Attractions in the Area

This page is necessarily going to be a long list of links: we will try to keep it up to date: apologies if anything doesn't work.

Naturally although we would like you to spend as much time as possible flying while you are with us, we have the good fortune to be located in a particularly attractive area of northern England, close to the ancient cathedral city of York. This means that you can combine your visit with many other tourist activities: it also means that there is plenty to occupy non-flying partners, or even glider pilots when the weather is unsuitable.

The biggest tourist magnet in the area has to be the city of York. Founded as a garrison town near the north-western corner of the Roman Empire, later a major Viking trading centre, then a walled mediaeval cathedral city, second only to Canterbury in importance, it offers much to fascinate the history buffs. In addition to that it is a major shopping and cultural centre: there is plenty to do, even when it's raining.

The city skyline is dominated by the Minster. This is one of the largest and finest Gothic cathedrals in Europe. A hint- if you are more interested in engineering than mediaeval architecture, don't pass this one up: the original foundations of the Minster were laid (on the site of a huge old Roman barracks) on a submerged wooden platform in the twelfth century. The wood finally started to fail in the mid-20th, and York Minster is an interesting hybrid: an ancient cathedral on twentieth century foundations. To see how the trick was done, visit the exhibition in the basement.

If you are really into church architecture, there are lots more in York: we won't list them all here, just check out the city website.

Carrying on the history theme, there are a few more major attractions we can mention:

Pre-dating the Minster by a few hundred years, what is now the city of York was the Viking trading centre of Jorvik. The Jorvik Viking Centre is both the site of a serious archeological dig and the home of a Disneyworld style presentation of how the city would have looked, sounded and smelled during that era.

Bringing us closer to the present day: York is famous for the National Railway Museum. Of course, if you are really into railways, you've already been, but if you have a casual interest it is still well worth a visit.

Moving outside York: I think it's safe to say that if you are reading this you are interested in aviation. Close by is the Yorkshire Air Museum, based at Elvington airfield. Elvington, like many of the airfields in the area, was a World War II bomber base, and the exhibitions have a definite WWII flavour.

While on the subject of WWII, this is a good place to mention Eden Camp. Once a camp for German prisoners of war, it is now a museum dedicated to WWII. For a really comprehensive view of the history of the war, and what it felt like for both military and civilians, go and see it. There's a lot there: it's a full day out.

Just up the road from Rufforth is Castle Howard. This is a magnificent 18th century country mansion designed by John Vanbrugh, now open to the public; you may recognise it from "Brideshead Revisited". If you like gardens, it's worth visiting for the gardens alone.

Having said how attractive the countryside of North Yorkshire is, we haven't really said much more about it. Suffice it to say that a few miles north of us will put you in Herriot country: you might want to check out the little market town of Thirsk (aka "Darrowby"). Further north still and you are into the rugged Yorkshire moors. But perhaps we should stop here: you need to leave some time for flying during your visit.