I almost missed one of the coolest things ever because of my unwillingness to ask a question.
Last Saturday, I had a free day. I ate a leisurely breakfast, showered, changed and considered what to do with the day. I had no plans at all. I toyed with the idea of seeing a play in the evening, visiting some of the remarkable museums, walking to some new part of the city and exploring markets or sitting in Russell Square reading a book.
And suddenly I knew. I wanted to go to York. I wanted to see York Minster. It was getting on in the morning, and I wavered going at all. I didn’t know if I’d have enough time. But I grabbed a jacket and an umbrella, walked to King’s Cross station, stood in line for a ticket and took the chance. The train boarded at 11:15 a.m., to arrive in York at 12:45 p.m.
Let me just say that riding on a train is an unbelievably comfortable experience. I chose a “quiet” car — cell phone ringers off, no noisy children, no loud conversations. I watched the city roll by for the first 10 or 15 miles, then the open green countryside of rural England. I was on an express, so we flashed by towns and villages, passed grazing cattle and sheep and flew under scudding dark clouds. The threat of rain followed us all the way to York. The Virgin train was fast (about 70 mph), smooth and quiet. What it was not is cheap. British train travel, while wonderfully civilized, is expensive.
York was founded by the Romans in 71 CE, the northernmost outpost of the empire. It is at the confluence of the Ouse and Foss river, and was prone, not surprisingly, to flooding. Nonetheless, it became a busy trade center. Christianity came along sometime before 300 CE. It is an unbelievably beautiful medieval city that retains most of its city wall. In fact there is a walk that includes the wall, and stairways lead up to the top, where anyone can stroll.
I was there for one main purpose: to see the enormous York Minster. A minster is a sort of supercathedral. Think of Westminster Abbey, seat of the Church of England. By 311, York already had an archbishop but work on the minster didn’t begin until about 627. It was a wooden structure that eventually burned to the ground. Several other attempts did, too. When the Romans left, the Angles settled. Then the Vikings came along, then Anglo-Saxons, William the Conquerer and so on. It was batted about by various invaders and settlers, and its fortunes rose and fell with them.
In the 11th century, York became an important religious center, with a number of abbeys of friars and monks located there. They all ended in 1435 when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church and declared himself the spiritual leader of the new Church of England.
The current minster was started about 1080, still a Catholic outpost. It was declared completed in 1472, when it was consecrated as a building of the Church of England. This is the church I set out to see.
I walked through the Micklegate and the narrow road led me toward the river.
I chose to sit outside a pub for lunch, but just as I ordered, the rain began. We all retreated inside until it stopped, and by then, after fish and chips, it was nearly 3 p.m. The last train to London was at 8 p.m., and I had an opened-end ticket, but I had to use it that day.
I had no idea where the minster was, and I didn’t want to ask, so I just began walking. I came upon the remains of the 11th century castle and the castle museum. By the time I finished those it was after 4 p.m., and the sky opened up. The umbrella gave me a moving cocoon of dryness, but from the knees down I was soaked. Then I found a map and figured out I was in possibly far from the minster, I couldn’t figure out the buses, I didn’t want to ask, and I gave up trying to see it. I had come all that way and would miss York Minster.
Somewhat miserably, feeling terribly sorry for myself, I started back the way I came, but I took a detour. This led me to another ancient church, a busy shopping center and another map. And this map showed me I was about three blocks from York Minster. And then I did that one thing I had been reluctant to do: I asked a local, who confirmed it was just up the street. I quickened my step and arrived at the Minster to see a young guide standing in front of the closed entrance. I glanced at my watch. It was 5:15 p.m.
“Closed?” I asked.
“Yes, we’re closed for Evensong. You can join Evensong if you like, though. It just started.”
“How long will it be?”
“An hour.”
“I have to catch a train by 8,” I said.
“Oh, plenty of time. When you come out, just walk straight down this street, through the gate in the wall, and you’ll be at the station. It’s no more than 10 minutes.”
So I walked in. An usher showed me to a seat — there are no pews, mostly folding chairs — and handed me a program. The choir was in full voice, the pipe organ filled the air, and my soul was warmed.
And here is the unmissed opportunity. Had I found the minster when I first arrived, I would have paid admission and walked around with a guidebook and my camera. I would have marveled at the stained-glass windows, the soaring heights, the crypts of the archbishops who lay buried nearby. I would have admired the carvings, the immensity of the structure itself, the history of the place. I would have enjoyed every moment I was there.
But this was more because I got to not only sit in one of the grand structures in Britain, but I got to experience “why” it was there. I got to experience not just the church, but the “purpose” of the church.
I listened to the sung psalms, some accompanied by the organ, some a capella. The choir was mostly male. A few females supplied the upper ranges, but most of the soprano and alto voices were those of boys. The gravity of the readings that separated the psalms echoed through the church almost lost in their own reverberation, but the chants and intonations of the choir were clear and crisp.
I walked out so happy that I had found it after it had closed to tourists. At the conclusion, we were not hurried out into the street. We were allowed to walk around and take all the photos we wanted. No one came to shoo us away. I got the best of both. Forty-five minutes earlier, I would have missed the true meaning of York Minster.
There is an old saying that says the early bird catches the worm. The corollary to that, of course, is that the late worm does not get eaten. I was the late tourist last Saturday, and I got the entire meal.
I strolled back to the station, got something to eat on the return journey, boarded the train 15 minutes later and headed back to London in the steeply slanted sunlight of a late British evening. Clouds still lingered, but broken enough to let through golden rays.
And as I looked out the window opposite to me, a rainbow arced into the heavens. A sign? Nah. Just a coincidence. I settled into the comfortable seat and watched night fall on England.
