I ended up going for a wander right up the other end of the main touristy part of York on one of my lunchtime walks. I eyed up having a lazy sit in Dean's Park behind the Minster but it was a tad windy so I had to keep moving. On the way past i'd spied a notice on the wall by the garden entrance to the Treasurer's House claiming a wander into the garden was free. With a camera in my bag how was I going to turn that down?!
While it was breezy outside, the sunken walled garden was a sun trap and gorgeous one at that. While it's not large - you could wander around it within five minutes, its worth a look around the edge of the lawn, one kept in by gorgeous English bedding flowers, statues, climbing roses and sweet little benches both wooden and stone.
Until the late 1500's this medieval building was as the name suggests, home to the treasurers of York Minster although the current stonework is said to maintain little resemblance to the original building. One of the most infamous tales is regarding a occurrence from the cellars. Harry Martindale was undertaking maintenance work alone down in the basement in 1953 when he claims to have heard a horn sounding twice, ignoring this until a horse appeared through the wall of the cellar, to be followed by a marching band of Roman soldiers. Although cut off at the knees (apparently reflecting the level of earth in Roman times) they marched through the wall and into the cellar tired and dirty. It's a tale that is retold on countless ghost tours you can partake every evening around York and to some, this tale alone proves apparently to many the existence of ghosts because of the level of detail Martindale could describe regarding the clothing of the soldiers - only data proved years later with greater historical insight.
There's a few little gardens, parks and churches hidden away in York, hidden just an alley or a wall away from a street packed with tourists yet its amazing how many get walked past without anyone ever knowing. I think I want to be extra nosey and find them all!