york

of chocolates, trains and ghosts

2026-01-10

0650

I board the train to Stevenage, then catch the 0755 to York. I’m so sleepy, but as the sun starts rising, I don’t want to miss the beautiful views from the train window. I force myself to stay awake.

The British Sugar factory, Newark

0930

I arrive at York and meet Mixi at the station.

York Station

W.H.Smith today

As we step out, the Minster’s tower greets us immediately, rising above the city.

Station Road

We head over the Ouse bridge, and I’m taking some photos when Mixi suddenly perks up, she hears one of her favorite songs, “I like it when it rains”.

The Ouse River

She follows the tune, and we find a nice café called the Perky Peacock in a 14th century tower.

The Barker Tower

As I sip my mocha, I’m grateful we found our blue table so soon.

Inside the Perky Peacock

1010

We head towards the city center. The sun is shining bright, its rays beautifully separating the highlights and shadows, making every corner present itself as an opportunity to click a beautiful picture.

Over Ouse bridge

St. Helen’s Square

Stonegate

We see the York Chocolate Story and enter. We had booked our tour the previous day, so we wander the store waiting for it to start.

1030

Our tour begins, and we’re greeted by Ivy, a professional chocolate connoisseur. He asks for our favorite chocolates and brings us chocolates in all sorts of states. His enthusiasm for chocolates and explaining its history cannot be matched.

It’s a fascinating history lesson, I’m surprised to learn that Kit Kats and Polos originate from York. We also make white chocolate lollies (the best white chocolate I have had till date). We get so many chocolates that my pockets are overflowing with them.

The York Chocolate Story

1200

We’re famished (even though after having so many chocolates, I’m surprised I still feel this way). I see a huge placard advertising Yorkshire pudding. It catches my eye, and I enter Gert and Henry’s. Mixi orders the spicy carrot soup (though we can’t figure out which part is supposed to be spicy), and I get a Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy.

Inside Gert and Henry’s

As I first put my knife to the pudding, I realize its texture is so intricate, layers of crispiness on the outside, with my knife just slipping through the soft insides. Paired with the onion gravy, it hints at the taste of onion rings. This is the best dish I’ve ever had in the UK (or maybe I’m just really hungry, as it’s my first meal of the day).

1245

With our bellies full of soup and pudding, we start strolling through the market and nearby streets. The York streets are getting busy, and we see many cute cat stores. We discover a cat shop giving out maps of a cat trail (I save it for my next visit to York), and Mixi gets some itsy bitsy cat goodies.

York Lucky Cat Shop

We also make stops at Boots and Waterstones, where we have to stop each other from splurging mindlessly.

This book has really pretty illustrations.

1325

Tired from all the walking, I look up the way to the Museum Gardens to relax a bit. We walk towards it, and as we enter, we can see the ruins of the abbeys in the distance. We find a bench and relax there for a couple of minutes while looking up the bus schedule.

The Museum Gardens

We stroll for a while before taking the next bus to our stay outside the city, a glamping site called The Little Hide.

St.Mary Abbey’s ruins

1420

We take the bus and arrive at Wigginton.

It’s a small walk to the campsite from the stop, and we see a small fence with little goats in it. A big goat comes to us and welcomes us with such a cute smile that at one point, Mixi comes to the conclusion that, for this moment at least, goats are cuter than cats. There are also some horses and ducks on the opposite side.

This distinguished gentleman was charming us with his smile

We reach the campsite and find our pod. The sun is setting, and we can see it from our small window. We lay down to rest for some time.

From the Kite pod

1630

I wake up and decide to do a quick 5K before we head out again. I lap around the caravan park nearby, and I can see the stars so clearly that evening. It’s a beautiful place to run.

Willow Caravan Park

1800

We decide to head back to the city for “The Original Ghost Walk of York” and wait for the 1820 bus.

1840

We’re standing in the freezing cold, and the bus never comes. Also the bus timetables at two Wigginton stops were posted incorrectly, with the notices for the opposite stops mixed up, even adding to our confusion.

We decide to take a longer route, changing two buses. Since we bought the “dayrider pass”, we might as well make full use of it.

1930

We arrive at the Kings Arms pub where the walk starts from, and unfortunately learn that it’s closed for the month of January (next time maybe). Disappointed, we get some tacos and burgers for dinner from Clucking Oink.

2030

It feels wrong to conclude the day with dinner at a place that has a vibe so different from “York,” so we decide to go to Betty’s Tea Room.

As we enter, I’m impressed by the elegance of the place. The room is filled with the melody of a live piano, the gentle clatter of knives and forks, and the mild chatter of people. I decide this is the perfect place to have some dessert. Mixi gets some hot chocolate, and I order Clafoutis (which tastes like vanilla ice cream on freshly cooked malpua), which I find delicious as I scrape every last bit of it off the plate. We stay until the place shuts down.

