Yesterday, after getting to the train station, was told about engineering works on the Newcastle to York line. So had to catch a bus to Darlington first, and then a train down to York. So got into York a bit later than I expected, but nothing too bad.

I got a cab to the hostel, easier than walking with my bags, dropped off my luggage then took a walk back into town. By then it had gotten dark, so used that time to take some awesome night pictures around the city. This was commonly mentioned on most guides to York - "in York the gates to the city are called bars, the roads are called gates and the bars are called public houses". I did spend a while around the Minster area, which looks incredible at night. Then there was also Guy Fawke's birth place, the city walls at night and Clifford's Tower, also lit up at night.

After turning numb from the cold, I decided on dinner which was a good Yorkshire pudding and some Yorkshire ale, not sure on the name. And that brought a close to my first half-day in York.

This morning, I began with an open bus city sightseeing tour around York, which made navigating the city later on much easier. Again I visited Clifford's Tower, the Monk Bar, the Jorvic Viking Centre, walked along the city walls as well as views of the river Ouse.

In York, there's an old street called the Shambles - it dates back to the fourteenth century old street and is lined with overhanging timber-framed buildings. Also in York is St Mary's Abbey - a ruined Benedictine abbey that lies in the museum gardens. The original abbey on the site was founded in 1055.

After that, I paid to go inside the York Minster and have a walk around. Such amazing architecture inside there, and dating back so many years. There was a self guided tour under the Minster which includes the history of the cathedral as well as the museum. Afterwards, being a Sunday, I went inside for a service. I've always wanted to attend a service inside one of the cathedrals in this country, and the timing was perfect.

After the service, I had some dinner (another Yorkshire pudding), and then made my way back to the hostel to pick up my bags before heading back to the station, to get my train back to London. Definitely not looking forward to work tomorrow after an amazing week away, but I guess it's back to the real world at some point.