12 hours in York

by Leyla [Thisdayilove] - 12:26

The ancient city of York is just over an hour away from our house. Whilst York is accessible by car I highly recommend travelling by train. The train station is just outside the city walls and around 5 minutes to walk into the centre. York is wonderful to walk into, the girls absolutely love walking through the city walls and into the city itself. It is such an easy, beautiful and pushchair friendly walk that travelling by train makes such an easy option. As you walk through the city walls, you take a walk over the river Ouse which is a beautiful place to simply stop and watch the world go past.

We stood on the bridge and watched rowing boats, the boat tours and ducks all go past. The side of the river is lined with hotels and cafes and my youngest loved to watch people go about their daily lives.

York is well sign posted but if in any doubt simply head towards York Mister, the iconic towers can be seen for miles around.

As the seasons change York changes too. Ghost tours take you on a mysterious walk through the city and delves into its gruesome history. The railway museum, located right next to the train station, has plenty to see and do and you can easily spend a day here. There are plenty of theatres to watch a show, or even head to Jorvik to learn more about the history of York. We wandered around looking at the Christmas festivities, a living nativity with real Donkeys caught our eye situated by the base of York Minster.

Christmas markets featuring the best of Yorkshire. An indoor market selling local produce and hand made items, for the truly unique gift. The indoor and outdoor markets were bustling with shoppers looking for the unique and perfect Christmas gift. The girls eyes lit up at all the items on the stalls.

Christmas would not be Christmas without chocolate, well in our house anyway! York Chocolate story provides an insight into the history of Chocolate in York.

We took a tour and delved deep into the history of chocolate. The girls listened intently and got to sample chocolate throughout history.

Before receiving a lesson in the correct way to sample chocolate! I was so surprised they followed the instructions and resisted temptation to eat all the chocolate.

Little Man however found it rather difficult to resist temptation!

There is something truly special about visiting the ancient city of York. There are cobbled streets, with their quirky original buildings. A mismatch of architecture that simply adds to the charm of York. The streets are bustling with people going about daily life, with the mix of tourists stopping to look at all the different sights. Each street has something unique about it, no two are the same. Independently owned cafe, coffee shops and products are around every corner which for me adds to the charm of York. York is a place where old meets new, and where you get a real sense of a cities history. A wonderful family friendly city that offers something for everyone!