What do you do when you can’t travel internationally because of a pandemic? Do a UK road trip of course! In 5 days we did a whistle-stop tour Haworth, Durham, Whitby, Scarborough, York and Cambridge, with a few pitstops in between.
One of my favourite stops on the trip was York, where we
happily spent an almost-day and certainly could have spent longer. With only an afternoon, evening and morning,
we had a lot to fit in! Here are my must-dos for a whistle stop tour of York.
Stay within walking distance of the City centre
What’s better than having the city you want to explore within
easy reach?
We arrived on a Thursday afternoon, having stopped in Malton
(Yorkshire’s Food Capital) for lunch en route. After checking in at our
accommodation for the night, a cheap and cheerful room over a pub, and
freshening up, we could make a quick turnaround into the city to maximise our
time.
I’d highly recommend booking accommodation within walking
distance of the main sights. We chose our lodging based on its proximity to the
city centre, taking us around a 25 minute walk. We were very lucky that the
weather was dry and reasonably warm for September.
The walk into York town centre, along the River Ouse and
passed Clifford’s tower was beautiful.
The Shambles
If you’re a Harry Potter fan, this is a must-visit as this
street is rumoured to have inspired Diagon Alley. Cashing in on this tourism,
several Harry Potter themed shops have opened up along this stretch, with names
such as The Shop that Must Not be Named. Of course, I went in every single one.
In fact, there were a range of shops covering many of my other interests;
chocolate, Christmas and alcohol.
York Minster
York Minster, the Cathedral of York, is an impressive
structure. The cathedral was completed in the 1400s after several centuries of
building. The Minster is 160 metres long and 72 metres tall at its highest
point, so it takes a while to walk around and appraise the whole building. They
were in the process of some restoration work when we visited; it must take a
lot of work to maintain an old building of this scale. Several of the stone
carvings were being taken down for restoration, before being replaced.
Local food
When in Yorkshire! Our dinner spot of choice was The YorkRoast Company. Their specialty is giant yorkshire pudding wraps filled with all
the elements of a roast dinner; meat, vegetables, stuffing and gravy. I
personally believe that the Yorkshire pudding is the best element of a roast
dinner, so this meal was completely up my street.
York is full of tasty looking brunch stops. We chose to
sample the offerings at The Pig and Pastry, which had a small outside seating
area. I had the amazing BAFTA sandwich (bacon, avocado, feta, tomato and aioli).
York’s Original Ghost Walk
For the evening, we booked onto The Original Ghost Walk of York. The outdoor walking tour around York was covid friendly, with parties able
to distance themselves from each other.
We booked in advance and got the last spots available on
this tour. They usually run two tours a night, but we opted for the later slot
as it would be dark and thought this would add to the atmosphere.
With just as much comedy as scary content, this tour was
great fun. Our host really made the tour, he was full of personality and
clearly loved his city. I’m a bit of a wimp at times, but fortunately didn’t
find the tour too scary.
York Castle Museum
We pre-booked booked tickets for the Victorian Street Tour
at the York Castle Museum.
The groups were kept fairly small to allow for distancing,
there were only 8 people in our group which made for a very personal
experience.
Within the castle is a recreated Victorian street, complete with shops and homes from the period. It looked like a film set with an incredible attention to detail. Our guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out lots of details in the street that we would have missed if we had toured on our own (as you could in pre-pandemic days).
Our time in York really was a flying visit, but we did our
best to explore as much of the city as possible. On the must-do list for next
time (there’s always a list!) -
Jorvik Viking Centre
Who knew York had such rich Viking heritage? Learn all about
York 1,000 years ago through archaeological exhibitions and an interactive ride
through experience.
York’s Chocolate Story
Take a guided tour through the history of the York chocolate industry. Make sure you stop to have a sample while you’re there.
What are your York must-dos?
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