Wednesday afternoon we decided to look around the rest of the town. The weather looked decent and we had old cameras with films in them which needed to be tested.
As ever, the hike up the hill (although I was getting kinda used to it, it resembled Nine Tree Hill which I frequently had to walk up to get home when I lived in that bit of Bristol) was the prerequisite.
The grounds around the castle were busy with visitors, dog walkers, and people just admiring the view. Because they were on autumn/winter opening, there was no visiting the Tower, nor the Sallyport. But this spot is an excellent viewpoint for the viaduct. We wandered, and photographed things, then explored around the castle hill and found some absolutely gorgeous gardens to "ah" at the firework colours of the acers.
We arrived at Blind Jacks quite early. Well, really early. The market hadn't quite finished packing up (I don't think we missed anything, though) and some people were clearly in the pub post-lunch.
Still, the nice seat in the window was available so we soon settled in and started playing Regicide. Again, the place nailed what we like about being in the pub. Superb beer (cask and keg), a really nice atmosphere and friendly, knowledgeable bar staff.
I went to get the second pints (of cask) in and then looked at the keg fonts. "See anything you like?" said the young guy on duty. We chatted for a little while about what was on offer and he said, a bit ruefully, that no one makes nice juicy craft beers in "the north" - I came up with a couple of alternatives and he excitedly said he'd investigate.
When we returned on Friday evening he was there, as was another member of staff also on the bar and as I congratulated them on the beer we'd just drunk. "Yeah, it's really good, " he said, before adding "but they're from t'other side o'Pennines". I added "but those..." (pointing to Deya and Floc taps) are from down south - surely that's worse. We shared a chuckle.
It would definitely be a regular haunt if we lived in Knaresborough.
On Thursday we headed to York again to do the wall walk. "I seem to remember it's quite flat...", he assured me. Hmmm not exactly since the ramparts vary in height a lot so there was quite a lot of up and down. All that said, it was really nice. It was interesting to see that York's attitude to the wall appears to have been not to particularly revere the area around it. As a result there are scrubby banks, social housing, recent office developments and everything in between. I was really surprised, but it meant that you saw a lot of different stuff on the walk. About 2pm we thought we should probably eat and there was an odd little bar/cafe/restaurant not far from where we were. We ordered a couple of pints (which ended up being about 3 pints because the barman wasn't sure whether one was OK) and what we'd hoped would be a light lunch (in fact, a very substantial lunch and not precisely what we'd ordered...oh well). It was a cute and quirky place with decent beer - and it was in the right place. A win.
We resumed our walk (more up and down) and when we got to the last gate tower I definitely needed a sit down. The closest place (literally under the wall) was another slightly strange kinda place (Fat Badger??) but seemed cosy and friendly. The beer we had was excellent, but the place wouldn't have warranted another. So we struck out to wander around the Shambles which is very touristy and yet architecturally fascinating. York does a good job of embracing each subsequent architectural era (a bit like Hitchin) and, unlike Bristol seems to have dodged WWII bomb damage in some of the oldest streets.
When we (well, my knees) were ready for a pint we were close to "The Market Cat" which is a Thornbridge/Pivvovar co-production. It's more taproom than pub but clearly really popular. We grabbed a pint Crackendale each and settled into a convenient table. It gave us the opportunity to people-in-pub watch. The beer was superb (unsurprisingly). The loo was a hike up three flights of stairs past the glass-walled coolroom on the second but then we realised how much extra seating there was up there - and with brilliant views. Definitely worth remembering should we return - but I reckon a dumb waiter for drinks and glasses might be a worthwhile addition to this vertical place.
We couldn't leave without having some Jaipur which was gorgeous.
We then just had time to head to the station and pick up some light dinner at the on-station Sainsburys before jumping on the train.
Our last day on Friday was a gentle affair - it was just warm enough to sit atop the house's turret for a cuppa and then we had a later amble up a different part of "the hill" to see the last remaining bits of the town we hadn't explored. We bought a butcher-made ready meal for the evening and other provisions for the journey home in the morning. Naturally, our final pub visit was Blind Jack's where we sat in the rear (cosy) room where Basketmakers' rules were well-evidenced and banter between tables was friendly and comfortable.
Our journey to Bristol was via Leeds and a stupid gantry where there were escalators up but not down (why???). I dodged the huge queue for Starbucks coffee and got some from one of the other stands. Then we were on the train and (relatively) relaxed.
Arrival at Temple Meads was just about on time.
As is our habit, we headed to the Barley Mow, of course. Ahhhhh.
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