York
Charlie on a Christmas tour
Last year, Charlie had been in Spain all of November and December. There were Christmas lights in the streets, but it wasn’t the same. This year, Charlie would stay in the UK until after the holidays and she would take every opportunity she could get to see Christmas lights and markets. The town of York had been on Charlie’s travel bucket list for a while, and it seemed to be the perfect location for a trip at this festive time of the year.
Accommodation in York
Charlie was going to spend 2 days in York, and she had booked an AirBnB. She was staying just outside the historic city walls in the house of Jelle and his daughters. Jelle is a super host on AirBnb and you can feel that right upon arrival. A huge folder was waiting at the table in the room with plenty of information about the town. No need to head to the tourist office!
Charlie had a lovely room at the house with a big double bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a table. Tea and coffee making facilities were also available in the room and two bathrooms were just across the hallway. The house is warm and beautifully furnished to get cosy in your room.
York Castle Museum
Charlie had arrived late in the evening and went straight from the train station to the accommodation. It was a 15-minute walk along historic city walls.
Her first stop the next morning was the York Castle Museum, just 5 minutes away. The Clifford tower was closed during Charlies visit for restauration works but Charlie could see it just outside the castle museum.
Other than what Charlie would have expected, the museum did not provide much information about the history of the place, but about different periods in British lifestyle. Since it was beginning of December, everything was Christmas themed, and Charlie saw how a living room would have looked like during Christmas in Georgian and Victorian times all through to modern day. It felt strange to see a 1980s kitchen in a museum. Things you see in museums are usually from times long gone by, not times that Charlie had (nearly) experienced herself.
The most impressive was Kirkdale Street – a rebuilt of a Victorian Street. It felt as if Charlie had been travelling through time as she strolled along the historic street and shops that had been decorated for the festive period.
Charlie had a lunch break at the café inside the museum before she explored the other side that was topically focused on the Great War and showed the remnants of a prison inside the castle.
York Christmas Walking Tour
Charlie likes to explore cities on foot and there were usually plenty of walking tours to choose from. That was no different in York. During her research Charlie stumbled upon a Christmas Walking Tour. It would be rude not to book this one in the month of December.
The tour started just as it was about to get darker at 4pm in front of York Minster. Next to the statue of the Emperor Constantine was a Winter Village and Christmas Tree Fair – It was the perfect setting to start a Christmas tour.
Sarah, the tour guide, greeted everybody friendly and got to know the group before she started talking about the statue of the Roman Emperor behind her. Through storytelling, Charlie and the other participants learned about the origins of the city of York during Roman times and why it was the perfect place for a Christmas themed tour. Apparently the first Christmas ever had been celebrated in this very place about 400 years after the birth of Christ.
The tour lead around Minster square, the Assembly Hall, the high street, the Shambles and finished under the Christmas tree at the market. Along the way, the group did not only learn about the history of York but also the origins of several Christmas traditions. Do you know how the Christmas tree came to England, why Mince Pies were invented, why holly, ivy and mistletoe are the symbols of the festive period, that Rudolph was invented as part of a marketing campaign or how the Vikings and Romans celebrated around the date of the winter solstice? Sarah will tell you all of that and more during the tour. As you stroll along the historic roads of York, you travel from Roman times, through the Medieval period to Georgian and Victorian festivities.
We are all familiar with the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, but did you know that it played an important role in the revival of Christmas after it had gotten out of fashion around 1800? Almost like a page out of the book, the narrow streets and especially the Shambles in York could be taken right out of a scene of the book. Between Christmas lights and festive melodies, you can imagine Scrooge coming around the corner with his famous “Humbug”.
In a town that is famous for chocolate and where Terry’s chocolate orange was invented, a little snack along the way is not to be missed and you can finish the tour with a mulled wine at the Christmas market.
York Ghost Bus
Apart from the walking tours, Charlie also loved Ghost Walks and York seemed to be a good surrounding for one of those. Unfortunately, there were no tickets available anymore for the Walk, but Charlie had seen a Ghost Bus on her way to the AirBnB the first night. Sitting on a bus during a cold December night was probably more comfortable anyways than a walk. It started at 7pm in front of the train station. The conductor that evening was Camilla who talked the guests through the night and added some dramatical scenes to the ghost stories. It was an entertaining and informative tour that included not only ghosts, but details about the history of York and the people who lived there. They even got off the bus and walked a bit to get a closer look at the Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate, the shortest street in York, and the Shambles. Camilla’s storytelling was quite visual, so brace yourself for some really ghostly bits. And be careful, if you take a seat at the lower deck of the bus, as Margaret, the bus ghost, might temporarily possesses your body during the tour!
York Ghost Bus Tour prices (as of December 2021):
- Adult: £16.00
- Child (5-15): £12.00
- Family (2 adults & 2 children): £47.00
- Student/Senior/Concession: £13.00
Tickets for the York Ghost Bus Tour are available online.
York Minster
There was one place left to see in York that Charlie had saved for the last day: York Minster. Charlie had booked a ticket for 12.30 and could walk straight inside the Cathedral a few minutes before that time. She wanted to see the inside, but mostly wanted to climb up to the tower. There was a sign showing that the next tour started at 12.30 – perfect, Charlie had a few minutes. As the tour started though, Charlie was asked for a ticket. Apparently, you had to have a separate ticket for the tower. Why had that not been stated when Charlie had booked her ticket online? The lady that checked the tickets was not able to sell one and directed Charlie back towards the entrance to buy a ticket for the next tour at 2pm. That was too late for Charlie, she had to miss out on the tower visit. Charlie was disappointed. She walked around the Cathedral and went for lunch. It was a beautiful religious building. Was it worth £12? Probably, if you’re really into it.
Charlie took the train later that afternoon for her next stop in the Midlands: Lincoln. She was excited about the Christmas market in that historic town.
