Hi, we did a tour today at 10.30am with Alan. We had a fantastic time and learned so much about the history of York. We thought we’d covered most of York but Alan took us to places we hadn’t known about. We’re sorry we had to leave the tour slightly early. We’d booked the train museum tickets and didn’t want to miss our time slot. Afterwards we found a few snickelways and had fun exploring. Thanks Alan, we enjoyed the English/Scots banter too and hope to meet you again in the future x

The York tour was brilliant!
Glyn was our guide. From the start he put us at our ease with his humorous and knowledgeable delivery.
After he set the scene and timeline of his talk we were treated with engaging stories spanning 2000 years. We were hearing tales of buildings, walls, ruins and historical characters all fascinating in their connections.
We learnt so much and enjoyed conversation within the group.
This tour is a must!
Thanks Glyn
John and Kath

We had a fantastic tour with Richard. As first timers to the area, our knowledge was limited but he gave great summaries of the many different periods of York’s history. We are now keen to read further about this amazing city.

John was a wonderful tour guide: knowledgable, enthusiastic and engaging; at times whimsical and sarcastic, full of local lore and keen historical insights. We were there as a large family group (6 adults, 4 kids), and all of us greatly enjoyed it. His free tour was much better than some of the paid tours we took in other UK cities.

This was such a fabulous tour!! I really appreciated that our guide Glyn made historical life, so vivid for us. A lot of texture around making a analogies to what it would have been like, and discussion of social empowered dynamics. Could not recommend more!

We went on the afternoon tour with Kevin today and he was so welcoming and knowledgeable! My two kids, aged 9 and 11, came away from the tour with a great understanding of the history of the city, as did we! It was wonderful experience and perfect way to start our time in York!

We had the loveliest experience walking around York with Ken. He was really passionate about the city and transmitted that to the group. He was extremely knowledgeable and we really enjoy taking the tour with him. York is an incredible city, full of history and beauty and Ken made it come to life!

Fraser was full of information and kept the pace at the perfect speed. Excellent tour and such a friendly guide. Would recommend 100%

I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your work. I find it truly fascinating to see the passion Judy put into this tour. Her enthusiasm, knowledge, and the way she brings history to life made the experience so much more meaningful. Thank you Judy for sharing your passion with us—it really made a difference.

My family and I just had a delightful morning with Richard, a Historian and a highly qualified teacher, who volunteered to share his knowledge with visitors to York. I would recommend everybody join this tour.

We really enjoyed our guided walking tour with Debbie who was so knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. Thank you Debbie!

We had the pleasure of enjoying a fantastic walking tour with Fraser today. It was very informative and interesting. Fraser is an open, friendly, and knowledgeable guide. I would definitely recommend it.

Our tour with Richard was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about York. I would highly recommend this tour.

Many thanks to Richard for a most enlightening tour today. He gave a great overview of the history of York and I would highly recommend joining this tour when you visit York.

It was hot, and the tour still lasted over 2 hours, every opportunity we had to go in the shade we all did It was very informative and a nice small group

We had a wonderful tour with Richard. He brought the history of York to life, pointing out details and background of what we were looking at.
So interesting, many thanks.

5 stars. Richard did a fantastic job of presenting a comprehensive and concise perspective of York’s history, spanning thousands of years no less. We really enjoyed it and would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting York.

Glynn was such a good tour guide. Informative, relatable, funny too. I would recommend this tour to anyone going to York. I intend to come back and will take my family on the tour.

Today’s tour hosted by Glyn was really interesting and enjoyable. Definitely a highlight of our mini break in York. Highly recommended.

Well. Glyn was absolutely excellent. Learned so much by his relaxed and knowledgeable style. Nice balance of humour insight and warmth to his subject. Spoke clearly with us not at us. Saw amd learned about places we could so easily have walked past. This tour made my visit to York. Thank you

Glyn
Truly superb Storyteller, provided an excellent narrative covering many hundreds of years of both National and Yorks rich history..brilliant

Glyn was our guide …he made our tour fascinating with the historical facts that he shared. We were lucky to enjoy with a small group of 10 people. Glyn was professional, engaging, humorous and helpful. We truly believe that all tourists should sign up with the AVG tour guides. The information they offer is immeasurable. Thankyou so very much!

