John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Sunday 23 August 2020
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[2020] [Saturday 22 August 2020] York Hilton York 10:20 Jorvik Viking Centre 14:45 Railway Museum It was our wedding anniversary, but we’d already exchanged wedding anniversary cards and opened them and others the day before we travelled.… We went for breakfast at 9am. I had the same as yesterday, apart from having two sausages today not one. Ca.9.45am we set off for the Jorvik Viking Centre, arriving ca.10am. But the queue was for the 10am admission, so the attendant suggested that we come back in 20 minutes. So I made the skin of the palate peel slightly, sipping very hot coffee at the nearby Caffè Nero. We returned, as requested, and joined the back of a queue which stretched round the corner into the access-way of St. Mary’s Church. It didn’t take long to be admitted, though. I wrote up our Sunday 22 September 2019 visit quite comprehensively at the time, so there’s no need to do the same again. That’s why many captions below read, “Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the ‘Time Car’ proceeding through the dioramas”, without the comprehensive descriptions I afforded them last year. I took more photos in the final stage of the visit, in “the Galleries”, this time, though, than previously.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:34:16 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Discover Coppergate”: later house with oak timber walls  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:35:12 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Discover Coppergate”: socially distanced staff and groups of visitors  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:37:20 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Discover Coppergate”: queueing to board the “time cars”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:38:34 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Discover Coppergate”: wattle structures  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:44:38 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:44:44 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:44:54 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:44:58 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:45:04 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:45:12 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Timeline” on the car’s flat-panel display  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:45:58 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas, “Wilkom in Jorvik!”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:47:34 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:48:36 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:49:24 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:50:20 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:50:56 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:51:46 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:52:14 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:52:52 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:53:54 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:54:06 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:54:30 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:54:48 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:55:22 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:55:48 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:56:42 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:57:46 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:58:24 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 10:58:36 Jorvik Viking Centre: aboard the “Time Car” proceeding through the dioramas  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:02:16 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Travel and trade”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:03:00 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Travel and Trade”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:12:26 Jorvik Viking Centre: “A man from Viking-age Swinegate”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:12:50 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Health and hygiene… Combs… Magic charms… Toilet sets”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:26:36 Jorvik Viking Centre: “Comb making”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:27:10 Jorvik Viking Centre: padlock and key  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:27:30 Jorvik Viking Centre: pan  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:29:18 Jorvik Viking Centre: “In the home”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:29:46 Jorvik Viking Centre: sock  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:30:40 Jorvik Viking Centre: wooden box lid We then walked the ca.350-yard distance south to the stretch of the city walls that we’d missed last year. I’d explored it yesterday evening, so I knew exactly where to take us.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:56:32 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:54:08 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse, inner side  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:54:42 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse, inner side  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:55:10 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse, inner side: (ahead:) Davy Tower  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:58:14 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse, outer side  Sunday 23 August 2020, 11:59:06 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse, outer side  Sunday 23 August 2020, 12:00:12 Section of the York city walls from Clifford’s Tower to the River Ouse: Davy Tower We’d already decided to have lunch at Bennett’s, so we walked the ca.0.6-mile distance northwards there. We got in after a short wait outside. I had a cheese and bacon “melt” on ciabatta, with a mixed, dressed side-salad, and coffee. Janet had the salad without dressing, and some bread. Then we more or less retraced our steps back to the Tower Gardens, and proceeded along the same route that I’d also taken yesterday evening.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:21:54 In Tower Gardens, about to pass southwards under Skeldergate Bridge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:22:48 Skeldergate Bridge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:27:46 Approaching the temporary scaffolding bridge across the River Foss  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:29:08 The Blue Bridge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:30:12 The Foss Barrier, seen from the Blue Bridge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:33:42 “The New Walk Hidden Treasures Adventure” We got as far as I’d done yesterday, then decided that we would have time before our 14:45 booking at the Railway Museum to walk along the Ouse to the Millennium Bridge, a distance of a little over half a mile.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:34:58 The New Walk  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:38:44 Pikeing Well  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:39:22 Pikeing Well  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:48:26 Millennium Bridge That was along the east bank of the Ouse, so crossing Millennium Bridge we walked back along the west bank.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 13:50:24 Millennium Bridge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:03:18 Canada geese on the approach to Skeldergate Bridge Then we skirted around the western section of the city walls till we got to Leeman Road, and turning left made our way through the tunnel under the railway to the Railway Museum.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:06:00 Start of the west section of the city walls at Baile Hill  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:07:02 City wall along Bishopgate Street  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:08:22 Bitchdaughter Tower at the southernmost corner of the city walls  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:11:02 Victoria Bar  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:11:12 Victoria Bar  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:19:08 Micklegate Bar  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:19:50 Micklegate Bar  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:22:16 Tofts Tower at the westernmost corner of the city walls  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:22:38 York railway station  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:29:40 Westwards through Marble Arch tunnel  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:29:40 (detail) Marble Arch tunnel  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:31:50 Approaching the National Railway Museum Anyway, we did arrive at the Railway Museum with a few minutes to spare. We visited the “Station Hall” first, and after that the “Great Hall”. 
