Places to visit

By the river in York

Riverside walk, York
~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

It is very pleasant to pootle along by the river in York – the Millennium Bridge gives great views up and down the river, there are benches and information plaques here and there,

Riverside walk, York
Riverside walk, York

viewing platforms which jut out to give good views of the river, there are often rowers to watch or people to wave at on the pleasure boats and it’s all so green and pleasant!

The cycle path heading from the bridge out towards Bishopthorpe is a little bumpy in places where tree roots have raised the tarmac but nothing too drastic and of course, you need to be aware of cyclists coming along! Heading the other way takes you to  Rowntree Park or you could head right along towards the city centre on either side of the river.

Cycle path by the river in York
Cycle path by the river in York

The park is looking lovely just now with roses and clematis on the pergola and the herbaceous borders, if not quite so well-tended as they once were, are still full of colour. The café was busy with people enjoying the view, the kids’ play areas were in full swing and families and dog-walkers were all enjoying this splendid park!

Rowntree Park in Summer
Rowntree Park in Summer

See my general review of Rowntree Park and of the park in spring.

Fabulous view!

Sutton Bank
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Sutton Bank
Sutton Bank

It was voted the best view in Britain – well, I’m always going to prefer the dales to anything else but the view from Sutton Bank is pretty darn good as views go!

We went first to the visitor centre expecting that they would have a leaflet with a map on it but instead a very helpful chap drew us a map and explained where to go. Odd that they didn’t have printed maps – maybe they had run out. The website gives you detailed access details.

There is ample parking and a café within the visitor centre and toilets out in the courtyard including a Radar-key operated accessible one which wasn’t the cleanest but was OK. First time I’ve used my Radar key – at least it confirms that it works!

Anyway, the paths are good – just had a bit of a steep camber in places so you need to keep to the middle but I suppose that’s to help them drain. There’s a circular route of about a kilometre which takes you to the (accessible) viewing point with a chart telling you what you are looking at – all the way to the dales! We stopped to have a picnic there – it was a gorgeous day if a little hazy – and it wasn’t particularly busy although no doubt it’s busier at weekends. You can go on a longer route which takes you to the White Horse – I’m sure we’ll be back to do that another day.

Rhododendron time!

Moorlands, York
~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

A friend once told me that our family had a thing about making the most of rhododendron time and I must say I do seem to have a deep-rooted sense that you ought to get out there and see daffodils, bluebells, blossom,

Moorlands, York
Moorlands, York

rhododendrons, roses etc when they are looking their best!

So after not going there for years, we went to Moorlands to the north of York

to see the rhododendrons! It had rained a little that morning so there was the most glorious damp woodsy smell but the sun was now out and so were the birds – there must have been hundreds of them singing their heads off and we very clearly heard a cuckoo calling. There were plenty of rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom but also

Moorlands, York
Moorlands, York

plenty yet to flower so it would be worth visiting in the next couple of weeks.

It is managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and it is not large so makes a good short visit – there is a circular route which takes you past a couple of ponds as well as through the woods and for the able-bodied, there’s a bird hide up some steps. There are plenty of benches and carved posts showing you the wildlife to look out for (we spotted a couple of bunnies!) as well as information boards about the wildlife and the history of the place. The YWT also manage Askham Bog which we visited earlier in the year.

In very wet weather I can imagine Moorlands would be very muddy but despite the morning’s rain, when we went it was just damp albeit with a few easily-avoided puddles. The path is mainly just earth: a little uneven in places but nothing drastic, largely flat and with room for passing. The main obstacle is a kissing-gate at the entrance, but I was able to negotiate it on my scooter with a three-point turn. (OK, maybe slightly more than three!) Parking is by the roadside outside the gate – there is space for about a dozen cars and the road is quiet so it was all perfectly easy.

Entrance to Moorlands
Entrance to Moorlands

I definitely recommend this for a visit at any time but especially at this time of year – rhododendron time!

Ducklings!

