Our favourite things to do in York
We love York and hope you’ll love it too. To help you, here are a few ideas of things you might want to do during your stay. If you do try any of our suggestions, please let us know what you think, by filling in our visitors’ book. If you discover things that we and other guests must know about, please write them down and we will add them to this information in time for your next visit. So here goes:
1. Tea at Little Betty’s, Stonegate:
On Stonegate in the upstairs room above a shop selling Betty’s coffee
and cakes, is the smaller sister of the more famous Betty’s on
Parliament St. Little Betty’s serves all the same delicious (if
expensive) food and drink, but in more peaceful surroundings and with a
shorter queue.
2. Walk round the Roman Walls:
A walk round the old Roman walls takes around three hours and takes you
pass the Minister, Clifford’s Tower, the Museum Gardens and the old
city gates (obviously). For the nosey, it affords excellent views
into the back gardens of some of York’s most beautiful homes and will
give you an excellent idea of the whole City has to offer, from the
tourist sites to council estates.
3. Have a drink in the King’s Arms on King’s Staith by the Ouse Bridge:
Once every few years, York will make the national news when the Ouse
breaks in banks and pictures of a riverside pub submerged in flood
waters appears on our TV screens. That pub is the King’s Arms, five
minutes walk up river from the house, and, on a sunny day, there is
nowhere better to sit and watch the world go by with a cool pint of Sam
Smith’s in hand.
4. Go on Ghost Walk, starting from the King’s Arms at King’s Staith:
There are supposedly more than a dozen different ghost walks around York (and even a ghost cruise on the river). We won’t pretend to have tried them all out but with so many ghost stories around York, it is hard to go wrong. The Original Ghost Walk leaves the King’s Arms at 8pm with latecomers able to join at 8.30pm at Clifford’s Tower. Any walk is a fantastic way to idle away a couple of hours and explore some of York’s backwaters such as the old children’s home on Bedlam and the buried Roman road under the Treasury House, before diving into a pub for a pint and a few ghost stories of your own.
5. York Designer Outlet centre, at the intersection of the A19 and A64:
Okay, so it’s not cultural, but some excellent bargains, such as discounted Cadbury’s factory shop, Gap, Le Creuset and Marks and Spencer less than 10 mins drive from the house: a good option for a wet afternoon.
6. Climb the steps to Clifford’s Tower:
As landmarks go it’s hard to challenge the Minister, but Clifford’s Tower has a good go. The view from the top is staggering and the history is worth the climb. And should you happen to be here on bonfire night, nothing beats a Clifford’s Tower fireworks display (check to see whether it is happening this year).
7. Visit the City Screen for a film or merely a cappuccino, Coney Street
A luxury arthouse cinema, tucked away on this modern shopping street, the City Screen offers excellent views from the bar/café over the river Ouse and some great films (both mainstream and fringe) in amazingly comfortable seats.
8. Take a boat trip along the river:
There are a number of companies that run boat trips along the river Ouse including Yorkboats which leaves regularly from the riverside just north of Skeldergate bridge. Cities are often best viewed from their rivers and Yorkboats come with a history of the City and a commentary on key landmarks like Museum Gardens and the old Terry’s chocolate factory. Alternatively, you can hire your own motorboat from Red Boats at the same place, just watch out for Vikings, who frequently seem to host dragon boat races on the Ouse, despite being ten centuries out-of-date.
9. Mooch around in York’s many bookshops:
York has so many bookshops it’s hard to know where to begin: the chain stores are here in excellent form (Borders on Davygate at the north end of Parliament St; Waterstone’s on High Ousegate). There are also lots of second hand book stores on Fossgate and Walmgate, with numerous bargains tucked away in unlikely nooks and crannies. One of our personal favourites is the independent Blake’s Head Bookstore on Micklegate, which comes with coffee shop to boot.
10. Check out the Parliament St markets:
Parliament St is right in the centre of York and regularly plays host to a range of markets, including French and German travelling markets and, before Christmas, the St Nicholas Fayre, which gets so busy you can hardly move. For more everyday stock, there is also the regular market, tucked away between Parliament St and The Shambles, which has fresh fish from Whitby, local cheeses, fruit and veg, as well as hats, gloves and underwear, which are cheap, but not without reason…