Walk York E-Book

Phoebe Taplin

• Herausgeber: Pitkin
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 41

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Getting around York on foot is easy and fun. Walking gives you the chance to explore York's secret corners, layered history, ancient streets and hidden gardens. With illustrated maps and photos, Walk York guides you through ten routes (from one to six miles long, 1.5km to 10km) and more suggestions, from a simple stroll round the city walls to a hike round Castle Howard; walk beside the city's rivers or pub crawl round the bars. Discover Roman York or the city built on chocolate, the haunted highways or the streets straight out of Harry Potter. Find the city's must-see icons, hidden treasures and lucky cat sculptures; with optional visits to famous visitor attractions like JORVIK Viking centre or the National Rail Museum, these walks can fit the time you have and appeal to all tastes and ages.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

CITY WALKS

Walk the Walls

Roman York

Viking York

Literary York

Haunted Pub Crawl

Trainspotting in York

VILLAGE WALKS

York’s Sweet Story

Along the River Foss

University of York

Castle Howard

FURTHER AFIELD

Long Distance Paths

Yorkshire Coast

Places to Visit

Nearly two thousand years ago, at the place where the little River Foss runs into the larger River Ouse, a Roman legion, marching north from Lincoln, built a fort. Eight centuries later, the Viking army invaded, rebuilt the city and remained for 300 years. York became England’s second city, rich in trade from the River Ouse. Every era left traces and stories around the city and layers of myth and history are at the heart of York’s charm. The winding routes throughout this book help visitors explore the city’s past and discover its treasures.

Several of the walks in this book are focussed on York’s most famous attractions: from history and literature to beer and chocolate. They are all also rewarding walks in their own right: Viking York takes you on a stroll along the river, while Literary York leads you through secret alleyways and the city’s own ‘Diagon Alley’ – the iconic Shambles.

A view from the city walls, overlooking Grays Court Hotel Garden with majestic York Minster in the background.

These walks encounter various people who, over the centuries, have made York the city we know today. From the Roman Emperor Constantine to George Hudson the ‘Railway King’, the city has been home to figures as diverse as Guy Fawkes, highwayman Dick Turpin, writer Kate Atkinson and chocolate tycoon Joseph Rowntree.

Among the city’s secrets are dozens of life-like cat sculptures, perched above cafés and shop windows. Architect Tom Adams kick-started York’s cat craze in the 1980s when he commissioned sculptor Jonathan Newdick to add cats to the buildings he designed. Six of the walks have hidden cats to discover, and even a mouse. Can you spot them all?

The Village Walks section visits sights outside the city centre: ancient meadows, reed-fringed streams, chocolate factories and pioneering architecture. And there’s more to discover further afield in the glorious Yorkshire countryside: from castles to the coastline, heather-covered moorland and rolling wooded hills.

Whether you love history, architecture or books, or are Harry Potter’s biggest fan, a chocoholic, or just love taking a city stroll with some good pubs along the way, around every corner York has a story to tell.

START AND END: York Railway Station

DISTANCE: 3 miles / 5 kilometres

WALK THE WALLS

Miles of masonry and a millennia of history make a perfect introduction for visitors

York’s medieval walls, England’s longest surviving example, stand on the line of earlier fortifications dating back to the Romans. From high on the walls, there are views of the Minster and other ancient buildings, which are explored in the walks that follow.

SPOT THE CAT

Look towards a ledge outside the lower window of the café at Walmgate Bar

Cross the road outside the railway station and turn left. At the junction, keep straight over the road towards the statue of George Leeman (see here) and turn immediately right through the arch. Climb the steps onto the walls and walk back past the station. Continue round the corner ahead, to Micklegate Bar, chief of York’s four main medieval ‘bars’ (or gateways) where the severed heads of traitors once topped the walls. It’s now home to the Henry VII Experience, the first Tudor king. Take a detour down onto Blossom Street to visit the Bar Convent, England’s oldest active convent; it has a heritage museum and a café in the walled garden.

Go on around the city walls and, eventually, down steps onto Skeldergate. Turn right to the main road, left over the River Ouse, and left on Tower Street to visit Clifford’s Tower, the remains of York Castle. The views from the top stretch as far as the North York Moors. Return to Tower Street, follow the road over the River Foss, cross Piccadilly, and climb back onto the wall through the arch ahead.

The next big gate is Walmgate Bar, which has a café inside the tower. Go on along the walls and, at the end, turn right around the brick-built Red Tower. The next section was once a huge swamp so there was no need for a defensive wall. Turn left along busy Foss Islands Road, soon walking beside the River Foss. Cross over Peasholme Green to re-join the wall.

Follow the walkway again to arrive at Monk Bar, complete with medieval toilet and portcullis. Head down the steps onto Goodramgate and look for a little doorway beside the arch to take you back up to the top floor of the gatehouse, passing the Richard III Experience.

Go on, past views of York Minster and across lovely gardens, round a final corner to reach Bootham