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.