York still has several gates and three miles of its original city wall from the 12th century and you can walk them and of course we wanted to experience this. However, when we got to the wall walkway it was barracaded as they were doing repairs. Plan B was to take the New Walk, a mile-long promenade built in the 1730's for York's dandy class to stroll and be seen along the River Ouse. We followed the route that takes us through old town and then continued on a bike that continues into modern day York and out into the countryside. It was a wonderful walk, especially in the country where all you could hear were the songbirds. Back into town and we headed into old town York to get a taste of Roman and medieval York. Although York is a big city of 190,000 people, old York is small and contained inside the city walls so all the sights are within a few minutes walk. We also wanted to take in the Evensong at York Minster and headed back to our apartment to change. Evensong is the saying of prayers in song and goes back to the 8th century. The choir is made up of students from the Minster School who audition to be accepted into this predigious choir school. You do not have to be a religious person to appreciate the beauty and emotion that these singing prears evoke. To hear Evensong you wait in the transept or center of the church until 15 minutes before it begins and when the gates of the choir screen open, you are ushered into the choir and sit in one of the big wooden stalls on either side of isle. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed . It was an wonderful way to end a day of exploration in this historic town.
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