MANY spring days have been wiled away under the sunshine among the flowers.

This week we look back at how people enjoyed the spring seasons of the past, dressing up for the races, rowing on the river and playing in the street.

Back in the spring of 1908, massive crowds gathered at Knavesmire to enjoy York races.

As our photos show, hundreds flocked to enjoy the new season and admire the ornate façade of the County Stand.

Women paraded their elegant clothes while men congregated by the champagne tent and cheered on their horses.

Those were the days when bookies chalking up their odds on the boards wore sashes.

Our next picture shows a little girl stood in Lawrence Street in the early spring of 1893.

There aren't any other children around to play with, or flowers to pick while, in the background, a few pedestrians and a cart amble along.

Next, three men in a boat enjoy an afternoon on the river at Blue Bridge.

Taken one afternoon in early spring, thought to be in the early 1900s, this picture shows one of the pair of cannon captured at Sebastapol during the Crimean War, which was fought between 1853 and 1856.

The guns had originally been in the Museum Gardens, but were paraded to their new site in 1858.

They were removed in 1942 to help the war effort.

Finally, we look back at young girls in York celebrating the St George's Church May Day procession in 1953.

* Pictures courtesy of Imagine York