Plan of the National Railway Museum  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:41:36 National Railway Museum: narrow-gauge tank engine in the foyer  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:46:28 Station Hall: London, Brighton and South Coast Railway B1 Class 0-4-2 express passenger steam locomotive Gladstone (1882), decorated as it was for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:46:48 Station Hall: “Gladstone”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:47:48 Station Hall: Queen Victoria’s saloon carriage (1869)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:48:32 Station Hall: Queen Adelaide’s saloon (1842)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:49:42 Station Hall: Robert Stephenson’s 0-2-2 locomotive “Rocket” (1829)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:51:52 Station Hall: “Queen Elizabeth’s saloon” (1941)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:52:52 Station Hall: Queen Elizabeth’s saloon (1941)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:53:48 Station Hall: “Queen Adelaide’s saloon” (1842)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:55:26 Station Hall: “Queen Victoria’s saloon” (1869)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:56:18 Station Hall: “Express passenger locomotive, Gladstone” (1882)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:56:42 Station Hall: cab of the Gladstone  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:58:32 Station Hall: London Midland and Scottish Railway “Hughes Crab” or “Horwich Mogul” 2-6-0 mixed traffic steam locomotive (1926)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:58:58 Station Hall: London Midland and Scottish Railway “Hughes Crab” or “Horwich Mogul” 2-6-0 mixed traffic steam locomotive (1926)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 14:59:42 Station Hall: “Hughes Crab” or “Horwich Mogul” 2-6-0 mixed traffic steam locomotive, cab  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:00:50 Station Hall: London & North Western Railway clerestory railway carriage (1906)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:02:52 Station Hall: “Queen Mary’s saloon” (1908)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:03:20 Station Hall: “Queen Mary’s saloon” (1908)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:03:34 Station Hall: “Queen Mary’s saloon” (1908)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:06:02 Station Hall: Midland Railway 4-2-2 №673 steam locomotive, a so-called “Midland Spinner” (1897)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:06:18 Station Hall: Midland Railway 4-2-2 №673 steam locomotive, a so-called “Midland Spinner” (1897)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:07:12 Station Hall: “Express passenger locomotive, nicknamed Spinner” (1897)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:07:56 Station Hall: Midland Railway, third class dining carriage (1914)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:08:54 Station Hall: Midland Railway, six-wheeled composite first and third class and luggage carriage (1885)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:10:14 Station Hall: West Coast Joint Stock postal sorting van/tender (1885)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:11:34 Station Hall: “Travelling post office”, West Coast Joint Stock postal sorting van/tender, with line-side pick-up apparatus (1885)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:15:32 Station Hall: “Fruit van”, Great Western Railway (1931)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:15:50 Station Hall: “Passenger brake van”, Great Northern Railway (1887)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:16:12 Station Hall: Mark 2D “Pullman” carriage in British Rail livery (1971)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:17:22 Station Hall: Class 87 Bo-Bo electric locomotive (1974)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:18:50 Station Hall: Great Northern Railway six-wheel passenger brake van (1887)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:19:20 Station Hall: Great Northern Railway 0-6-0 saddle-tank steam locomotive (1899)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:20:46 Station Hall: London Midland and Scottish Railway 20-ton goods brake van (1933)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:21:18 Station Hall: London & South Western Railway, 0-4-4 passenger tank steam locomotive (1897)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:21:48 Station Hall: London & South Western Railway, 0-4-4 passenger tank steam locomotive (1897)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:35:36 About to enter the Great Hall  Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:35:36 (detail) A Giorgio Stephenson I Ferrovieri d’Italia MDCCCXXV MCMXXV To George Stephenson From the railwaymen of Italy 1825 1925 Relief of two Italian State Railways workers holding up a portrait of George Stephenson to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway There was a cafeteria in the Great Hall, so we had refreshments there. There was a “Please wait here to be seated” (or some such) notice, but that wasn’t being attended to by staff; so Janet bought what we’d chosen (I had a 330ml can, disappointingly of lager because it had been next to cans of cider, and a 330ml can of Sanpellegrino “Aranciata”), and I bagged an (or the) available table. Then we looked around the exhibits.  