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Oxford to Salisbury Routes 5, 8 and 9 on the map

Oxford to Winchester Route 7 on the map

Oxford to Stratford Route 5 on the map

Oxford to Bath Routes 5 and 8 on the map.

Cambridge to York

[Return to the Heart of England Index]

York is one of the most historically important cities in England. The Dukes of York have for
many centuries been major players in Britain’s politics.

Inevitably the city’s history has dictated what we see today with attractions such as York Minster,
Clifford’s Tower and the Jorvik Centre.

You have two touring options on this journey:

1: Via Peterborough and Lincoln - Routes 1 and 3 on the map.

Navigation notes for this option on the opposite page.

2: Via Sherwood Forest – Route 2 on the map.

Click here for navigation notes on this option.

Either way the first stage of the journey will take you across the flat-as-a-pancake fenlands of
Lincolnshire. Over the centuries the marshy country around The Wash – that indented bay on the
coast – were drained to create some of the most fertile farmland in Britain.

Appropriately it was, until not long ago, an administrative district called Holland. The Dutch
associations are more than just coincidental. Around Spalding is a major tulip growing area and in
April and early May it’s well worth taking a side trip to see 10,000 acres of blooming colour. They
are grown for the bulbs not the flowers so in May a mower is run through them.

Further north a narrow limestone ridge runs from Stamford in the south to Humberside in the
north. Lincoln sits astride this ridge and thus dominates the land all around. The city itself is in
turn, dominated by Lincoln Cathedral, more properly known as the Cathedral Church of St Mary,
which sits astride a 200ft high limestone plateau in the centre of the city.

From there to York you will travelling on a broad plain that carries the principal road and rail routes
from London to the borders of Scotland. York is at the heart of this region. Archaeological studies
suggest there has been human settlement here stretching back 10,000 years, but in its more-or-
less “modern” form it was established by the Romans because its strategic position at the
confluence of the Ouse and Fosse Rivers was easily defensible.

If you elect to take the Sherwood Forest option you are probably chasing a myth, the legend of
Robin Hood. The legend began in mediaeval times as minstrels, ballad-singers and jongleurs told
tales of the chivalrous outlaw of Sherwood Forest.