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8 Things To Do on a Day Trip to York, England
May 13, 2024
8 things to do in York, england. Video in collaboration with @BusyBeeMaree @tinastalktime @Maria_crocker Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegeordieg... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeordiegr... Blog: https://www.thegeordiegrandma.co.uk For collaborations email me: [email protected] #york #daytrip #lifeover50 Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me unless otherwise stated. These are my honest opinions. This video may contain affiliate links, which means when you click on one of the product links, I will receive a small commission. Thank you so much for subscribing and watching my videos - truly appreciate it :-)
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Hi everyone, it's Karen from the Georgie Grandma
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Welcome back to my channel. And today's video is in collaboration with the transatlantic housewives of YouTube
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as always on a Sunday morning at 7.30. And today's topic is day trips
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Now, as I haven't been on a day trip recently to video it
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I thought I'd talk about a day trip that we've done quite often, and that is to York, which is in England, the north of England
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So I thought I'd share eight things to do on a day trip to York if you fancy going
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and I highly recommend a day trip to York. There is tons of things to do, so I'm kind of just scraping the surface with this
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And if you've got the opportunity to go there for a long week, or even a week, you will find, you know, lots to do there to fill your time
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So, starting with the first thing, I was going to talk about the York Cat Trail
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You can get a booklet that goes with it, and we've only done this once
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Now, it is a trail that takes you around the city of York, and it was started by a York
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architect called Tom Adams. This was his idea and when he was involved in designing
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restoring or renovating a building, he used to add a sculpted cat to it. So you can see the
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sculpted cats as you look up at some of the buildings in York and there are 22 cat sculptures
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to look at as you walk around York. Now you can pop into quite a few of the gift shops and
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pick up a map for free that, you know, tells you where they all are. But if you wanted to know
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more about them, this little book is really cute. So it takes about, it takes probably about an hour
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and a half if all of, all you're doing is actually doing the trail and looking for the cats. But you
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can, you know, obviously pop into shops and cafes as you're walking around there and just make it
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part of your journey to actually spot the cats when you're out and about. So I thought I'd mentioned some of
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the different cats that there is. There is the ghostly cat. And this is the ghost cat of York
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And all the sculptures, or most of the sculptures, are by a sculpture called Jonathan Newdick
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And the ghostly cat was placed there in 2011. And it's seen emerging from above the first floor
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window on the front wall of a haunted pub called the Golden Fleece in York. So that was one of them
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another one is the lonely prowler on the roof of a building
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you can just see it there I will put some actual pictures in here it is overlooking the river Ouse that one is quite difficult to spot
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and where the tour starts is at the cat gallery which is a little cat shop that sells what's a little shop
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that sells all kinds of things cats you know pictures souvenirs that kind of thing
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and that is the cat on the cat gallery. So like I say, there's 22 to spot
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and it's a really good way of actually seeing parts of York
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that you might not see if you're going to just specific places for the day
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So I highly recommend the cat trail of York. The second thing you have to do if you go to York is go to the Shambles
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and this is a medieval little shopping street. It's very narrow, it's a cobble street
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and it is just it a beautiful little street It is a medieval street as York is a medieval city and it really narrow but at one part it is so narrow that it said that the people who used to live in these
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buildings, years and, you know, hundreds of years ago, could reach out through the windows
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and actually shake hands across the street. The street is so narrow. It was actually said to be
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the inspiration for Diagon Alley, whether that's true or not, I don't know, but you can
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kind of if you're a Harry Potter fan, if you go to the Shambles, you can see the resemblance there
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There's lots of shops and cafes on that street. You know, you can get food, chocolate, there's gifts, lots of little cafes
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It's well worth visiting the Shambles when you're there, get some nice pictures and some nice souvenirs to take home
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Of course, there are lots of other shopping areas within York City
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You know, you've got all of your normal high street shops. But I think if you go to York, it's nice to go and see the little independent
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and shops around there. So you've got a daily market that opens up within, you know, just around the shambles
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That's well worth having a look because they've got lots of little stores from vintage clothes
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to foods, you know, fruit, little gifts, things like that. Lots of little quirky shops in the streets around there
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They've got a Christmas shop in York that's open all year round
