36 hours in York: A leisurely weekend away in a historic town (with a map!)
Updated: Aug 4, 2022
We booked a trip to York for two reasons:
Yorkshire pudding
Cheap train tickets
We walked in with low expectations and walked away very pleasantly surprised. York is so much more than it's pudding (unsurprisingly). It's a town filled with history, having changed hands multiple times over the last 2,000 years: In 71AD, a Roman fortress was built in York, officially kicking off the town. For some time, it was the capital of Roman Britannia, until it became a Roman garrison town, then a Viking stronghold, and a Victorian engineering hub.
The people of York are very friendly, it's markets are buzzing and evenings are very jolly. Only 2 hours away from London, I would highly recommend this as a weekend break away.
Getting to York
York is a comfortable ~2 hour train journey from London kings Cross. If you start early on Saturday morning, you can be ready to explore this city steeped in history by mid-morning.
Day 1
10.45am : National Railway Museum
If you’re arriving in York by train, it makes sense to visit the Railway museum first. The museum is just outside the railway station (about a 2 minute walk). Tickets are free, but under current Covid conditions, bookings are required. In all honesty, I booked this because it was free and convenient, not expecting much. And oh my, was I pleasantly surprised. The museum is huge, displaying locomotives from different periods in history. There’s something humbling about standing next to a train wheel twice your size, build 150 years ago. Highlights include the lush interiors of a few royal carriages including Queen Victoria’s Saloon, Stephenson’s Rocket which started the railway revolution and a range of steam engines to live out your Thomas the Tank Engine dreams. We didn’t expect to spend longer than 10 minutes here, but an hour into our visit we were still enthralled.
12pm: Lunch
Once you’re done with the trains walk into town for lunch. York has a range of beautiful pubs in a small vicinity, so take your pick! We visited the Golden Fleece, the most haunted pub in town with no fewer than 5 ghosts inhabiting the establishment.
1pm: Check into your hotel and wander the streets
I have a love for small, walkable towns and York gave me exactly this. Parliament street (the main thoroughfare) was crowded when we visited on a rare, warm sunny day. We stayed at Moxy York, a quirky little hotel which is part of the Marriott chain. It’s well located and affordable and I’d highly recommend it (see more in my post here).
2pm: Jorvik Viking centre
Something in between a museum and a Disney world for history geeks, Jorvik Viking centre is an excellent way to learn a lot about Viking settlers in York in a short time and in an entertaining way. The centre is built on an archeological site where the remains of a vibrant viking community were discovered. You start by seeing a reconstruction of the archeological dig, followed by the main attraction - a ride through a reconstructed Viking settlement, set at 5.30pm on 25 October 975 AD. You sit in a carriage which takes you through life sized dioramas of a Viking village, including the aromas at the time. As a history geek I was concerned this would cheapen and simplify the history but I was proven wrong. The experience is built very well, and caters well to kids and adults, history geeks and novices alike. Interestingly, the faces of the mannequins are based on reconstructions of the skeletons found on this site. After the ride, you are taken through a small museum. During excavations, over 40,000 objects were recovered including wood, leather and textiles which were preserved in the unique oxygen deprived clay of the area. My favourite was a very well preserved sock discovered in the area. The whole experience takes around an hour, depending on how long you spend in the museum.
3pm: Wander back through the shambles and explore the streets
The Shambles is a quintessential old English street. It's buildings date back to the 14th century, was mentioned in the Domesday book, and is rumoured to be the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. As a result it's overrun with Harry Potter shops, but you can see a wide range of tourist shops and foodie options available. The street itself is a photographers' dream, with its Tudor houses and top floors of opposing buildings almost touching each other. If you're game, you can visit The Shambles in the afternoon but be warned, it's extremely crowded.
6pm: Try a ghost tour
Given it's wild history, York is well known for its ghost tours. 90 minute walking tours leave from different points around The Shambles, Coppergate and Petergate between 6 - 8.30pm. A bus tour option is also available. All options range from £10 - 15 per person. Having done a couple of walking tours in London we decided to skip the ghost tour and go straight to dinner, but it seemed to be a popular attraction, especially for groups and for kids.
7.30pm: Get some dinner
York has a range of lovely restaurants, but they do tend to fill up early on Saturday night. We visited Dough Eyed, an authentic pizza place offering a wide variety of options and my goodness it was amazing.
9pm onwards: Enjoy the street musicians and revelry
York was a surprisingly lively town. We had a lot of fun walking down Stonegate and Coney street, enjoying the street musicians and the crowds of people gathered to dance with the street musicians.
Day 2
6am: Golden hour photography stroll
If you're absolutely ridiculous like me, you can wake up at the crack of dawn to wander the streets of York at golden hour. It's such a beautiful, genuinely historic town that dragging myself out of bed, armed with my camera was actually a treat. If you do this, I recommend walking down a (now deserted) Shambles, through Swingate, Stonegate and up to the river. Everywhere you look there are ruins and archaeological sites to see, so you won't be disappointed. For those of you who don't enjoy 6am wake ups on 'holiday' Sunday mornings...
10am: Micklegate bar
Micklegate bar was a medieval gateway in and out of the city, traditionally used by monarchs.
10.30am: Wander the city walls
York's walls have surrounded the city since Roman times, although they've been restored over time so the majority of the walls you see date from the 12th - 14th century. These are the most complete set of city walls in the UK. The whole route would be a 2 hour walk, but the section we walked started at Micklegate Bar and led around to the Yorkshire museum. The walk takes around 15 minutes or a little longer if you're me and were constantly telling your husband to pose for photos. The walls themselves are a beautiful piece of history and as a bonus, they give you an amazing view over the city.
11am: York museum gardens
When we visited, the York museum itself was closed, however the museum gardens blew our minds. In typical York style, it's not just a garden, it's a garden with smatterings of ancient things. In the garden itself you can find Roman ruins, an 11th century ruined abbey (St Marys), a 14th century Hospitum, and a 19th century observatory.
12.45pm: York Minster
On Sunday's York minster opens to the public only at 12.45pm - keep that in mind when planning your itinerary. We aren't art geeks or architecture savants, so were a bit sceptical about visiting the Minster but it was such a good idea. It's huge, and grand and takes your breath away. York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe (yes, it's bigger than Westminster Abbey!) and one of the world's best examples of a gothic building. Visit the undercroft to see the foundations of the minster and to learn more about the history of York in a very engaging timeline format. Again, the site has changed hands so many times - a church has been on the site since at least 627 AD however the present building was largely build between the 13th and 15th centuries. See my link here for more about my York Minster highlights
2pm: Sunday lunch
We love Sunday roasts, and given we were in York (the home of Yorkshire pudding), we had to have a roast. We went to the Guy Fawkes inn, a pub located in the building in which Guy Fawkes was born in 1605. The candlelit dining rooms were beautiful and atmospheric and the pork roast was amazing.
3pm: Wander around and visit any other sites
There are a range of other sites in York which we didn't see on this visit: York castle museum (link), Dig York (link), York mansion house (link), Merchant adventurers hall (link) and many more. If you're more inclined towards sightseeing, the York city pass may be a wise idea (link).
For our part, we visited a local sports bar and watched the F1 race. While not a typically 'York' outing, I like to think that we're just contributing our bit to York's long and fascinating history. Maybe one day in the 3000s they'll dig up a pub and find evidence of motorsports fans. Who knows.
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