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A collection of 25 walks around the towns and cities of North Yorkshire. Discover for yourself a wealth of architecture, history, culture and legend as you explore the streets, lanes and alleyways of England’s largest county.
Town Trails Extracts
Here are a selection of short extracts from ‘Town Trails North Yorkshire’ to give you a flavour of how the book works and what information is included.
YORK
“These layers of history stretching back 2,000 years are waiting to be discovered; as King George VI said ‘The history of York is the history of England.’ ”
ESSENTIAL WALK INFORMATION
TIME: 3 hours
TOILETS: There are plenty of public toilets in the City Centre including Parliament Street, St Leonard’s Place and the Museum Gardens.
START: York Minster.
CAFÉS: Plenty of choice; try Betty’s along Davygate or Café Concerto along High Petergate.
PUBS: Spoilt for choice; try the Kings Arms beside Ouse Bridge, The Maltings near Lendal Bridge or the Minster Inn along Marygate.
PARKING: Numerous car parks surround the city centre including Clarence Street, Lord Mayor’s Walk, Clifford’s Tower and Tanner Row as well as a Park & Ride scheme at various points along the Ring Road.
INFORMATION: York Tourist Information Centre: 01904 621756
MARKET DAYS: Monday to Saturday
From the South Transept of York Minster (beneath the Rose Window) head straight across the road along Minster Gates and continue straight on down Stonegate to reach St Helen’s Square.
The Romans chose the spur of land near the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss for their military headquarters and for almost 350 years Eboracum was the principal Roman city of Northern Britain. Following their departure in around AD410, the city was taken over by Anglo-Saxon invaders who named it Eoforwic then in the 9th Century Vikings captured the city, which became known as Jorvik. Following the Norman Conquest a stone castle was built, the city walls strengthened and extended and Medieval York developed into a powerful and wealthy city as well as an important port and trading centre. In the 18th Century the city became a fashionable ‘social’ centre for wealthy people and in the Victorian era York flourished with the arrival of the railways and the rise of the Quaker chocolate families of Terry and Rowntree. These layers of history stretching back 2,000 years are waiting to be discovered; as King George VI said “The history of York is the history of England”…
HARROGATE
Turn right along Cold Bath Road then take the turning to the left along Queen’s Road. As this road sweeps round to the right, head left along Lancaster Road and follow this down to reach Beech Grove and The Stray.
The Stray surrounds the heart of Harrogate and provides over 200 acres of open parkland for people to enjoy. This sweep of open land once formed part of the vast common lands of the Royal hunting Forest of Knaresborough. During the 18th Century there were moves to enclose much of the open land and commons of England, however in the years that followed the Enclosure Act of 1770 fears grew over public access to Harrogate’s mineral wells. An Award of 1778 set aside over 200 acres of the old common land to ensure open and free access to the mineral springs. This Award stated that The Stray should “for ever remain open and unenclosed and all persons whomsoever shall and may have free access at all times to the said springs and be at liberty to use and drink the waters there arising.”
HELMSLEY
Turn right along Castlegate and follow this round to the left through Buckingham Square to quickly reach Bridge Street again. Turn left along the road then take the lane to the left (Borogate) opposite the Post Office which brings you back into the Market Place.
Castlegate is perhaps the most attractive area of Helmsley with the crystal clear Borough Beck flowing between the road and the old ‘crofts’ that still run back from the houses that line the Market Place; there is a classic view back along the beck towards the church. Another aspect of Helmsley’s development was the production of linen and woollen products that became an important cottage industry, indeed many weavers cottages can still be found in the town and the small bridge behind the Town Hall is known as Dyers Bridge as this was where they used to dye the cloth in the stream.
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