Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE
best
TRAVEL
EXPERIENCES IN YORKSHIRE &
THE NORTHEAST
W
Re-living horrible history:
One of the finest U.K. city-break destinations, York
offers up many fascinating layers of a long history: Roman, Saxon, Danish, Nor-
man, medieval, Georgian, and Victorian. The Jorvik Viking Centre takes visitors
back to a.d. 975, while the mighty Minster melds architectural elements from
different centuries as well as concealing Roman remnants in its Undercroft. See
p. 642.
W
Going all “Twilight” in Whitby:
Watched over by the ruins of its abbey, inspiration
for Bram Stoker, the former whaling and smuggling port of Whitby is an atmo-
spheric base for exploring a coastline along which wild, windswept bays rub shoul-
ders with traditional family resorts. See p. 648.
W
Pondering time at The Living Museum of the North:
The medieval cathedral city
of Durham, a UNESCO World Heritage site with more than 600 listed buildings,
is a delight to wander around as well as being ideally placed for exploring the glori-
ous North Pennines and learning about local life at the re-created 19th-century pit
village of Beamish. See p. 658.
W
Walking Hadrian's Wall:
The most dramatic sections of one of the world's most
famous Roman structures can be viewed by following parts of the Hadrian's Wall
Path, while dramatic relics along its courses include the Housesteads Roman Fort
and Roman Vindolanda. See p. 669.
W
Being King of the Castle:
A contender for the title of Britain's most stupendous
castle, Bamburgh Castle lords it over a wave-battered coastline rich in wildlife and
dramatic history. See p. 670.
17
WEST YORKSHIRE
Leeds: 194 miles N of London; 218 miles S of Edinburgh
Long dismissed for its industrial blight,
Leeds,
Yorkshire's largest city, has moved
forward dramatically over the past 2 decades, with many of its great Georgian and
Victorian buildings renovated and complemented by attractive new architecture, and
a growing reputation for shopping and nightlife. The large student population, multi-
cultural communities, and gay-friendly vibe keep things fresh and continually evolv-
ing. In nearby
Bradford,
high-tech firms, art galleries, museums, and mill shops have
displaced many of the textile factories that drew immigrants to work the mills from
the mid-19th century, yet it's precisely these generations of Irish, German, Italian,
eastern European, Asian, and African-Caribbean immigrants who give the city its
distinctive flavor today. West of Bradford lies the literary pilgrimage site of Howarth,
once home to the Brontë family, and lesser-known Heptonstall and Hardcastle Crags,
the one-time home to poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
Frequent
trains
from London's King's Cross to Leeds take
about 2
1
⁄
2
hours; most are direct (costing around £88 for a round-trip). You usually
need to change at Leeds to reach Bradford—the onward journey takes about 20
