Saturday March 7, 2026.
As per usual, when I am away, I awoke early at around 05:40.
So, I quietly made my way to the bathroom, where I washed and dressed making sure not to wake Emma. I then made my way down to reception and out into the cool dawn morning, heading into the city.
I barely saw a single person as I made my way through the darkened streets, snapping photos of old churches and historic buildings as I made my way towards 'Shambles'. On our visit the previous night 'Shambles' had been full of visitors, but this morning was completely deserted. The early morning light giving it an otherworldly countenance.
From here I headed towards the Minster, with still no one in sight. More photographs were taken, before the light brightened and people began to appear, heading to their workplaces.
I followed my feet, confident that the layout of the city was stored correctly in my mind, as each lane, street or alleyway twisted and brought me to another wonderful building. 'The Golden Fleece' pub would become a landmark for the entire weekend, as it always seemed to be where we would end up.
I then headed back to the hotel room, where Emma was now awake. So, we headed down to breakfast before returning to the room. We had a timed slot to visit the National Railway Museum, later in the day, so I decided to go for another walk.
This time I decided to walk along the city walls from 'Layerthorpe Bridge' towards the Minster. I ascended the stone steps and began my journey. I passed 'Tower 31' and then looked down on the remains of the 'East Angle Tower Eboracum Roman Fort'. A little further on and I was looking down on the remains of an 18th century Ice House, on the banks outside the city walls. Here I was forced to descend to street level, at 'Monk Bar', before I could climb the gateway to the next part of the City Wall Walk.
By now more people were traversing the narrow walkway in both directions, requiring occasional pauses in the wider sections for other walkers to pass. Some parts of the inner wall had metal railings, while other parts were open, requiring extra care on the slightly damp flagstones. Soon I reached the northern corner of the wall and continued in a southwesterly direction. I eventually reached 'Bootham Bar', with its wonderful portcullis and steps that would take me down to street level.
On leaving 'Bootham Bar' I followed 'High Petergate' and onto 'Low Petergate' to 'King's Square'. Here I turned down 'Shambles', by now a hive of activity, and out onto 'Pavement', opposite 'The Golden Fleece'. Here I turned westward and headed back to the hotel.
We then went out for another walk, where gifts were purchased, before returning to the hotel to prepare for the afternoon.
As the National Railway Museum was on the other side of the city and beyond the railway station, we decided to take an Uber so as not to rush. The Uber dropped us outside the museum and, after showing our tickets, descended the short flight of stairs to the Great Hall. For the next three hours we explored the exhibits of the Great Hall, the North Shed, and the Station Hall.
The Great Hall is home to the large locomotives, carriages and railway infrastructure. These include a winding engine, Liverpool and Manchester Railway Coaches, early wagons and a replica of Stephenson's 'Rocket'. Then there were the locomotives. A Deltec diesel locomotive (1961), the streamlined 'The Duchess of Hamilton' Coronation class steam locomotive (1938), a Festiniog Railway locomotive (1885), a Diesel Railcar (1934) and so much more. There was a Shinkansen (1976) Japanese 'Bullet train' and the gigantic KF17 built for the Chinese railway.
But, the highlight for me was seeing 'Mallard'. On July 3, 1938, 'Mallard' attained a World Speed Record for Steam Traction of 126 mph. Also close by was the 1906 Dynamometer Car, which is the fastest surviving steam-hauled railway carriage in the world. This 'laboratory on wheels' witnessed the moment 'Flying Scotsman' hit 100 mph, in 1934, and the speed record set by 'Mallard', in 1938. It was retired in 1951.
We then moved to the North Shed, which is literally a warehouse of railway memorabilia, that includes models, signs, crockery, ticket machines, locomotive name plates, clothing and everything else that you could think of to do with railways. It also has a model called the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Signalling School, built in 1912, which is the oldest working model railway in the world.
We then made our way along to the Station Hall, which contains the royal carriages and locomotives. Here we explored how the opulence of the royal carriages influenced train travel. From the first on-train toilets to air conditioning and umbrella holders, which make travelling by rail more comfortable and luxurious. There were also trucks, postboxes, advertising, kiosks and more to discover. Built in the 1870s, Station Hall was once York’s main goods station and continued as a working railway until the 1960s. Today you can explore vehicles spanning a century of railway history.
On leaving the Station Hall we passed the miniature railway as we made our way towards York station, ready for our next adventure.
Arriving at the bus stop, outside York station, we waited patiently for the black routemaster bus to arrive, as we had tickets for the York Ghost Bus Tour. We had taken the London Ghost Bus Tour, back in 2019, so were eager to see how this one compared.
Dead on time the 1960s Necrobus arrived and Frank Stein, our 'dead' conductor checked our tickets and begrudgingly allowed us to board the us. Emma and I took seats at the front of the bus, on the lower deck. Soon Bob, our driver, manoeuvred us out onto the main road and our journey into York's ghostly past began.
Bob drove the Necrobus through the city walls and across the Historic River Bridge, all the while Frank told us stories of the Grey Lady and various other ghosts that haunt the buildings and cemeteries of York. York is supposedly home to over 2000 ghosts. The tour continued as the bus took us along Foss Bank, where suspected witches were 'dunked'. The belief was that as water was pure, if the witch drowned, they were innocent, as the water only accepted purity. If they floated they were guilty, as the purity of the water rejected the evil. Those found guilty were then killed by hanging or burning at the stake. Talk about a no-win scenario.
As we continued our journey, smoke began billowing from beneath the stairwell of the bus, which caused Bob to stop outside the chapel of St Crux. Frank got everyone to leave the bus and he took across the road to the chapel. He explained that this was the spot where nobles lost their heads, for it was here that those of noble birth were executed. The poor were executed outside the city walls. He then told us the story of a young boy who attended one such execution. As the nobleman's head fell from the body it rolled towards the boy, who picked it up and began skipping around the small square, the blood-dripping head in his hand. Moments later he was taken ill and was moved to the attic room of 'The Golden Fleece', opposite. He died the following day and is said to haunt the pub and St Crux.
By now Bob had 'fixed' the Necrobus, so we all clambered aboard, took our seats ready to hear more stories. The tour took us to Clifford's Tower, the largest surviving piece of York Castle. I was here, in 1190, that 150 Jews committed suicide, rather than convert to Christianity or denounce their faith. We then continued on to St George's Churchyard, where Dick Turpin is interred. The old 'Terry's chocolate factory' was next on the route, for it is said that a man fell head-first from a platform and died. He still haunts the buildings.
Then it was off to the races as the tour brought us to 'York Racecourse', once home to York's Tyburn Gallows. From here we meandered our way back to the station, all the while Frank kept everyone entertained with stories and dark humour.
Having left the Necrobus we headed through the city walls and found a coffee shop, as caffeine was sorely needed. Once we had finished we headed along 'Lendal' and entered 'Zizzi', where we had a table booked for dinner. The food and service were great, as we always find at 'Zizzi', making it the perfect end to the evening.
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