Getting out in Nature
I love cities where I can walk everywhere, to everything. But I also love to be somewhere where I get out into nature and walk, walk, walk. But I don’t want to go the exact same route every time, I want variety. Some days I only have half an hour to do a loop, some days three hours, and some days somewhere in between. I know, I’m a difficult person to please with that oxymoron between walkable city life and natural rural life. But, there York is to provide both of those and be so adorably medieval and quaint in the bargain.
It’s unbelievable how beautiful the areas in and around York are. They seem to truly appreciate and support walkers and cyclists with extensive pathway systems and tons of natural areas. We could walk out our front door and be out on the pathway system within two blocks of our home. Once we stepped onto the path, we had a huge variety of trails and routes we could take, being able to turn just about any walk we wanted to go into a loop, rather than walking somewhere and then having to turn around at some point and walk back (boring!).
We did a variety of walks, but we definitely had a few favourites. For a quick 30-minute walk, we would walk along the river, past Roundtree Park, to the Millenium Bridge where we would cross the river. We’d then walk our way back towards the city centre via a pathway (again along the opposite side of the river) and cross back over Skeldergate Bridge. It was a beautiful and quick walk that we just called the Millennium Loop. The only hiccup here was when the river floods, which it does in fall/winter. A lot. Then the pathways on both sides of the river are underwater, or at least the far side is.
Our favourite route, by far, was walking to Bishopthorpe, the next little town over. We would head out along that same path past Roundtree Park, but we would pass by the Millennium Bridge and keep going. Within 20 min of leaving our house, we were out in the countryside, passing by fields and cattle as we followed the river the entire way. We would stop at one of our favourite little cafes, But First…, where they quickly came to know us. The staff were amazing and we loved chatting with them, especially with one super sweet girl. It was about a one-hour walk each way to the coffee shop.
We would then either walk back home along the river or head in along the main road, where just after leaving Bishopthorpe we would cross over to the York Racecourse. It is massive and while not in use for races is used extensively by walkers and as a huge dog park. It might not sound like a large area to Canadians as our racecourses are tiny by comparison, but it would easily take us 15 minutes to walk from one end of the racecourse to the other! From there, you cross back onto the pathway system and continue home.
If we were feeling really ambitious, then after leaving the café in Bishopthorpe, we would continue past the town to a fisherman’s bridge where we could cross the river. We could then follow the pathways straight back into the town centre and home in about 1.5 hours. But, we took the scenic route where we diverted to the outlet mall, which added an extra 30 min. They have the most amazing and massive covered outdoor play area for the kids, complete with a café outside there for adults to grab a drink or snack or just sit at a table while the kids play. It was perfect for all weather, even rainy days. And, best of all, it’s completely free. Our girls LOVED this play area and would stay here and probably never leave if given the opportunity! It meant that while we would be doing a three-hour hike, it was conveniently broken up into three 1-hour segments. 1 hour to But First…, 1 hour more to the outlet mall, and then 1 hour more to get back home.
We also explored further out around Homestead Park, which was another lovely area of York with beautiful walking trails. These paths were partly along the river, partly through parkland. At one stretch there were some pretty big hills and the girls LOVED to run up them, roll down them, rinse and repeat. We had to drag them away from the hill to many protestations! We also managed to find another amazing and insanely massive playground. Though the kids loved the playground, they were most excited to climb a huge tree and play hide and seek.
There really were too many beautiful areas and nature walks that we loved to mention them all. But those were our favourites for sure. While York is an incredibly walkable city with an intricate and diverse pathway system through nature that is very well connected, it is not alone in this country. In general, England seems to be an incredibly walkable country. You could literally walk for days while you explore. We have done it with various walking holidays this trip and in past trips! It’s so refreshing to be in a city and country that values nature and walking.
We can’t help but contrast our experiences here with back in Canada. For such a large country, they really do have little interest in supporting walking for the most part. We can go out and walk on a pathway behind our house, but after about 10 minutes, you’re done with the entire pathway from start to finish. You can then turn around and walk back along said pathway and be done your route in 20 minutes, or walk through incredibly monotonous subdivision streets. It’s not relaxing or enticing in the least.
Our pathway is not unique in London. While some might be slightly longer or shorter than others, there’s no great interconnected pathway system that’s going to let me walk all over my own subdivision, let along the entire city or out into nature. To get to a decent walking trail, you have to hop in your car and drive to one, and the options seem a lot more limited. Or you need to pay to go into a park to go for a walk on their trails.
It’s no wonder I feel so much healthier and more alive in a city like York, where we have never used a car and are always out walking in the city and/or nature, getting much-needed exercise but also soothing our souls. Because there’s just something about being out in nature. You take a big, deep breath and you are just filled with such a sense of peace and tranquillity. Or at least I am. And Jon and the girls.
My children absolutely thrive in nature. Where they tend to clam up and get clingy when we are in larger or busier cities, you take them out into nature and they just thrive. They are happy and independent. They run wild, explore, climb trees, and collect stones, pinecones, sticks, and anything else they can find. They sometimes ask us if we can just walk to a river so they can stop and stare at the water go by, and can happily sit/stand there and stare out at the water, absorbing every detail, for hours on end.
It’s going to be a huge adjustment for us to go back to Canada, where we have few walking options. And to see our children settle back into suburban life after all their time being immersed in nature!