York...

I spent yesterday in York, taking pix and looking up an old friend who I’d lost touch with. I didn’t fancy driving around the city, at the busiest time of the year, looking for a (very expensive) parking space. So I did something I’ve never done before: I used one of the half-dozen ‘park & ride’ schemes, which operate from various places on the ring road. It was hassle-free: easy to park, five minutes waiting for a bus, and another five minutes travelling into York.

York itself was anything but hassle-free. The area inside the city walls felt very small, and the number of tourists, mooching about with their cameras and selfie sticks, seemed inappropriately huge. Whatever it is they come to see, what they must see most of is each other. A lot of locals rely on the tourists for their income, but this dependence makes them surly and grumpy. Maybe they should consider a course of Bile Beans...