Quaint cobbled streets, history round every corner and rampant night life: York has got it all. And last weekend I experienced this multifaceted city from all angles, thanks to a hen-do plus some pretty swell train times allowing us to squeeze out a few hours of sightseeing.
For the weekend, I decided to do something completely different. So, I left my beloved SLR camera at home and bought a disposable camera from Boots. I haven’t done this in years, and I would whole-heartedly recommend you give it a go. Instead of spending the weekend worrying about getting the perfect-looking shot, I rediscovered the long-lost joy of patiently waiting for the right moment to click the shutter release, knowing I only had 27 pictures to play with. And, instead of the instant gratification you get with SLRs, I actually really enjoyed the painstakingly long wait to get the photos developed.
And, naturally, not all of them came out perfectly. But I loved the experiment. I found I had completely forgotten about what I had taken photos of because I would often just concentrate on each picture for a few seconds before moving on to explore the next cobbled street. Here are some of my favourites:
The river was one of the first things I saw as we walked into town. I just loved how rural and un-touched it seemed compared to the heaving canals of Amsterdam, where boats vie for space and an endless stream of houses overlook the water.
Saturday also saw a wedding take place in the city, with a VW van acting as transportation for the big day:
One of the squares was filled up with Morris dancers and bands – can you get any more quintessentially English than this?!
Bettys Cafe and Tea Rooms regularly draws a huge crowd – and it’s easy to see why. With almost 100 years of history behind it, Betty’s is one of the most iconic places to enjoy a cup of tea in the UK. Today, there are six Bettys spread across the North, with two of them in York alone.
York’s museum gardens near the train station are a beautiful spot for picnics when the weather’s playing ball. As well as the well-kept grounds and ice cream vans, you’ll also find the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey church which was destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in the 14th century.
I’d encourage you all to buy a cheap camera for your next trip, whether it be close to home or the other side of the world. Sure you don’t get the same quality as you do with a digital camera, but the art of snapping a moment in time and rediscovering it days later more than makes up for it.
Have you visited the lovely city of York? Would you consider using a disposable camera for your next trip?
OMG what a cool experiment! I actually love the pictures, it looks somehow vintagey and it looks just like the pictures I had when I was living in England around 14 years ago! Mad! Would definitely be trying this..just that not sure if we still have those disposable cameras here. Very creative young lady 🙂