York

[Scroll down for posts on Chester, Conwy, Caernarfon, Much Wenlock, and Wroxeter]. One of the first things we did upon arriving in York was to walk the city walls together. This was really fun and a great way to see the extent of the city. Afterwards, like the other nights of our trip, most of us ate dinner together with Dr. Scott and Sue, our excavation supervisor.

The next began with one of my favourite things about York: the stunning cathedral, York Minster. We had a guided tour and then some time to look around. Later in the day, I went back with one of my friends to attend the Choral Evensong service before dinner.

We also saw Clifford’s Tower and the Jorvik Viking Museum. Jorvik was I think the most unique museum I’ve visited; it’s like an amusement park ride through history. You’re in suspended six-person carts that travel through a Viking village, based on the extensive archaeological excavations done to unearth the Viking history of York. After the ride there’s a more “normal museum” section displaying finds from the excavations, with great audiovisual components and really interesting osteo-pathology(?) sections (in other words, skeletons displayed with explanations of how their bones can show us different health problems and injuries they had).

model of Clifford's Tower

classmates at the top of Clifford's Tower, York Minster in background

looking down into the centre of Clifford's Tower

After a walk with some friends to the gardens surrounding the Museum of York, a visit to the Railway Museum, and Evensong, all 13 of us met up for a final dinner together, since it was the last night of our trip. It was a great way to end our field school experience and just have fun together one more time.

spotted while walking around York

I thought this was awesome!

Railway Museum

I'm writing this post from London! For current posts about what my mom and I are up to in London, click here: http://www.thistleshamrockrose2011.blogspot.co.uk/. Meanwhile, I'll be doing double posts on this blog (Hanna at Herstmonceux) for the next few days until I'm caught up.

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral

Last weekend, we had a full-day field study to Canterbury. It was a great day and we got to see several amazing sites! Below are captioned photos. Sorry for the lack of background information- I'm a bit pressed for time today. Today consisted of: breakfast, morning lecture, digging 10-5, meeting, dinner, homework, and then a double packing job. We are leaving for our end-of-term trip on Saturday at 4:45 am, so I needed to pack as much as possible tonight so that I can get to bed early on Friday! At the same time, I'm packing up everything else for when I leave on Thursday the 19th (we get back to the castle at 10pm on the 18th, so again won't have much time). All's going well and tomorrow's post will have lots of photos from this week's dig. :)

Also, I posted about Canterbury Cathedral and St. Augustine's Abbey last fall, so if you want more detail or more photos, check those posts!

St. Augustine's Abbey

The abbey's infirmary, containing burials, is now
a soccer field for the abbey school!

Westgate Museum and Tower in Canterbury

View of Canterbury and the cathedral from Westgate Tower

Canterbury Castle (Norman). Unusually, it was free to enter and explore.

View of the cathedral from nearby hill in park

cathedral entrance

Canterbury Pilgrim's Hospital

Salisbury Cathedral

On our way to Bath, we had some free time in Salisbury. The main attraction here is
definitely the cathedral! Construction began in 1220 and continued for several decades. It's famous for having the tallest spire in Britain (404 feet) and for housing one of four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. I visited Salisbury Cathedral in Fall 2011 but I was really excited to have a second visit!

see clock in photo below.

These stones, commemorating people buried beneath,
form the basis of a significant area of the floor. It's very strange
and sad to unavoidably walk on them!

Quire angels

view from the cloisters

cloister architecture in shadow

Chichester Cathedral and Bishop's Palace Gardens

After our visit to Fishbourne, we stopped at the nearby town of Chichester. The main attraction there is the cathedral, so that's where I spent most of my time. The cathedral was built between 1076 and 1108! We were also lucky enough to catch an organ recital at the cathedral during our visit. 

Alleyway leading to the cathedral

sculpture exhibit on the cloister lawns

Peregine falcons live in the cathedral's tower!
There are binoculars set up so visitors
can see the birds better from the ground.

cloister archway ornamentation

Foreground: stone effigy on tomb

At the Dean's residence next to the cathedral

Bishop's Palace Gardens, next to the cathedral

Bishop's Palace Gardens, next to the cathedral

Bishop's Palace Gardens, next to the cathedral

The cathedral as seen from Bishop's Palace Gardens