Second May bank holiday, second long weekend trip up north. This time to York. Even though I was in York at the beginning of the year, this was more a group weekend break, with about 13 of us all up for it. We left London after work on Friday and took the train straight into York. After getting to the hostel, we dropped our bags and missioned back into town for a 'few' beers and where ever seemed to be happening.

Saturday morning we moved hostels - since the first one could not accommodate us for Saturday and Sunday night, and the second hostel couldn't accommodation us for Friday night. They were close to each other, which made things easier. After that we used Saturday as a sightseeing day around York - including the York Minster, a trip up to the top of the Minster's central tower, St Marys Abbey and the Shambles. And then again that night, making the most of York's nightlife.

Yesterday we attempted a day trip to Whitby, which didn't really go to plan, initially. The single bus of the day to Whitby was already full by the time it got to York, which meant no more people could board. After some negotiating and decision making, we opted to head out by train to Scarborough, just for the sake of it. Which was one rough little town. However, there was a hourly metro bus to and from Whitby, and not nearly as busy as the York coach. So we got to see Whitby after all.

Whitby is known for two things - fish 'n chips as well as Whitby Abbey. It was founded in 657 by the King of Northumbria, and in 867 the abbey fell to Viking attack, and was abandoned. More recently, it helped inspire Bran Stoker's Dracula story.

After most of the day at Whitby, we finished off at a few rough little pubs in Scarborough, then headed back to York, for yet another night out in town.

Today was a fairly easy day. We took a walk around the town again as well as a boat cruise down the river, before getting a early bite to eat and then the train back to London.