Shambling down the Shambles, York, England. It's early morning, and the oldest intact medieval street in Europe is nearly empty, but not for long.

Soon the shops will open and visitors and townsfolk will pack this narrow, winding lane, as they have been doing for more than 900 years.

But in these quiet hours, you can almost imagine what it must have been like in mornings past, dodging the contents of chamber pots emptied from upstairs windows as the air rang out with cries of "Gardy-loo!" This call comes from the French "Garde a l'eau!" ("Watch out for the water!").