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And this shop is in, it's not far from the shambles, I can't remember the street it's on, but it's in a listed building and it's over two floors
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So if you're into Christmas, you can spend quite a long time browsing all of the Christmas ornaments and decorations in there to your heart's content and pick up a few to take home
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And one of Warren's favourites is a shop called Trembling Madness, which again is just not far from the shambles
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Again, I can't remember the street names. but you can't miss these shops because they're in quite a close area
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And Tremblin Madness sells a lot of craft beers. So if you enter that kind of thing, that's the place to go for your craft beers
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But what Warren likes it for, it has got a huge range of miniatures
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And if you've watched some of my videos before, if you watched the most recent cocktail one
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you see he collects a lot of spiced rum miniatures that were on the wall in our bar
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home bar, that is. And Tremblin Madness does sell. a lot of miniatures. So he always picks up a couple when we go there. So if you're into your
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you know, your alcohol and your craft beers, that's definitely a place to visit. So there's
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lots of shopping to do in York. The third thing to do if you're having a day trip in York is to do
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the city walls walk. Now this, the city walls walk is supposedly the largest medieval town walls in
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England. And it takes you about two hours to get around it. Again, you don't have to do it all at
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once. There is several stops along the walls where you can actually exit the walls and go and have
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a look around, you know, the places that are there. They were built in the 13th century, so it's
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well worth having a look at some of the features that are left on the walls and you actually
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get some great views when you're there as well. We actually saw the gardens behind York Minster
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which we hadn't seen before, and that was only because we'd walked the walls. So that was worth
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having a look at. And they are circular, so it's going to take you right back to the beginning
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And they open 8 o'clock in the morning until dusk and they are free to walk. You can also download
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an audio guide if you want so you can hear more about the walls and what you're saying as you walk
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around. But that's definitely having a look at, you know, if you're able, there is steps involved
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So if you're not quite mobile, then it might not be for you. But if you want, it is well worth
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giving it a go. The fourth thing to do if you go to York and if you are interested in cats
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if you do like a cat there is a cat cafe in York called the Cat Whisker Cat Cafe You do have to walk So if you going to go you might want to ring up in advance and make sure you get a spot that going to suit you
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I mean, I'm a crazy cat lady, so, you know, a cat cafe, I'm going to go there. You can get a nice
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cup of coffee or a pot of tea and a lovely piece of cake while you are entertained by the cats
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there. They have several cats around. You're not allowed to pick them up and don't disturb them
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when they're sleeping, not eating, but a lot of them want to play, and they have lots of little
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cat toys in the cat cafe, so you know, you can have little things on pieces of string that you
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can dangle for them, and most of the cats will play with you. They are rescue cats, and the cats
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some of the cats, they have been adopted, so they are well looked after, and they all look
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very happy, I have to say, they just, if you are a cat person, it's a really cute place to go to
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and because you're paying to go in, I think of cost you eight pound to go in
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you are contributing to the upkeep of those rescue cats as well
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So it is worth doing if you are interested in cats. Another place to go in York
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so this is number five, and this is for lunch. It is the Earl Grey Tea Rooms
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which are also on the Shambles, and this is again a medieval building
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like all of the ones on the Shambles are. It is lovely vintage style tea rooms
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It looks a lot bigger inside and then what it looks from the outside, actually
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And it's kind of a little windy little rooms and little areas sort of sectioned off
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You have your tea in there. You can get cream teas. You can get savory lunches, sandwiches
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You can just go in for a pot of tea if you wanted to. It is a lovely little tea rooms
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And what we liked about it was it has a little core. out the back, which was unexpected, but we were kind of led through to it because we'd seen
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a sign outside and we said can we sit outside. So I think it was a really nice day when we went
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And they've got little tables set up outside and it was just really, really pretty. So I highly
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recommend a visit to the Earl Grey Tea Rooms on the Shambles if you're going for a day trip
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And it also has a gift shop attached to it as well. Yeah, so definitely recommend that
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The sixth thing, if you want a different kind of tour of York, and this is the York Ghost Bus Tour
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Now, I haven't actually been on the York Ghost Bus Tour, but I did go on the one in Edinburgh, which is owned by the same company
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And it is a double, it's an old-fashioned double-decker bus, and it's done out in a kind of old-fashioned theatre style
