Places to go and see in York #4

Today I visited one of York's premier tourist attractions. My destination was a place which I have visited before, but not in this year. It was also a place that involves water, seats and a man giving commentary. Can you guess where it is yet?

Today I visited a Boat Trip On the River Ouse, courtesy of York Boat - purveyors of trips up, and indeed down, the River Ouse. For a mere £6.50, they will take one adult (today, this was me) for a one hour boat trip with a choice of entry and exit points. I joined the trip on Dame Judi Dench Walk by Lendal Bridge. A nice young lady took my money and invited me to step onto the boat. Also on the boat were:
- A party of French teenagers
- Some old people
- Some staff
- A driver man / commentator

There didn't seem to be any other young males who were doing touristy things on their own whilst having a holiday in York. Just me, as normal.

To begin, we went up the river as far as Clifton Bridge. Here's Clifton Bridge. It's not very nice and since it was built in the 60s, it is made of concrete.



At this bridge, the boat turns round and starts to head down river. By this point, I had made my way downstairs to purchase a bottle of Stella Artois. Finally, I had found a licensed tourist attraction, albeit one that is only allowed to sell alcohol whilst not docked.

There isn't actually that much to see along the river. I did find these people though. They are some council drainage men.



I'm pretty sure that at the time of this photo they are arguing about whether they should buy an ice cream or not (from the adjacent ice cream van which appears to be named "Roger"). Their main point of contention is the weather. Dave and Rod think that it's too cold for ice cream, whilst Jason and Kenny think that it's never too cold for ice cream. I'm unable to tell you how this turned out though, since when I later walked along the river bank the drainage men had all gone. Roger was still there though, but I did not taste his wares.

The journey continued downstream as far as the Millennium Bridge, some way out from the town centre. We saw Rowntree Park, the Bonding Warehouse, the Foss River Flood Preventer Thing and a teenage sk8er boi pulling a moony at the boat. I though this was very childish behaviour and I hope that later, he tragically fell off his skateboard and went under the wheels of a passing juggernaut.

Another exciting site we saw was York Beach:



This is an actual beach in the centre of York that you can take deckchairs and donkeys down to for a relaxing Summer day out. Since it is currently Spring, nobody had actually done this.

Finally, after a stop near Ouse Bridge to let off the French, we returned to the start where I alighted onto the riverside and begun my journey home.

The Boat Trip is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon. I'd particularly recommend it on a hot sunny day rather than the slightly cold day that today was. My hands were cold.

Boat Trip on the River Ouse
Time spent in attraction: 1 hour and 3 minutes
Does it have a bar? Yes!
Fun: 5/10
Suitable for a rainy day? Not really