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City Walls - General, York

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Roman Wall - York
Roman Wall
by margaretvn
City Walls - General tips and photos posted by real travelers and York locals.
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City Walls - General: Walk the City Walls
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  • York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England (approximately 2 1/2 miles) and some sections of the walls date back to Roman times.

    When the Romans first came here in the first century AD, they built a military fort on the banks of the River Ouse. The town of Eboracum grew up around the fort, and strong walls were built to enclose both the fort and town. These walls form the basis of the city walls that remain today.

    Much of the city within the walls has been converted to pedestrian malls, closed to traffic most of the day. If you choose to walk the walls of York you'll be sure to meet the locals; a recent survey revealed that walking along the city walls is the favorite leisure activity of fully 39% of York residents. I wouldn't walk it in the dark however. It was dusk when we were still on the wall and with very few handrails it's rather percarious.

    Guided walks begin at the Museum Garden gates off Museum Street. Walks focus on the history of York, with Roman, Viking, and Medieval themed walks, plus guided walks along the city walls.

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  • Address: 3 Fairway, Clifton, York, YO3 6QA
  • Phone: Tel + 44 (0) 1904 622303
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    City Walls - General: The Bar Walls
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  • York's well preserved city walls are one of the top attractions in the city. Over two miles of the walls still remains, and you can walk along the top of the walls and get a great views of the city (or peek in to the locals gardens if you're the curious type). The most interesting section of the walls is from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar, a route which takes you around the Minster.

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    City Walls - General: Roman Walls
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  • You just have to walk along the Roman Walls. I walked from Bootham Gate to Monk Bar. Should have done more but...sore feet! These walls were fascinating and I found myself running my hands over the lovely stonework just to feel their texture. There are some seating areas along the way and places to get some good views and photos.

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  • Directions: York city centre.
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    City Walls - General: These Walls Are Friendly
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  • One of the most enjoyable ways to experience York is to walk its walls. I won't pretend to be able to understand the entire complexity of these walls. Like nearly everything else in York the history of the walls starts with Romans and seems to go on forever.

    There are at least four major gates all with their own story but the best approach seems to be to just start walking with guide book in hand. Even at the busiest tourist time when I visited, the walls seemed to offer a respite.

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    City Walls - General: City walls
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  • York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England, some of them are from Roman times still.

    The city is not completely surrounded by walls but it is still a very nice walk around the town to follow the walls. The walls and its gates ("bars") are all from different centuries, the majority of it dates back to the 12th to the 14th century though.

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  • Address: Around the city centre
  • Website: http://www.york.gov.uk/walls/
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    City Walls - General: York's Historic Walls
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  • York's ancient walls were first built by the Romans. Most of them date back to the Middle Ages. They remain almost intact. Most other European cities pulled down their old walls as they grew and modernized. But the Industrial Age by-passed York, leaving its medieval character much as it was.

    Stolling along York's walls provides an excellent preview of the city's attractions. It's also a good way to get some exercise, without taking time out from sightseeing. Most of the walkway is narrow, but level and quite safe.

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  • Address: The Guildhall, York, YO1 9QN
  • Phone: 01904 613161
  • Directions: The walls run all around the city, and are accessible from all the bars and other points. Just select one and start walking. The points of contact are for the City of York Council.
  • Website: http://www.york.gov.uk/walls/
  • Other Contact: comments@york.gov.uk
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    City Walls - General: Walk on the castle walls.
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  • The city center of York is surrounded by a castle wall. As you walk along the castle wall, you will be able to see the main sights and off the beaten path sights of York City.

    I was lost and couldn't find our coach parking place with some of my friends. Since we remembered that the coach parking is near a part of the castle wall, we ran and toured the whole of York in an hour! I realised how much we can see by going around the castle wall. At some part of the walk, the castle wall seems to be disconnected.

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    City Walls - General: Richard 111's Museum.
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  • Steps leading down to the street. - York
    Steps leading down to the
    street.
    by lou31
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    The Richard 111's Museum is situated at Monk Bar. One of the medieval gateshouses. It was a fascinating place but I didn't get a pic as there were too many people there. The steps leading down onto the street were an adventure in themselves.

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  • Address: Monk Bar Gatehouse.
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    City Walls - General: City Walls
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  • The Romans built a fort in York in 71AD and surrounded it with walls -- the walls that remain today date back mostly to the 12th to 14th centuries although part of the foundations are the original Roman ones. There is approximately 2 miles (3.2km) of walls to walk and there are information panels and maps along the way -- it's a good way to have some nice views of the city.

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    City Walls - General: Walking the city walls
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  • Updated By Dabs on February 25, 2006
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  • If you have a nice sunny day (or at least one without rain), I'd highly recommend at least walking part of the city walls. I missed a section when I jumped off to visit Clifford's Tower but I probably walked about 3/4 of the walls.

    Print out a copy of the guide on the attached website (click on download as a PDF), it was very handy to have while walking around as it explains various sites along the walls, the history of the walls and most importantly how to get from section to section.

    As suggested in the guide I started near the Museum gardens which is very close to the train station if you are coming in from London.

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