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:02:22 Great Hall: London & North Eastern Railway 4-6-2 (Pacific) steam locomotive “Mallard” (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:02:52 Great Hall: London & North Eastern Railway 4-6-2 (Pacific) steam locomotive “Mallard” (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:03:36 Great Hall: London & North Eastern Railway 4-6-2 (Pacific) steam locomotive “Mallard” (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:05:58 Great Hall: “Mallard” cab  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:07:32 Great Hall: North Eastern Railway “Dynamometer Car” (1906)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:08:00 Great Hall: Great Western Railway 4-6-0 express steam locomotive “Lode Star” (1907)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:08:38 Great Hall: Great Western Railway diesel railcar (1934)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:11:28 Great Hall, National Railway Museum  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:11:44 Great Hall, National Railway Museum  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:13:10 Great Hall: replica of Stephenson’s 022 steam locomotive “Rocket” (1979)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:14:10 Great Hall: High Speed Train (InterCity 125) Bo-Bo diesel electric locomotive “Sir Kenneth Grange” (1976)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:15:02 Great Hall: 2-10-0 heavy freight steam locomotive “Evening Star” (1960)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:16:16 Great Hall: 2-10-0 heavy freight steam locomotive “Evening Star” (1960)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:17:10 Great Hall: 2-10-0 heavy freight steam locomotive “Evening Star” (1960)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:19:38 Great Hall: Chinese Government Railways 484 steam locomotive, built at the Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:22:30 Great Hall: Chinese Government Railways 484 steam locomotive, built at the Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:23:04 Great Hall: Chinese Government Railways 484 steam locomotive, built at the Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows (1935)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:24:22 Great Hall: West Japan Railways Shinkansen “Bullet Train” power car (1976)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:25:14 Great Hall: Eurostar power car (ca.1993)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:26:54 Great Hall: narrow-gauge double Fairlie 0-4-0 + 0-4-0 tank steam locomotive “Livingston Thompson” (1885)  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:27:16 “Festiniog Railway №3 1885 Boston Lodge Works”  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:28:24 Great Hall: narrow-gauge double Fairlie 0-4-0 + 0-4-0 tank steam locomotive “Livingston Thompson” (1885) — end view to compare the 6ft 10in width of the locomotive with the 1ft 11½in rail gauge  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:32:40 Great Hall, National Railway Museum  Sunday 23 August 2020, 16:34:20 Great Hall, National Railway Museum: posing with “Mallard” “We spent two hours in there then returned to the hotel feeling footsore and weary,” Janet wrote. “All day again we’d seen those ‘prostitutes’ (some staying at the Hilton) — what was that all about?!” Back in the room, Janet made us a cup of coffee each. I started up the Samsung computer, and transferred 129 photos from the camera’s SD card to the WD Elements HDD (17:13–17:15). Viewed them in Windows Photo Viewer, and rotated ten that needed it (17:16–17:21).… At 6.15pm we went down for dinner. The main dining area was fully occupied, so we were led to another room. It was intended as a bar not a restaurant, but the only disadvantage of that was that the tables and chairs were high ones. A little later there were a couple of other groups of people at nearby tables. I had an “Aperol Spritz” cocktail as an aperativo, and a large glass of red wine. I hadn’t been impressed with the Merlot on the first evening — I’d chosen it because it wasn’t too expensive compared with others on the list — but I saw now a similarly priced Negroamaro, which proved to be better. I repeated my choice of yesterday from the menu, even though the mix of quinoa and something else had an unpleasant odour reminiscent of broken shoots of elder. I ate that first, suppressing the gag reaction that it produced. I guess I could have just left it, but preferred not to see (and smell) it there on the plate. Janet had the soup as I did, followed by steak and a fruit salad for dessert. It took the server Marco, who coincidentally was from Sicily, three attempts to produce a bill that wasn’t “nonsense” (as Janet told him). The first, and the second, had an item on it that we hadn’t had, and missed items that we had had. Anyway, his final attempt set aside any charge above the £30 each that we were allowed for food because we’d already paid for “half-board”, and I think got the drinks totalled correctly. Anyway, it was all good-natured with a lot of laughter. We were back up in the room not long after 8.30pm.… We were both in bed ca.9.45pm. [Monday 24 August 2020] |
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