We left the house in time to catch an early bus to Mytholmroyd. As the buses only run once an hour we were concerned about possibly missing our train if we went later. It meant that we had quite a long wait at the station, but Eversley and I went for coffee at the Bridge Cafe to fill in time.
As it was a bright and sunny day, waiting at the station was more pleasant than it might have been. Eventually we caught our train and made the change at Leeds for a train to York. That train actually went to Glasgow and was very comfortable compared to the Northern Line trains. We sat in booked seats which were free until after York. Stephen and I remembered this dance from our four week trip through Europe.
At the train station we had to meet Shaun, our AirBNB host. This took a little while and some messaging, but eventually we connected. He had to park his van away from the station, so got us to stand in a spot where he could pick us up. His kindness meant that we didn’t have to immediately negotiate the bus system and was much appreciated. When we said we wanted to do some shopping, he offered to take us to a large Tesco.
I enquired about coffee making when he showed us the kitchen and he said I was the first person to ask. When we went to the Tesco he bought what we call a French Press and the English call something else. It will be a valuable addition to a kitchen with everything else we could possibly need.
This is the very nicest AirBnB we have been in, really on the level of a Bread and Breakfast. It is quirky, despite the attractive decor and comfortable furniture, he has added some ‘boys toys’ with a juke box in the kitchen and odd other things around. Even the kitchen gadgets are ‘boys toys’ like the George Foreman grill. But, we love it and hope we get a chance to use some of them. When you are visiting a city as a tourist most of the time is not spent at home cooking.
There is an Evensong Service at York Minster every evening at around 5.15 p.m. After a rest we walked into town and arrived more or less just in time. But, we had to go really fast and didn’t enjoy the walk as much as we might have it strolling along.
Dinner was at a pub which boasted of being the oldest in York. Two meals shared between three worked well. It was cold afterwards and there was a bit of walking before we could find a bus to catch, plus a bit of a walk after being dropped off. Fortunately the central heating was on and the house was fairly comfortable.
Despite the comfort it was a bit difficult sleeping in a brand new environment. Still, being in such cleanliness and comfort made up for it for me. The house isn’t new, but has been newly renovated. Our host lives in a granny flat at the rear, which he built for his mother when she was poorly. He said that ‘then she got well’ and didn’t need it, so he has started using the front house as an AirBnB. The cost to us of under $50 per person makes it really good value and now that we can make coffee he will get a top recommendation from us!
The beginning of the day in sunshine as we waited at the bus stop.
Sunset on the river Ouse in York.
It was easiest to do a short video of the York Minster as we were standing so close to the building. Eversley said going to the Evensong could be our meditation time and it happened that they were celebrating Hildegarde of Bingen in the service. I have used her music for meditation in the past. The only thing was that there was a requirement to stand for some things, which meant it wasn’t as restful as it might have been after our fast walk into town. You could resist, but it seems discourteous.
