended under the Normans, the York City Walls continued to be added to up until the 16th century. Their ‘bars’ were used from the mid-13th century onwards to control who came in and out of the city, even practicing as medieval toll booths for non-freemen bringing goods to market.” From https://www.historyhit.com/locations/york-city-walls/
I also went and had a beer in this cool-looking pub we walked by on the tour. Everything in this city is just so historic and interesting and different to look at. The pub was called Pivni, and on the sign, it said World Beer Freehouse. It is housed “within a stunning three-story, 16th century building just off the famous Little Shambles, and it’s super cute inside and outside.” (from their website)
After that, I was pretty much tired from walking around all day. So I walked back to the train station around five and got the train back to Castleford. What a great day! These kinds of adventures are what I love about solo travel!
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