York, Day Three: A Gentler Finale
Because I’d actually gone to bed at a reasonable hour, I woke up naturally around 8. No alarms, no groaning, just a quiet wander down to breakfast. I could have had a Full English, but I’d had one opf those yesterday and it sat a bit heavy. So a lighter breakfast for me. Over coffee and toast I debated whether to head out into the countryside or stay in the city. And how long to stay in the area anyway before heading home. Not exactly grave decisions, but what ho!
The legs voted firmly for “shorter day”, so staying in town won. I’d left a swathe of caches to the south and east of the city centre. They could be my target.
Relocating the Car
I moved the car to a spot near Skeldergate Bridge, which put me in a good position for the day’s main target: a sequential set of Adventure Labs that looped up into the city centre and then back down the river.
Sequential labs remove all decision‑making — you go where the app tells you to go. So that kind of forced my hand in terms of walking route. I just needed to plan what others I was going to do as “in-betweeners” to make it a worthwhile day out.
Blue Bridge and the Last Stretch of the City Walls
The first stage was at the Blue Bridge, where the Foss meets the Ouse. The second was further up the Foss, but to get there I walked the final quarter of the City Walls I hadn’t yet covered.
It’s not the prettiest stretch, but it’s still a medieval wall, and that alone gives it character. Anyway, to get there I had to go and do a couple of caches at Dick Turpin’s grave.
There’s no wall north of the Red Tower because medieval marshland did the defensive job well enough. So The wall comes to an abrupt end and you walk along a 300m stretch of path alongside a busy road (on one side) and the Foss (on the other).
Revisiting
The route eventually brought me back to the north side of the Foss at Walmgate, to a place I’d visited yesterday but couldn’t log because I hadn’t done the earlier stages. Same story at Ousegate and Skeldergate Bridge. Sequential labs can be mildly irritating like that, but satisfying once they’re done.
Rowntree Park
From there I headed south along the west bank of the Ouse, past — and into — Rowntree Park. Yes, those Rowntree’s – the confectionery people. It’s a pleasant place with a bit of history behind it. The park was commissioned in memory of workers from the Rowntree company that lost their lives in the First World War. It was a beautiful park, to be honest.
There were a couple of caches inside; one was straightforward, the other refused to reveal itself. I gave it a fair try before moving on. I think the missing one was one where I obtained the coordinates by nefarious means. It was a wherigo and I didn’t want to spend the 45 minutes or so playing the cartridge, so I just left it.
The Late Millennium Bridge
The final stage of the “Bridges” labs was at the Millennium Bridge. Like many towns, York built a bridge to mark the millennium. Unlike many towns, York’s opened in 2001. Fashionably late. It’s an arch-shaped footbridge at the bottom end of Rowntree Park.
The Dead Centre of Town
With the labs complete, the map made the next decision for me: the cemetery. It was about a mile away, but it was packed with caches — four sets of labs, a couple of EarthCaches, a virtual, a puzzle, a trad, and a couple of multis I couldn’t be bothered with.
The weather was dry but the wind was “bracing”, courtesy of a named storm that had blown through overnight. That meant I’d get nice and warm somewhere and then get hit by the chill.
I spent a good two hours wandering around the cemetery, working through the labs and EarthCaches and ducking between the trees to get out of the wind. It was peaceful, interesting, and productive — exactly the sort of place that makes a detour worthwhile.
There was a puzzle there which I’d solved in the week. It required one to watch a YouTube video and listen out for the narrator using certain words that are in place on a “bingo” card on the cache page. Quite inventive. That cache was 10m away from the calculated coords, but it was well worth a favourite point.
One Last Loop Back to the River
After finishing up, I headed back to the riverside to complete one final lab stage and a multi I’d gathered the information for earlier. The car was exactly where I’d left it, which is always reassuring.
I’d walked another 13 km and the legs were protesting. Before driving home, I decided to have a quick nap in the car. This became a full 45‑minute snoring session. Apparently I was more tired than I realised.
And that was it for York. Three days, 169 cache finds, an interesting variety, and a trip to a place that I’ve not been to for so long that it was all in black-and-white when I was last there. Probably.
Not Quite Hometime Yet
In the morning I’d pinged my brother to say I’d possibly meet him and my Dad in Southwell for a curry if my timings worked. Dad had been in bed with a cold all weekend, so had contacted bruv to say “no can do”, but my brother was still up for a curry. So I drove the 90 minutes to his place, arrived in time to catch mostof a very long FA Cup match between West Ham and Leeds, and then we headed out for an excellent curry.
After dinner I drove home. Home was exactly where I left it, which is good.
And this morning Dad was up and about again, having apparently fought off the worst of the cold.
