Places to go and see in York #3

Today I visited one of York's premier tourist attractions. My destination was a place which I have visited before, but not in its entirety. It was also a place that involves walking, heights and potential death. Can you guess where it is yet?

Today I visited The City Walls of York. In days of yore, these would act a kind of "wall" between York and the rest of the world. They would keep out Scotsmen, Welshmen and Englishmen who weren't from York. I'm not sure what the policy on women was. Nowadays, large parts of the walls are still in existence, though some parts were heavily renovated in more recent times. You can walk along the top of the wall for around two thirds of the distance, in three distinct sections - as shown on the map below:



Starting from the south side of Lendal Bridge, you can head on to the first section - this is the only part you can access in a wheelchair since it is accessed by a gentle slope rather than steps. This also means it is the part that is least protected from old-style Daleks, so you have to be careful. There did not seem to be any Daleks, or indeed any aliens at all, out there today.

This leads to the highest part of the walls and you can get a decent view back over the city. Look - here's the Minster!



As you continue going round, you can visit two museums housed in two of the "bars" that form gates in the walls into the city. The first is at Micklegate Bar. I didn't go in. The second is the Richard III museum at Monkgate Bar. I didn't go in there either, despite it claiming to have the "The World's Smallest Prison Cell" and "Possibly The Only Working Portcullis In Britain".

Monkgate Bar does have the most exciting part of the walk, which is a fully enclosed, dark, low-ceilinged, stone staircase from street level back up onto the wall. It feels like going through a secret passage and I must confess, I was a little disappointed to find myself emerging still in York rather than some outlandish land of dreams.

After this you come to a bit of the walls which heads around the back of the Minster. Today, it smelt strongly of paint and was populated with many council workmen with paintbrushes. They were painting railings. Then you get to this bit:



Which is interesting by way of being the only bit where there are actual walls on both sides of the path, rather than railings or just nothing. I'm often surprised how many people fail to accidentally fall to their deaths from the walls each year on the more open sections. It can't be safe.

And shortly after that, my sojourn on the city walls came to an end. I had walked along all that there was to walk along. Admission costs were fairly reasonable at £0.00 (York Card not required!), and it was a pleasant day for a walk.

Although I was going around in an anti-clockwise direction, it is also possible to walk around the walls in a clockwise direction. I don't recommend this. I have my reasons.

The City Walls of York
Time spent in attraction: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Does it have a bar? No (*)
Fun: 4/10
Suitable for a rainy day? Not really

(*) Ok, there are actually several bars - Micklegate, Victoria, Walmgate and Monkgate for example. But they are not the right sort of bar, and you're not meant to drink in them.