Visit York: tours, york minster, national railway museum, jorvik viking centre etc


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< Up	Travel / Tours / England / York
Visit York


Sections:	Introduction
	York Minster
	The streets of York
	Vikings
	City walls, gates and fortifications
	National Railway Museum
	River Ouse
	Chocolate
	Further information
	Links

INTRODUCTION

York is a historic city in the northern part of the region known as Yorkshire, in north-eastern England. The photos on this page show some of the things to see and do while you are visiting.

	York: More Than a Guide (guide book) Publisher: Jarrold Publishing Date: January 2004		York: The Pitkin City Guides (guide book) Publisher: Jarrold Publishing Date: August 2007
	York Insight Compact Guide (guide book) Publisher: APA Publications Pte Ltd Date: January 2007		The York Book (guide book) Publisher: Blue Bridge Date: November 2002

YORK MINSTER

York Minster was completed in 1472. It is the largest medieval Gothic church in northern Europe.

West Entrance

View from Deanery Gardens (in winter)

South Transept

Some of the interesting features inside York Minster are the stained glass windows, the wooden ceiling of the Chapter House, and the organ.
There are many beautiful stone carvings in the Minster, showing a wide range of historical, religious and symbolic characters.

Chapter House ceiling

Kings of England

York Minster
(guide book)
Publisher: Pitkin Guides
Date: July 2003

THE STREETS OF YORK

As the street sign below indicates, there are many things to do in York! Most of the street names in the centre of York end with "gate": this was the Viking word meaning "street".

Local Blue Badge guides provide tours of the city, starting at the Tourist Information Centre.

Tour guide at work

A medieval timber-framed house

Printer's Devil (33 Stonegate)

There are many interesting shops in the narrow streets of the city centre: for example, around the Shambles, Stonegate and Petergate. Cars cannot drive in this part, so it is easy to walk around. Betty's Tea Rooms (established in 1919) is a popular place to have tea - it is located in St Helen's Square.

The Shambles: one of the popular shopping centres

Shop in Betty's Tea Rooms

VIKINGS

Jorvik was the name given to York by the Vikings (from Scandinavia) who invaded this area in 866 and made it their capital city. Many ancient remains have been discovered, providing a lot of information about what life was like.

The Jorvik Viking Centre (in Coppergate) is a museum which includes a ride through the street as it may have been in Viking times, when it was a busy market area. It also explains how archaeologists have used the bones and other objects found here to improve our understanding of Viking life.

Entrance to the
Jorvik Viking Centre

This image of the Viking warrior
Erik Bloodaxe inspired the museum's logo

Archaeologists found skulls here:
helping to learn about Viking life

In February each year is the Jorvik Viking Festival. Past events have included re-enactments of the battle for the city between Viking and Saxon soldiers in 866, and races on the river in Viking long-ships.

Battle re-enactment during the Jorvik Viking Festival

	Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings Author: John Haywood Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Date: June 1995		The Viking World Author: James Graham-Campbell Publisher: Frances Lincoln Publishers Date: May 2001
	The Time Team Guide to the Archaelogical Sites of Britain & Ireland Author: Tim Taylor Publisher: Channel 4 Books Date: March 2005

CITY WALLS, GATES & FORTIFICATIONS

Clifford's Tower is the only remaining part of York Castle. It was built by a Norman king (Henry the Third) between 1244 and 1270. Thousands of daffodils are planted on the hill around the tower (you can see these blooming if you visit in March or April).

There are a series of gateways (called "bars") through which people entered the walled city. The stone figures at the top of the gates overlook anyone who approaches York: some of the figures are holding stones which they may drop onto enemy soldiers.

Clifford's Tower

Bootham Bar: the oldest gateway

The bottom half of the Multangular Tower is the only remaining part of the Roman walls. The top half of the tower and the walls which you can see around York were built in the Middle Ages (between the 12th and 14th centuries). The cross-shaped windows you can see below were used by archers when defending the city. It is possible to walk along the remaining sections of the walls, for example between Bootham Bar and Monk Bar.

Multangular Tower (Museum Gardens)

A section of the city wall near York train station

NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM

The National Railway Museum - the biggest railway museum in the world - is on Leeman Road, close to York railway station. Railways came to York in 1839. The city's location (on the main route between London and Edinburgh) made it an important transport centre.

