York

Many travel guides will tell you about York's little streets, and its tendency to have those streets invaded by Vikings, Romans and such. It’s all true. But nowadays it's what York's community does with those little streets that really sets it apart. You'll find a crowd of independent shops, cafes and galleries, plus layer after layer of ancient architecture jostling for position. Presiding over it all is the glorious York Minster, a sandstone leviathan with immense charisma that dominates the city centre and offers fresh, weird design delights with each repeat visit. Photography by Peter Byrne and words by Russ Thorne

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York Minster

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Yorkies love their Minster, which boasts the fine qualities of magical stones that are the colour of a cracked egg when it's sunny and having had part of its roof designed by children. (When the South Transept was partially destroyed by fire in 1984, viewers of TV show Blue Peter were invited to design new ceiling bosses.) It's a bewildering hulk on one level, all flying buttresses and jumbled walkways; and a thing of singular, often startling beauty on another, especially up close. Marvel at the silence inside, then huff and puff up the narrow tower stairs for long views and ancient graffiti.

York Minster
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York Minster
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York Minster
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York Minster
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York Minster
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York Minster
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York Minster
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Ken Spelman

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