I am in Yorkshire for my wife's family gathering, which gave me a free day when she met up with her old pals. Unfortunately, the East Riding has lost some good attractions, including the Military Transport Museum at Beverley, where we are staying, and Fort Paul on the Humber Estuary. So, I returned to York to visit museums I hadn't visited for a few years.
I started at somewhere I hadn't been to before - The Battle of Stamford Bridge. Hardrada and Tostig landed in northern England with a large Viking force, capturing York on September 20, 1066, after defeating an English army at the Battle of Fulford. King Harold marched his army nearly 200 miles from London to Yorkshire in just four days, taking Hardrada's forces by surprise. Hardrada and Tostig were killed, and the Viking army was decisively defeated. Only 24 of the 300 Viking ships that had arrived returned to Norway, carrying the survivors of Hardrada's forces.
The bridge is long gone, but an information board and a Viking 'longship' are near the new bridge. The battle site is contested. Some argue it was fought in front of the bridge, but the traditional view is that it was fought in the meadows east of the bridge. A monument overlooks the meadows.
I then went into the city to the York Army Museum. This small regimental museum houses the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Royal Dragoon Guards.
Then up Clifford Tower, which isn't much of a castle, but it has great views of the city from the battlements.
After a quick sortie around the second-hand bookshops, I finished at the York Castle Museum. They had a 1914 exhibition with some interesting exhibits.
Fun over the dreaded shopping trip tomorrow! Beverley does at least have some good pubs and restaurants.
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