York University campus
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York University campus is a great place for spotting ducks, geese and great crested grebes on the lake and all manner of other birdlife as well as squirrels and rabbits. At this time of year you can spot daffodils, crocuses, hellebores, cowslips, blossom, trees coming out into leaf and, yes, lots of ducklings! The Heslington Lane side of campus which has fewer humans was alive with birdsong when we visited.

I can’t find anything official but as far as I know the public has every right to

York University campus
York University campus

visit the campus, as if it were a public park and visit it they certainly do – obviously it’s quieter and easier to park during the university holidays. Their website explains that disabled parking is free of charge and at evenings and weekends the pay-and-display parking bays are free too.

Generally, the whole campus is accessible, although there are building works going on which restrict access in places, and for anyone who has known the campus for some time, an immense amount of in-fill building, but generally there is an alternative route if one is blocked. The buildings are mainly open and many have accessible loos. (Heslington East, the new campus, is also accessible and has a lake but being so new, it has less interest in the way of trees, shrubs and wildlife).

York University campus
York University campus

Some paths can be muddy and there were plenty of puddles after recent rain when we went, but generally getting around is fairly smooth – just occasionally transitions between surfaces were a bit of a jolt and there’s one steep bit by the lake that I tend to avoid but it’s a big enough campus that missing out a small bit doesn’t matter! There are examples of topiary, the odd bit of modern sculpture and carved tree stumps which all add to the interest as well as information boards about the wildlife.

It’s a very attractive campus with its lake, trees and bridges and a great asset for York to have such a huge expanse of, in effect, managed parkland that everyone can visit.

Another good place to visit for spring flowers is Rowntree Park. York

Spring is springing in Rowntree Park!

Rowntree Park, York
~ Alison ~ 2 Comments
Rowntree Park, York
Rowntree Park, York

Rowntree Park is full of daffodils in bloom and plenty of trees which will soon be blossoming, others which are coming into leaf and there was a coot which looked very much like it was sitting on some eggs!

Rowntree Park dovecote
Rowntree Park dovecote

The park is recovering from the floods around Christmas time and is very muddy in places but the tarmac paths are perfectly accessible although there were a few puddles out on the paths by the Millennium Bridge.

The café is fully accessible, see the Euan’s Guide review.

This is a lovely park to visit at all times of year – see my review from the Autumn.

We’ll definitely be back to see if those chicks have hatched!

A visit to the bog!

Askham Bog
~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

Askham Bog! It’s a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) nature reserve which we’d heard of but never visited until the other day. Some time ago I contacted the YWT to ask about how accessible Askham Bog is and got a helpful reply so we decided to visit and I’m sure we’ll go back to see what it’s like at different times of the year.

If ever you’ve come up the slip road off the A64 to Askham Bar / Tadcaster Road, you may have seem some cars parked on the left – that’s the carpark for Askham Bog. The first part of the path involves a gate and a slightly rough surface but once you are down the slope you are on wooden walkways with wire over them to improve grip and there are passing places and a few benches. I wouldn’t have wanted to try it with my Luggie scooter but my sturdier ‘Bootmaster Plus’ copes better with bumpier surfaces and was fine.

DIGITAL CAMERA
Askham Bog

The Askham Bog page of the YWT website lists all sorts of flora and fauna you might see including water voles, roe deer and even Exmoor ponies! There are information boards to help you spot things. The path is circular and you are soon back to where you started – it’s not a big visit but for a quick run out for some fresh air, it’s very pleasant and although it’s near the A64 you aren’t too aware of the traffic.

When we went there was a chap from the YWT with membership information who was keen to tell us of other YWT sites which include Moorlands and Strensall Common – more details on the YWT website.

 

If you spotted the typo in my review of The Lime House, the title of this piece is quite appropriate! I corrected it on here of course but it lives forever on Tripadvisor!

The sun is a pancake…

Otava Yo
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…or it is according to Otava Yö, the really rather bonkers St Petersburg group we saw last night at the NCEM. I suppose you would call them folk – their songs involved the aforementioned pancakes and also street cleaners and your girlfriend washing her white legs in the river, so definitely an eclectic mix and their range of instruments were too, including electric guitars, violins, whistles, a kazoo, mandolin and scythe!

