York yet again!

York Minster from the city walls.

We have recently returned from a visit to our older daughter/son in law and 2 older granddaughters in Leicestershire.  It was their youngest's 9th birthday on the Sunday so we were able to go out and celebrate with them which was fun to do.  We looked after the girls on the Saturday night as mum and dad had been invited to a fortieth birthday party with a Ho Down theme, so it was fun to see them both dressed,  as a saloon girl and a sheriff.  

We took the girls out for tea on Saturday night and home in time to see their parents dressed in their costumes for the party.

On the Monday DH and I went to York for 2 nights.  We had been in York at the beginning of October meeting up with another couple, these are the ones who got me interested in Geocaching and Munzees.
So as we were already down visiting the family and it was only about 2 hours to York off we go.
We stayed in a nice hotel where we could just leave the car and a 5 minute walk took us into the city.
York is such a lovely place to visit, we haven't been for a few years and within the past month we have been there twice.

It was bonfire night when we were there, so for any overseas readers this is a quick rundown of who Guy Fawkes was.  He was born and raised in York, he actually went to the school close by to our hotel which we passed each time we went into the city.  Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 ,he was discovered guarding the gunpowder barrels in the building on November 4, with enough gunpowder to reduce the Houses of Parliament to rubble. He was arrested and tortured until he confessed to the deadly deed he tried to commit. Ever since then it has it has been a celebration of building a bonfire on November 5 and placing a guy made up of old clothes and stuffed with paper etc to represent Guy Fawkes on top of the bonfire, then on bonfire night or Guy Fawkes night as it is sometimes known as, it is set alight fireworks are let off to represent gunpowder.  I remember as a child helping to make my guy for my bonfire.

This is where he was born and this building is now a pub, funnily enough called Guy Fawkes Inn!

One area of the city walls of York.  We walk part of the way around them collecting geocaches on our walk.

Looking down from here we could see a likely spot for the hidden geocache, the co-ordinates had taken us to this spot up on the walls but it was down on the lower level, so the next day we went down and got it, another one in the bag.

One of the many plaques in the ground 

So a 2 night stay in the city with plenty of walking around collecting a few geocaches and plenty of Munzees to find.

On our way to York from Leicestershire we stopped off to stretch our legs at a service area and managed to grab a cache which was hidden behind a police unit in the car park area, now that felt weird searching within sight of the law, but they must have known about it being there as folk had found it before and after us and they all seemed to say the same thing as us!  Plus there were a few Munzees to look for.
And also on our way from Scotland to Leicestershire, again stopping off at rest areas we found a number of Munzees and a couple of caches, but searching in the bushes of car parks must have looked have made us look suspicious, Not sure if anyone spotted us coming out of the small wood where the cache was hidden, but it would give them something to talk about maybe!

It is a habit now that wherever we are be it travelling down to England or going up to Glasgow on the bus,
out comes the phone to see if I can grab a cache or a Munzee or two. With my B&B I do not geocache during the summer months, so I drag DH off whenever I can to search for them during autumn and winter.


As a post script…………..

Our oldest granddaughter 12 year old Caitlin along with 5 other girls from her year at high school were chosen to visit the Houses of Parliament with their teachers on the Monday we went toYork.  They were giving a speech on the work they are doing in science for water purification for Africa.  They were giving the speech to the Members of Parliament and the Lords. Then they were shown around the Houses of Parliament.  Very proud grandparents here!