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And this is like a comedy horror show when you go on this Ghost Bus Tour
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It's a 75 minute tour and I'm assuming the one in York
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is pretty similar to the one in Edinburgh it takes you around all of the haunted sites
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and tells you all about the hauntings and the dark secrets that York has to offer
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but it's done that your tour guide on the bus is an actor
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and he's kind of dressed in the old-fashioned bus conductor clothing and the one in Edinburgh
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was absolutely hilarious It was so good. I would definitely do that again
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So the next time I go to York, and I'm there late at night
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I will do the York Ghostb Statuer as well because I did think that was just
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it was different. And because he's an actor, it was just, he made it so good
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You know, he really embellished the stories, and it was just a lot of fun
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So if that's the kind of thing you're interested in, then I highly recommend that
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to find out more about the darker side of York. If you don want a ghost bus tour the next thing that I suggest you do so this is the seventh thing that I suggest you do in York is the hop on hop on hop off bus tour Now they have these bus tours in practically every city I been to and I like to do them when I go I even done the one in my hometown
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Well, it's not my hometown, but it's the Newcastle upon time. I've done the hop-on, hop-off bus tour there
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And you can learn so much about a place from them. And because you can, you know, get off and get back on at any time, you can, if you stop
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somewhere like, you know, the monk bar, which is actually a gate, one of the
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like four gates and York, you can stop off there, have a look around then, get back on the bus
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again. But you can also do the, you also get the audio tour of York as you're on there
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It's going to give you lots of historical information and facts about York
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So not, not centred on, you know, ghost things. It's actually going to give you proper historical facts about York as well
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Not that I'm saying the ghost ones aren't proper historical facts either, but this one is going to tell you about the buildings and things like that
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And I really like those bus tours because, again, you get to see more of the city than you normally would
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And they're quite useful for getting to different parts of the town if you want to go and see different things
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So I highly recommend that. And the last thing that I want to talk about if you're going on a day trip to York is Yorkminster
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You know, you can't really go to York without saying Yorkminster, which is the most breathtaking medieval cathedral
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It is stunning. How they built those places is just gobsmacking, really. Just the work that must have
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gone into that, it really is breathtaking. You do have to pay to go into Yorkminster. I think it's
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around 18 to 20 pound, but if you do buy a ticket, it does last your 12 months. So if you went back
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again, you could use the ticket again. There are optional guided to us to take you around York
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Minstam to tell you about the different things, but that would be an extra cost. But there's
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2,000 years of history in there, you know, so if that's the thing you're interested in, if you're
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interested in, you know, cathedrals and things like that, then that is a super one to go and visit
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Incidentally, if you are a resident of York and you can, you've got something to prove you are a
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resident of York, or I think it's a student of one of the universities there, you can get into York's
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Yorkminster free, but you do have to show proof that you are a resident
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But we've never actually been into Yorkminster. There is so much to do in York that it's nice to look at the outside of Yorkminster
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but for us that's something we've never done, been inside. So maybe he's on a future trip
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We're going to do that. Like I say, York, we've been to York many times for day trips
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It's only about an hour's drive from where we live. And on a couple of occasions, we've getting the train down
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which means Warren can have a couple of drinks if he wants to. We have gone down for long weekends and stayed in hotels there
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There's just hundreds of hotels and bed and breakfasts to choose from down there
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It's just a fantastic city. So if you do get the opportunity to go on a day trip in
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you can't get to York, then I highly recommend it. So as this is a collaboration, as usual on a Sunday
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remember to go across and see what day trips busy being Marie
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Maria Crocker and Tina from Tina's talk time are talking about. It's always nice to see where other people are going on day trips
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And even Marie in Vegas, it is nice to see, you know, day trips in America
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that maybe if you're visiting in America, you may not have thought of
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so it's worth having a look. So thank you so much for watching
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I hope you're having a little. lovely weekend as this is Easter weekend at the moment. I hope the weather is nice where you are
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It is really nice here. So I hope you enjoy your weekend. I'll see you again soon. Bye for now
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