Otava Yo
Otava Yo

Having seen them on youtube, they seemed in the first half as if they had gone a bit more traditional, but they just got wackier and wackier, coming out for the second half in their trade mark vests and fur hats but the music continued to be a fabulous mix of jolly danceable tunes, love songs  and sweeping, epic stuff. As ever, the venue is completely accessible and has parking available. Definitely worth catching if they come back!

 

See my other reviews of groups at the NCEM: Joglaresa  Söndörgő

York Theatre Royal panto!

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The York Theatre Royal pantomime this year is at the National Railway Museum! The theatre had hoped to be open again after a refurb in time for the panto but as with a lot of building projects in York, they found ancient ruins which had to be investigated.

Staging the panto, Dick Wittington (and his meerkat), at the Signal Box Theatre at the museum has meant some imaginative working out of entrances and exits. The audience sits facing eachother on two ‘platforms’ with a railway track in between along which incredibly hard-working stage hands push and pull sections of stage with sets or sometimes a train on them and move them up and down even while the cast are acting and dancing on them! There is the usual filmed section and a luminous underwater section. Other railway-related plays have been staged here during the theatre renovations. The main actors have been doing the Theatre Royal panto together for years so work wonderfully together.

The panto is not to everyone’s taste but members of my family who have come with us on occasion who are not York residents, have also found it hilarious and didn’t find the local references or in-jokes at all alienating!

We received an e-mail a day or so in advance explaining about parking in some detail but I still found it a bit confusing – we got a cab in the end and there were lots of marshals on hand to direct you. There are disabled parking bays.

Access from the carpark is a little bumpy but my scooter coped all right and there are ramps to get you in to the venue itself. We had front row seats so no steps were involved and then the scooter was stored during the performance.

I’m looking forward to next year at the revamped theatre as access will be much better than it used to be but I thoroughly recommend going to the panto at this venue because it is a different but just as excellent an experience.

Joglaresa

~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

Another great concert at the wonderfully accessible NCEM. We’ve seen Joglaresa before playing medieval Spanish/Jewish songs – this time it was medieval Christmas music from France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia as well as English, using traditional instruments and it was utterly gorgeous! They are sold out for their other concerts in the north but if you are in the south, they still have tickets left for their concerts there – I totally recommend it! You can get a flavour on their Facebook page and on their website which has details of their upcoming concerts. We bought their album ‘Nuns and Roses’ – it made more use of electric music than the concert but it did not disappoint!

 

See also my review of Sondorgo at the NCEM.

Fabulous music venue!

NCEM entrance
~ Alison ~ 2 Comments

Söndörgő are a Hungarian group, comprising three brothers, their cousin and a school friend who play folk tunes from Hungary and other countries on various sized tambura – a mandolin-like instrument  – and also on the flute, clarinet, drum, double-base and various other exotic instruments as well as vocals now and then too. Sometimes quiet and melodic at other times fast and furious, they are versatile and well worth catching if they tour the UK again! Have a taster! CDs were on sale on the night.

NCEM2
NCEM interior (with a different band!)

The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) is a brilliantly accessible venue with a ramp and then heaps of space inside. OK, the thresholds meant a bit of a bump but nothing drastic and it was easy to find a place to sit then put my Luggie scooter to one side or if you were in a wheelchair you could easily site it at the end of a row or move a chair out of the way. As we entered the auditorium, staff offered to help should we need it. In fact, the evening we were there for Söndörgő, there were three people using wheels of various kinds. There is an accessible loo and leaflets are displayed at a reachable height. They also do refreshments: beer, wine, soft drinks etc before the show and during the interval.

NCEMWe have been to the NCEM many times and have never had a duff experience although we always choose bands with at least four musicians as there was one occasion when there were only three and though lovely, the music did sound a little thin. We have seen some groups which you could describe as ‘early’ music (medieval Spanish) but mostly we’ve see what I guess you would call world music: Indian, Jewish, Eastern European – they have a huge variety! It’s a wonderful venue, being a converted church and with the friendly staff and great music there is always a lovely atmosphere.

http://www.ncem.co.uk/