A statue in the museum honours George Stephenson, who created the Rocket (this won a competition for locomotives in 1829, and helped trains to become a method of long-distance transportation of people and goods). Another famous train is the Mallard, which holds the record as the world's fastest steam locomotive. In 1938 it pulled 7 train carriages at a speed of 203 km/h (126 mph).

Some trains are operated on short sections of track outside the museum.

Stephenson's Rocket (1829)

George Stephenson

Mallard

National Railway Museum Souvenir Guide
Publisher: Science Museum
Date: September 1999

Mallard: How the World Steam Speed Record Was Broken
Author: Don Hale
Publisher: Aurum Press
Date: April 2005

RIVER OUSE

The main river through York is called the Ouse. For many years the river was a major route for trading ships, but the arrival of the railways made it easier to transport goods here by train. These days the main boats on the river are for tourists. Occasionally the river floods (2000 was a particularly bad year). Some of the pubs beside the river have a sign showing how high the water has reached in the past.

The oldest bridge is the Ouse Bridge, which is believed to be at the same place that the Romans first built a bridge across the river. The newest bridge is the Millennium Bridge: this footbridge opened in 2000.

Boat rides start from King's Staith
or Lendal Bridge

York's
Millennium footbridge

CHOCOLATE

From the 18th century York became famous for the manufacture of chocolate. Rowntree's created many types of sweet which are popular in Britain, such as KitKats, Smarties and Fruit Pastilles (it was recently bought by the Swiss company Nestlé). Terry's is another popular sweet manufacturer which used to be based in York: this company is best known for its "chocolate orange".

FURTHER INFORMATION

* Booking a tour
Anderson Tours: Travel/Tours/Company/AndersonTours
International Friends: Travel/Tours/Company/InternationalFriends

* Visitor information
York's official tourism website: http://www.visityork.org
Yorkshire Tourist Board: http://www.yorkshirevisitor.com
York Minster: http://www.yorkminster.org
National Railway Museum: http://www.nrm.org.uk
Jorvik Viking Centre: http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk
DIG - an archaeological adventure: http://www.digyork.co.uk
Yorkboat: http://www.yorkboat.co.uk
City guide: http://www.york.world-guides.com
Street map: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=york&z=15

For details of general walking tours of York which can be joined by individuals (no booking required), see:
Association of Voluntary Guides to the City of York: http://www.btinternet.com/~york.touristguides
The World Tour of York: http://www.exploringyork.com
Yorkwalk: http://www.yorkwalk.co.uk

* Transportation
For train timetables and to buy a ticket online, see: Shop/Company/TheTrainline
Direct train services from London King's Cross station to York take about 2 hours.
For coach timetables and to buy a ticket online, see: Shop/Company/NationalExpress
Direct coach services from London's Victoria Coach Station take about 5 hours (longer if you need to change in Leeds)

* Weather forecast for York
See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=3954

* More photos
360 degree panoramic pictures: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/webcams/360/index.shtml
360 degree panoramic picture of York Minster: http://www.360travelguide.com/idisp.asp?iCode=yor0a

Lonely Planet verdict: York "York's historic stature and strategic importance has left the city with a rare weight of cultural and architectural heritage. Its city walls, built during the 13th century, are among the most impressive surviving medieval fortifications in Europe. They encompass a thriving, fascinating centre with narrow medieval streets and grand Georgian townhouses. Its glory is the biscuit-coloured shock of the minster, a Gothic cathedral on an immense scale. York's magnificence attracts millions of visitors, and July and August can be crowded" (extracts from "Lonely Planet Great Britain - 2003 edition", used with permission)
	Lonely Planet Great Britain Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications Date: May 2007	Lonely Planet England Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications Date: March 2007
Other Lonely Planet publications

LINKS

Places in this region:
Hull: Travel/Tours/England/Hull
East Yorkshire: Travel/Tours/England/EastYorkshire
Scarborough: Travel/Tours/England/Scarborough

Cathedral cities:
Canterbury: Travel/Tours/England/Canterbury
Durham: Travel/Tours/England/Durham
Lincoln: Travel/Tours/England/Lincoln
Winchester: Travel/Tours/England/Winchester

Other topics related to this page:
Trains in the UK: Travel/Transport/Train
British food: Britain/Food
British history: Britain/History

Home page: Home

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