Manchester to York, Sunday

As I was walking to the main Manchester station I realised several things. I cannot get used to the pedestrian crossings in Manchester which donot have ‘Walk / Don’t Walk’ signs on the opposite light posts – just a green sign on the panel that has the button you push. Maybe it has more to do with the fact I still have not had a proper sleep!. I also have to be more careful twisting sideways with a pack on. Several times my knees have objected.

Getting onto the train to York was a bit of a challenge. It came in from London, people got off, people got on, it moved off, all in rapid succession. The luggage racks at the end of the carriage were overflowing, people were trying to find either their seat if they had a reservation like me or a seat that was not reserved if they did not. Initially there seemed to be more people than seats in the carriage I was in. Someone was sitting in my seat. She got up to move, with her luggage. The aisle was very narrow . Luckily there was an empty seat next to mine so I could manoever my pack off without hitting too many people. I had to squeeze it into the overhead rack. Someone helped me. Then I had to deal with the fact that I had no option other than to spend 1 ½ hours going backwards, which I hate. Maybe I donot like going backwards because you have much less control if you are going backwards – you cannot see what is coming and plan for it. Hmmm. It certainly is harder to take photograghs.

I walked from the station to the b and b I had booked. She gave me a key but it was too early to check in so I left my pack and went to a nearby café for lunch. I thought I might as well have something with yorkshire pudding. That’s now crossed off the list. I won’t be rushing to try it again. The rest of the dish was nice – chicken. I got talking to a couple at the next table who had been to Australia and were quite familiar with the political had told them this place was the best to eat in York. There were lots of people all around. I walked through the centre and through the Shambles but dodging other people became unpleasant, so I went into a nice wool shop and looked at patterns for a break from people.

The b and b seems quite pleasant. My room is a single – not because of the bed size but because there is so little space in the rest of the room. The modern uprades have been done sparingly, e.g. the basin is in it’s original position and the new, tiny e/s is on the other side of the room – loo and shower only, there is no room for a basin. A large person would have great difficulty in using the e/s. There is a nice garden which I was already to go and sit in and do these last 3 days posts when I remembered that I have no battery. I sat in the garden and read the large pile of tourist literature for York .

I kept my eye open today for a supermarket but did not see one so after fiddle faddling around walking past where I went for lunch twice looking at one pub then going to look at another, then going back to the first only to find their kitchen closed ½ hour before, I did what I should have done in the first place and went to where I had lunch. The soup was good. Here’s hoping I have a proper sleep tonight.