Our next destination was York! A university town that we were informed would be lovely, and that we should spend a whole day there.
The roads were treacherous outside of King’s Lynn. Once on the highway the rain fell in sheets on the windscreen, making visibility pretty low at some points. Some areas of the road were flooded out. At one point we tried to pass a truck which had been spraying us with fine mist for a half hour, with a wide gap in the oncoming traffic lane, I made an attempt but quickly gave it up when a large lorry emerged from the mist in front of me.
Victoria choked back her heart while I re-took the left lane and continued on behind the mist-slinging transport truck. After a while it turned off while we continued on.
There was a very beautiful bridge near Hull where you could see for miles around, if not for the mist. We captured a bit of this on the GoPro while driving. We also came up to our first toll booth. It only cost 1p50 to cross, and we were amused to try it out the first time. I confirmed the price, tipped my hand into the hand of the booth attendee, and thanked him while driving off.
First we had to check out Lincoln which had some of the steepest streets in the UK. They were indeed very steep and it’s hard to show in pictures just how steep they are. I found it quite easy but on previously injured knees, Victoria may have had a hard time. She didn’t complain at all, but she was huffing lightly each time we stopped.
There are so many pretty shops in Lincoln. I took a lot of photos but if you find yourself in the UK in a similar situation, I definitely recommend stopping here.
The place is just steeped in history, with winding cobblestone roads and beautiful vistas atop the hill. The roads seemed to have each brick laid with the striations in the stones perpendicular to the slope, which helps. It didn’t feel slippery at all and it had been raining the morning when we drove in.
After exploring the hill, we headed down toward the famous house-on-a-bridge, which is a historical landmark in Lincoln. Winding through the streets we found our way there while stopping into a few shops with curiosities and delights to take in.
We continued onward and the rain picked up again. It had been raining on and off all day. I tried a few photos of the canal in the rain when we finally arrived. Turning around, we were able to see the famous house-on-a-bridge. It now contained several small businesses such as cafes and other eateries.
We passed a lady in a traditional maid outfit on the way in. This place was going to be something a little different for sure.
The houese inside was very well kept up, and included custom made brass fireplaces, and some simple chairs. The trims all painted black with light walls.
It seemed pretty posh and Vitoria and I were in the mood for a coffee. A real coffee. We suspected this place had the real goods. So we went to the top floor to order one from a delightful little cafe with a view of the canal.
Let me tell you, the coffee was fantastic. We ordered a Kenyan roast coffee served in a french press, which came with an hourglass I couldn’t help fiddling with. (Actually a 3 minute glass? What do you call an hourglass that only does 3 minutes?)
Having enjoyed our coffees, the host who was in a crisp outfit with a waiter’s apron picked out a brochure about the building from amongst the things under the cash and pointed to a picture asking us what’s remarkable about a picture inside.
Victoria and I sat for a moment or two and then I said, “It’s this room, isn’t it?”
We looked at the historical photo and the waiter told us all about the place, and how people want to buy the custom fireplaces from the owner. Also how the owner chose to polish them, which I agree with, rather than preserve the patina.
After that we had to get to our car. Our parking pass was running out and we had to make it to York before it got too dark.
The drive to York was lovely and the rain started to subside. At one point our rental car from Europcar started beeping every 5 miles.
Back at the rental counter they had told us the car had been topped up with AdBlue and it would be fine until our destination. It seems they were flat-out lying to us as the car was telling us now that it would simply not turn on in 90 miles.
So we stopped outside of Lincoln at a gas station and I asked if someone could help me with it, because I wasn’t even sure how to verify what the Europcar rental agency representative had told us. It turns out the only way to verify it is to turn on the car and actually heed the warnings on the dash. Thanks for nothing, Europcar.
I paid 10.99p or about 18.10 CAD to buy a 5 litre jug of the AdBlue and filled up the tank. The car ran much better afterward. Apparently without AdBlue, your diesel car will start to run poorly to preserve the emissions goals of the car. (Some cars apparently limit you to 20mph when you run out or turn right off!)
As we drove into York the hilly, sleepy university town revealed itself before us and it was lovely. Today we get to explore it in the daylight and I can already tell it’s going to be a nice time.
