We did not stop in Sheffield or York

Or Newcastle or Darlington.  Booking the trip this morning from Edinburgh to London, we got a ticket that could be used at any point today and tomorrow – opening up the possibility of a stopover.

I asked the ticket agent about Sheffield, indicating that my people came from there.  “You would not miss much if you skipped Sheffield.”  I said that I had heard there were good Indian restaurants there – the fellow at the next ticket window agreed.  They also indicated that you could get stainless there.   Me, “Perhaps it was a good thing that my relatives had left for America.” They agreed.

I am carrying a huge Great Britain travel book (purchased as a remaindered library book).  So we looked up each of the stops as we took the express train southward to see about a stopover.  Not much at Newcastle or Darlington.

York was more promising.  Actually it was quite a crossroads for a VERY long time.  The Brigants were there until the Romans came through in AD 71. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Anglo-Saxons took it over, then the Christians came in 625, and the Vikings in 866.  The Viking were chased out in 954 by King Eadred of Wessex, and it was William the Conqueror’s turn…..

I was interested in the 100 year long Viking settlement of Jorvik, but I was put off by the idea of viewing the reconstructed settlement from a monorail.  There is a Viking Exhibit in London; we hope to catch that later, and journeyed on.