Really outstanding tour by Glyn. As a resident I know the broad history of the city, but this was still packed with great insights and interesting facts.
Glyn expertly set the historical context and chronology across 2000 years of history and was clearly knowledgeable beyond the confines of the tour route and had an engaging style, clearly passionate about history. A very engaging 2.5 hours that I would highly recommend.

Thank you Glyn for putting on a fantastic tour! The tour covered all the ‘must see’ parts of York with a great insight into the history of the city mixed with Glyn’s local knowledge.

Enjoyed a very informative and light hearted tour given by Glynn who taught us so much about the history of the city from Roman times to present day. So many interesting facts about the place and its people and nooks and crannies we would never have discovered without him !
Many thanks- would definitely recommend!

Richard made our York experience truly unforgettable. After spending a day exploring York on our own, we realised that we had actually understood very little of what we were seeing!

Thanks to Richard, we discovered places we had walked past without noticing, learned about York’s fascinating history, and visited many hidden spots that we would never have found by ourselves.

Over the years, I have joined many tours led by professional tour guides, and I can honestly say that Richard was more professional, knowledgeable, and engaging than many of them.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting York. Believe me, it will transform your trip and make your visit truly memorable.

Massive thank you to Nick our guide who taught us so much about the history of York and took us to some absolute gems- I would have never found without him. Absolutely brilliant would recommend this is your first stop in York!

We went on a walking tour this afternoon with Christina. She was full of interesting information about York delivered in a fun and engaging way. I’m so glad we chose this tour.

We had absolutely first class tour with Glyn. Glyn is very knowledgeable and you can tell history is his passion. In addition to being knowledgeable , Glyn provides all the information in very entertaining way. It was a pleasure to listen to Glyn for almost 2.5 hours. We not only saw the most important sights in York but also learned history associated with each sight. I can’t imagine a better city walking tour anywhere. Greatly recommended.

Excellent tour where our guide Neil was very knowledgable and delivered the information in an excellent way. Would recommend to anyone and all for free. What tremendous value.

Guided Tour – May 2026

Richard, our tour guide, did a great job. He was a history teacher, so that made his details all the more interesting.

Tour Start:

We took the morning tour at 10:30am. The 7:55 train from London left us with comfortable time on hand.

Starting point of the tour is centrally located and clearly marked . Some benches too, if you land up earlier and want to sit.

There were two guides that day and we were split into two groups. Good to pre-book, even though they do it for free.

Tour Duration:

It took us a little under 2h 30m. If you want to leave early you could do so.

Tour Highlights:

We started with the Museum Gardens, St. Mary’s Abbey – and over the duration of the walk covered the Multangular Tower. The King’s Manor, Bootham Bar, Monk Bar, York Minster (from outside), Goodramgate, The Shambles and an old Catholic church – Shrine of St. Margaret Clitherow near Shambles.

Richard gave us a good insight into –
The various historical aspects starting from the Romans, the Vikings, the Catholic-ness of the place et al.

Also saw how the fortification was done and improved on – fascinating!

Similarly the perspective on how St. Mary’s Abbey appears just as a set of walls now – The role of the monks and their power in an era gone by.

The importance of the location (near the river). There were a lot of small stories beyond just seeing the place which Richard explained very well.

Of course he also talked about the pride of the York people!
How the York Minster was left unscathed even though the area was attacked .

Overall:

I would recommend this tour. It was extremely good value for our time. Thank you Richard.

One thing that he mentioned at the beginning – Ask questions! The questions and his answers make this wonderful tour come alive!
Richard keeps the tour lively.
Thank you Richard.

We attended the tour today with Richard and enjoyed it immensely. It was our first visit to York and this was a great way to learn some of the history and see areas we wouldn’t have found on our own. Richard was a fountain of knowledge and made the tour really enjoyable and engaging throughout. The tour was accessible for my blind husband, enjoyed by my children and by our niece visiting from Minnesota, USA. I would highly recommend this – Richard was brilliant and it’s a great way to learn some of the history of the beautiful city of York!

We had an excellent tour guided by Fraser. He was very knowledgeable and informative and had a good sense of humour. We learned a lot about York that we didn’t know. We also went to a few places that we didn’t know about previously. We would definitely recommend this tour.

Spent this morning listening to an excellent guide, Fraser, who was knowledgeable and friendly and so engaging Highly recommended!

Excellent, entertaining and informative. Enjoyed a fabulous couple of hours touring the highlights of York. Fraser combined just the right balance of history & storytelling. Highly recommend.

