We set out to walk the city walls of York, but it is a little tricky because they are not contiguous, i.e., large parts are missing. After all, they were built in the fourteenth century. The circumference is 2.5 miles, except that the signage directing you between gaps is non-existent. We did a good portion and then at the first break in the wall we had to climb down, at which point we got hopelessly lost. Our map was not very good, either, and when we got our bearings again we had to backtrack. It would have been closer to 3.5 miles if we had done the whole circle. But we wanted to visit the York Art Gallery, too. We probably walked at least two miles anyway. We saw nice views of the Minster, part of the old Roman wall, some swans, and the shortest street in York, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate. The plaque said that in 1505 it was known as "Whitnourwhatnourgate (and meaning 'what a street!'). It was changed later into its present name. The footpath was paved in York stone by York Civic Trust in 1984."

The York Art Gallery was a finalist for the Art Fund's Museum of the Year award (losing out to the Victoria and Albert). They are known for their extensive collection of British pottery ad twentieth century British painters.

Like every museum in Britain in 2016, it seems, they had an exhibition on World War I art, Truth and Memory: British Art of the First World War. This one, however, was organized by the Imperial War Museums and was first shown at the IWM London. It is the largest in 97 years, more than 60 pieces, and it was very powerful. The Royal Academy of Art in London had an exhibition of 925 pieces of war art in 1919. One room of that exhibition, Gallery III, was replicated here. The pieces in this room were massive.

Travoys Arriving with Wounded at Dressing-Station at Smol, Macedonia,September 1916 (1919), by Stanley Spencer

View from the Old British Trenches, Looking towards La Boisselle, Courcelette on the Left, Martinpulch on the Right (1917) by William Orpen

The Mad Woman of Doual (1916) by William Orpen

Interior of the Pavilion, Brighton,: Indian Army Wounded (1917), by Charles Burleigh

The Return to the Front: Victoria Railway Station (1918), by Richard Jack

The "L" Press. Forging the Jacket of an 18-inch Gun: Armstrong-Whitworth Works, Openshaw, 1918 (1918), by Anna Airy

Women's Canteen at Phoenix Works, Bradford (1916) by Flora Lion

Their other art was great, too.

Clifford's Tower, York, 1952-3, by L.S. Lowry

Winter Sea, 1925-1937, by Paul Nash

To reinforce my observation in yesterday's blog that Brits know how to make museums fun for children (and adults), this museum had a desk with drawers of things and a sign that said, "HANDS ON. Use the objects in the desk drawers and cupboards to create your own Vanitas still life. You can draw your still life in one of the sketchbooks too if you like."

And there were statues that you were encouraged to touch.

And you could superimpose your face onto a computer image of a painting!

I promised myself I wouldn't go overboard with the photos, yet I've done it again. And I haven't even talked about the pottery yet.

Part of the Anthony Shaw collection was on display. Shaw, who lives in northern London, collected over 1,000 works, largely contemporary ceramics, which are now on loan to the museum. The exhibition was designed to resemble the interior of his home.

Remade Horse Figurine by Kerry Jameson

Another gallery space was The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures (from a short story by Saki), which had a lot of fun pieces.

Landscape collages by Mark Hearld, who curated the show

Scrapbooks by Mark Hearld

I bought a book in the museum shop, 50 British Artists You Should Know, by Lucinda Hawksley. I knew many of them, some I learned about on this trip, and some I still need to discover. Looking forward to it.

After leaving the museum, we walked through the lovely Museum Gardens, collected our luggage from our hotel, and caught our train back to London.

Observation of the day: There were two guys on the train who were quite loud and who were drinking the whole of the two+ hours. As I passed their seats on our way off, I counted 15 empty beer cans on their table. I know Americans have a reputation for being loud, but you can find loud people in every country, especially if drinking is involved.