2115

No buses back to our place (unfortunately, we can’t use our dayrider pass). We book a cab back to the campsite and call it a day, a very beautiful and well-spent one indeed.

2026-01-11

0730

I wake up in a nice warm room, looking outside at the landscape now all covered in snow from the night before. It’s pretty.

The pods at The Little Hide

I stroll around the campsite and the trailer park in my pajamas, soaking in the views, until the cold starts to hit me. After an hour, it starts raining, and the forecast for the rest of the day is more rain, a gloomy contrast to yesterday’s nice sunny weather.

We lazily get ready, check out, and take a cab into the city.

1130

We decide to get the famous York Pud Wrap from York Roast Co for brunch.

The York Roast Co at Low Petergate

I opt for the spicy option with the horseradish sauce in my pud wrap. It hits me in my throat the same way I can’t remember a certain spice does. I realise it exactly hurts like wasabi but with an aftertaste of radish.

I’m remembering and yearning for yesterday’s Yorkshire pudding as I have the (not-so-great) turkey York pud wrap, and Mixi gets the beef sandwich. I rate them 6/10 and 7/10 respectively. At this point, Mixi says it’s just “6-7, 6-7” waving her hands.

I sigh and scoff.

1200

We have the Shambles on the plan today, so we walk to Shambles Street.

Shambles Street

The street looks like a busy medieval thoroughfare, and with the rain and people all covered in their dark hooded raincoats, it actually feels more so. (not me though, I stick out like a sore thumb)

The imposter

1215

We couldn’t get any coffee from York Roast Co, so we decide to hit the Earl Grey Tea Room in the Shambles.

The Earl Grey Tea Room

Mixi has her first English tea and scone; at first disgusted with the idea of drinking tea, she slurps the whole pot of Earl Grey in the next few minutes, completely changing her opinion.

Inside the Earl Grey Tea Room

After sipping our tea, Mixi decides to check out some shops on the street, and I go to take some photos.

The York Ghost Merchant shop

When I’m back, I see Mixi gobbling a cheesecake she couldn’t resist from a cheesecake shop on the street.

read fine print¹

1300

We head to York Minster. We go in and see the grand hall, admiring some of the stained glass windows. We decide not to pay to view the entirety of the building as Mixi isn’t interested, and I feel it would be a similar experience to Ely. We decide to spend more time at the Railway Museum instead.

York Minster

1400

We walk to the National Railway Museum. It’s a short walk, made longer because the museum has fenced up some of the roads and areas, forcing us to take a detour.

We enter the Station Hall, and again, like the medieval streets, it feels as if we’ve stepped into a train station from the 1900s.

Signs and Boards

The Station Hall

There are so many things from that period like the ticket booths, weighing machines, candy dispensers, signs, advertisements, notice boards, book stores, luggage trolleys and much more.

W.H.Smith then

A fine piece of equipment

One thing I realize while looking at the cockpit of the steam locomotives is that the steampunk era actually existed, and it existed during this period.

choo choo

The controls are so beautiful, intricate, and so steampunk-coded.

We spend more than an hour here. Also, I feel the first/business class of today is nothing compared to the coaches of trains from that era. They just exude detail and luxury.

The Travelling Post Office

1530

We move to the Great Hall, filled with all the greatest engines. I like the layout of the Station Hall more, this feels more chaotic, as if some giant dropped their bag of toy engines.

The grand KF7

The majestic Mallard

Here we see some of the legendary and majestic train engines like the KF7, Flying Scotsman, Mallard, Shinkansen, Evening Star, and so many more.

The reason the national railways are mostly late.

“Can I bring my support animal?”

How to dragon your train?

We’re running out of time as the museum is closing, so we can’t do the Flying Scotsman VR experience sadly. We quickly explore the North Shed warehouse, which contains even more railway artifacts.

The North Shed

1725

We head back into the city center for some food.

Stonegate

The streets are glistening, and although the day has been gloomy, the night redeems it. Almost everything is closed, or pubs are just serving drinks. We stroll around the pretty reflective streets, looking for something to eat.

Low Petergate

As we wander, Mixi comes across a nice little Japanese place called Peko Peko (which aptly describes our hunger). Mixi decides to have dinner here because it’s cat-themed, so we sit down to have some prawn and crab roe nigiri, tonkotsu ramen, and tempura shrimp curry omurice paired with Moscato (which goes quite well, actually). The shrimp omurice is one of the best, and Mixi finds her new favorite, the Moscato.

Inside Peko Peko

We sit there watching Demon Slayer on the TV to pass the time.

Pretty posters in Peko Peko

1900

We head out towards the train station to catch our trains. We pass by York Minster one more time.

The stained glass of York Minster

And finally cross the Ouse bridge, where I take one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Queen’s Staith