Shout out to our guide, Richard, for an entertaining and informative tour! This was our first time in York and it was the perfect way to learn about the city both past and present. We covered a lot of ground, saw sites we know we would have overlooked on our own, and got our bearings for independent post-tour exploring. I cannot recommend this tour enough to anyone visiting the city. Hopefully, you will get Richard too!

We had a lovely and very informative tour this morning with Richard. It was our first full day in York, and to be honest the Shambles had left me pretty disappointed in York. Getting out of the retail area and learning some of the local history completely changed my experience. Bravo Richard.

We did an excellent tour guided by Richard. Although we have been to York a number of times Richard showed us lots of places we have previously missed.
I would definitely recommend this tour.

Richard was very informative and pleasant. It was a pleasure to be on his tour. We hope to see him in Kerry one day! 🙂

Our tour was great! We learned so many interesting facts about York, specifically Roman York. There was never a moment where our attention wavered, as every aspect of the tour touched on key historical moments; from Henry VIII to Queen Mary of Scots, every detail and quirk was captivating.

Our guide, Lawrie, was very knowledgeable, friendly and considerate. Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely dreadful, however, he made sure to choose places to stay where the wind wouldn’t get us so much! So thoughtful. We found him very charming and polite. Also, he gave us great food recommendations and tips to see the not-so-touristy places. 10/10!

Kevin did an excellent job of delivering York’s past in an interesting and captivating manner. The tour was very enjoyable and informative. Experiencing the city’s breath taking beauty was made all the better by understanding its complex history, and I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting York.

Fraser was amazing on our tour. Huge depth of knowledge and a great sense of humour. The tour itself was as the info states completely free and they won’t accept tips which makes the sacrifice of their time even more appreciated. The places we went to give you a great introduction to York history and some interesting social insights. Highly recommend the tour for anyone who is going to York. But makes sure you book as you may not get on a tour if you just turn up. You might but you wouldn’t want to miss this.

We attended a two-hour walking tour in York led by our guide Fraser, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our visit. From the start, his humour and knowledge made the experience engaging and easy to follow. What stood out most was how thoughtfully he delivered the tour,he was careful to provide context, explain terms clearly, and ensure that even international visitors could fully understand and connect with the history.

As the tour progressed, we found ourselves becoming more and more immersed in the city’s past. The stories of Anne Lister was particularly fasinating to me. The Viking heritage of York added another layer to it , making the city feel alive with centuries of stories. We also really enjoyed the explanations of the stained glass panels at York Minster, especially the ones on the west front they added a visual depth to the historical narrative. One of the other memorable aspects of the tour was learning about the origins of everyday English phrases like “find the loophole” and “eavesdropping.” These small details made the experience both educational and fun. By the end of the tour, we walked away with a much deeper understanding of York and a genuine appreciation for its rich history. It didn’t just feel like sightseeing, it felt more like building a connection with the city. This is truly a must-do experience in York, and Fraser’s thoughtful and engaging approach made it exceptional for us.

We had a superlative tour. Fraser was the best tour guide! Witty, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about York’s heritage. He even chatted with and checked in on each family/couple separately during the short walks to the heritage spots on the tour itinerary.

Richard ( of york) was our guide. I understand there are three Richards. Ours i believe was the first.

We just turned up as the tour was fully booked online and of 25 people who had booked only a handful turned up so we were able to join.

Richard is very knowledgable and clearly loves his city.
He was engaging and told many stories that enhanced our experience.

Thoroughly recommend this tour. Make sure to give a round of applause because he is worth it and very genuinely did not want a tip. He does have his favorite charities though.

What a fantastic tour! I have been to York many times over the years but this was the first tour I had done, and it was so interesting! Ken was a fantastic guide….so knowledgeable and passionate about his city. He offered an extra tour after the two hours and if we had had more time we would have loved to do his Shambles tour. Instead, we only had 10 mins, so he took us to a little church and old building that had been restored….neither we would have noticed from the road (or gate as Ken taught us!). We would have happily paid for the tour….maybe AVG could think about suggesting some local charities people could make a donation to if they wanted?
Keep up the great work and thank you Ken!

Had an amazing tour of York with Glyn our guide. He was very knowledgeable and made our walking tour very interesting with his knowledge of the history of the city of York.

Did tour with Neil at 1.15pm he was excellent, ,he is very knowledgeable, lots of interesting landmarks and info. We learnt lots and even dodged the rain ! highly recommended.