A view along the city walls towards York Minster

• Order York Tour Pack CD£8+P&P

We have two MP3 audio walks around York, The Grand Tour, and Around the Walls. You can download them individually for £3 each, or both together for £5. All our walks include a map in PDF format, which you will find within the zip file that you download immediately after purchase. Audio files are standard MP3 format, suitable for use on iPods and other MP3-compatiable devices.

The Grand Tour

A 60-minute walk through the ancient city, discovering its Roman roots, and passing by iconic sights, such as King’s Manor, the Multiangular Tower, the Yorkshire Museum, York Mansion House, Mulberry Hall, York Minster, the Treasurer’s House, St William’s College, Holy Trinity Church, and the city’s most famous street, Shambles.

• Download The Grand Tour£3

Zip file (includes PDF map): 13.54Mb
Audio points: 13
Audio length: 31:38
Walking time: 60 mins

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Around the Walls

As the name suggests, this walk takes you along York’s famous city wall, which encircles the city, giving great views on either side. The route also passes by York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower.

• Download Around the Walls£3

Zip file (includes PDF map): 10.90 Mb
Audio points: 14
Audio length: 28:47
Walking time: 75 mins

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York highlights

On our York walks, you will hear about many of the city’s major historical highlights, including:

Roman history

York is a city most associated with its Roman heritage. Founded in AD71, the city was declared the capital of Britannica Inferior, and named Eboracum – the place of the yew tree. Its location was ideal, as it provided good river connections to the North Sea, and the underlying rocks, deposited during the last Ice Age, provided firm foundations. There’s even an original Roman column, discovered during renovations at York Minster, which has survived intact.

Viking History

The late 1970s brought about a huge archaelogical discovery during groundwork for a new shopping centre. Thousands of beautifully preserved Viking artefacts were unearthed, marking one of the most unexpected and largest historical projects of all time. As a result, the city created the Jorvik Viking Centre, which celebrates York’s Viking past in spectacular fashion.

Shambles

Recently voted Britain’s favourite street by users of Google StreetView, Shambles one of York’s tourist hotspots. This narrow lane, complete with cobbles and overhanging buildings, is one of the most photographed places in the country. It was once home to butchers, and also houses a shrine to Margaret Clitherow, a 16th Century butcher’s wife who was imprisoned numerous times due to her Catholic beliefs. She was later canonised in 1970.

York Minster

This Gothic cathedral, which was built over a period of more than 250 years, beginning in 1220 and finally consecrated in 1472. It features multiple examples of religious artwork, including sculptures and carvings, as well as the largest example of medieval stained glass in the world. The tour also features a much smaller, but just as atmospheric building in Holy Trinity Church.

The Walls

The city has been enclosed by walls since as early as the 3rd Century, with the present ones dating from the 13th and 14th Centuries. It features a series of gates around its perimeter, and the walls have survived largely intact. Walking the walls is fine way to experience centuries of York’s history.

York attractions and places to stay

Tourist Tracks recommends the following tourist attractions and places to stay during your time in York.

• Download Beverley Tour£3

• Order Beverley Tour CD£8+P&P

We have a one-hour audio walk around Beverley, which is available for £3, or can be bought together with our Hull tour for £5. All our walks include a map in PDF format, which you will find within the zip file that you download immediately after purchase. Audio files are standard MP3 format, suitable for use on iPods and other MP3-compatible devices.

The Beverley tour follows the route around this Yorkshire town, most famous for its beautiful Minster, with its origins dating back to the 8th Century. It later became an important port and market town, as well as brick, tile making and the cloth industry ensuring the town thrived through the ages. This audio version was produced with Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, the local tourist information body.

• Download Beverley tour £3

Zip file (includes PDF map): 24.38Mb
Tracks: 14
Audio length: 32:16
Walking time: 1 hour (approx)

• Download Hull Tour£3

• Order Hull Tour CD£8+P&P

We have a one-hour audio walk around Hull, which is available for £3, or can be bought together with our Beverley tour for £5. All our walks include a map in PDF format, which you will find within the zip file that you download immediately after purchase. Audio files are standard MP3 format, suitable for use on iPods and other MP3-compatible devices.

The Hull tour follows the route of the famous Fish Trail, originally created in 1992. Walkers follow a series of fish sculptures around the streets of Hull, gaining an insight into the area and the workings of a modern working port. This audio version was produced with Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, the local tourist information body.

• Download Hull tour £3

Zip file (includes PDF map): 22.70Mb
Tracks: 10
Audio length: 29:48
Walking time: 1 hour (approx)

• Download London Bridge Tour£3

• Order London Bridge Tour CD£8+P&P

• Order London Mi-Vox Player£20+P&P

What’s a Mi-Vox player? Click here for details.

We have a 90-minute audio walk around the London Bridge area, which is available for £3, or can be bought together with our other three London tours for £12. All our walks include a map in PDF format, which you will find within the zip file that you download immediately after purchase. Audio files are standard MP3 format, suitable for use on iPods and other MP3-compatible devices.

Tour highlights include: London Bridge; Southwark Cathedral; Borough Market; The Menier Chocolate Factory; The George Inn; Guy’s Hospital; The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett; The London Bridge Experience; The London Dungeons; Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience; Hays Galleria; HMS Belfast; City Hall; Butler’s Wharf; Tower Bridge; The Tower of London; and Trinity Square Gardens.

• Download London Bridge£3

Zip file (includes PDF map): 19.93Mb
Tracks: 19
Audio length: 62:53 mins
Walking time: Min 90 mins

Tourist Tracks also offers three other London tours: City of London, City of Westminster, and London South Bank.

London Bridge highlights

On our London Bridge walk, you will hear about many of the hidden treasures of this recently rejuvenated area of London.

Trading history

This part of the South Bank played an important part in London’s markets. The huge wharfs you will pass, now converted to leisure, business and residential uses, earned the area the nickname the Larder of London, as imported food was stored here after it had been offloaded from ships sailing up the Thames to this point. You will also see Borough Market, which is very popular with locals and tourists alike for its weekend markets.

Tourist attractions

There are several major tourist attractions on the route. As well as the obvious Tower Bridge and Tower of London, you will pass The London Bridge Experience, opened in early 2008, the London Dungeons, Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience, The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett, and the Bramah Tea and Coffee Musuem.

Gateway to London

This part of London once marked the beginning of many a journey out of the city and as such was home to many hostelries. The George Inn, much of which is still just as it was 200 years ago, provides a spectacular example of the galleried courtyards that once used to pepper this area. Both Shakespeare and Dickens are rumoured to have enjoyed the surroundings of such inns in this part of London.

Redeveloped and modernised

Much of the area has benefited from much investment in recent years. The unusual and striking City Hall, close to the southern end of Tower Bridge, was built just a few years ago, while Hays Galleria has transformed itself from a disused storage facility into a fashionable retail and residential development. Butler’s Wharf, a short walk away, is also a fine example of how the area has been rejuvenated within the last few decades.