Is York an affordable, enjoyable day out?

So far our Northern cheap tickets have taken us to coastal cities, metropolitan hubs and serene countryside towns. Sadly, our fifth inexpensive trip to Scarborough did not go ahead; Storm Ciara – related issues cancelled the train we were meant to get from Hull to the seaside settlement. Perhaps it was meant to be – walking around in 50/60mph gusts would not have been pleasant. We fully intend to successfully visit Scarborough one day in the future…but probably when spring rolls around.

For the meantime, two weeks ago for Valentine’s Day Jesse and I went to York for the day. For a change the weather was kind to us, being predominantly still and calm – and just before Storm Dennis set in, which created yet more havoc for many people. We also may have not stuck exactly to just using our 10p tickets. If we were to have used the tickets both ways, we’d have had a round trip taking 5 HOURS, and a two hour wait in Sheffield. Jesse feels (and I wholeheartedly agree) that an obvious downside of the offer was that the tickets were available at inconvenient times on occasion, as a wait that long is never ideal. Instead, that morning we caught an early train from Retford to get to York, a journey which only took us 40 minutes – we used our inexpensive tickets on the way back. This decision gained us double the time we’d have had in York otherwise, increasing it to eight hours. Our choice turned out to be wise – we certainly would not have had enough time to cover what we ended up doing.

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Time spent in York = 8 hours.

York’s train station is situated just outside of the city walls, making it only a ten minute walk away from the city centre. Its centre is split into two halves over the River Ouse, connected by bridges. One side is predominantly dedicated to clubs, bars, and residential shops, whilst the other is orientated around its sizeable tourist market – here are the high-street chains, cafes, restaurants, and many attractions. York is famous for its Dungeons, Yorvik (an interactive boat ride through Viking England, making it a firm family favourite), and the Shambles (an ancient cobbled street served by quirky stores – my favourite by far is all-year Christmas store, which also plays festive tunes from January to December). Other tourist hotspots in the city, the Yorkshire Museum and the National Train Museum, are located on the train station side of the city, so you are never too far a walk away from exploring something new. More on the Train Museum a little later, as we went there towards the end of our time in York.

We decided we would start off our visit by walking around the shops. Well-known cities usually have their own flagship shopping centres located centrally, but York is unique. Its shops are all outdoors, located on several streets adjacent to one another. It has outlets, but they are a bus ride away from the city walls, and a day-out on their own accord. Although it is a county town, it is still not as large as other nearby cities like Leeds and Sheffield, but despite this it still has a good range of commonplace stores and more exclusive brands, like Superdry. We spent a few hours moseying around these and the iconic Shambles, before going for a Valentine’s Day lunch. Our pick was Bella Italia, an Italian restaurant chain situated in most UK cities (sadly none in Lincolnshire). They first caught my eye when I saw their 2 for 1 discount offer on my TasteCard app – Railcard have had a promotion where you can sign up to TasteCard and use it for free for 3 months, giving you access to hundreds of food deals, and discounts from cinemas including Vue and Odeon. Unfortunately, they were not accepting TasteCards due it being Valentine’s Day, but we still enjoyed a generously sized meal each thanks to their ‘one course for £6’ deal. The service was also really fast and we would definitely eat there again in the future.

We gave ourselves a couple of hours in the afternoon to look around the National Train Museum; I liked how it was free entry and even though they politely asked for donations, there was no guilt-tripping pressure on you to donate. Whilst I always donate to museums, some people may not have the disposable income possible to give them any money, and they should never feel obligated to do so, when they may only be able to have free days out. The museum is split into three main sheds – instead of walking to and fro lots of rooms, the exhibitions are within the trains themselves, with videos showing archive footage projected onto the carriages. I liked how you could step onto several of the trains and walk around them, because it was an interesting insight into what journeys would have been like in the past. I also found the train ambulances exhibit particularly interesting, albeit heartbreaking at the same time – I thought I knew quite a bit about the First World War, yet I never knew the important and poignant role the railways had to play until this exhibit. I found it wonderful that the heroic nurses and doctors were still having their life-saving war contributions talked about over a century on; their efforts should never be forgotten.

What’s Great about York:

– Like I have mentioned throughout this piece, there are so many attractions to explore in York, and they are within short, manageable distances from one another.

– York has kept its feel from centuries ago, with the maintenance and preservation of its old streets, and its stunning Minster Cathedral. Some places have been modernised and industrialised so much they have lost their identity, but you know you are in York immediately because of the character it has managed to retain.

– It is surrounded by so many places, so it is easy to leave the city to explore elsewhere, but also to travel back. It has an extensive bus and rail network.

What are its downsides?

– York does have a football team and a horse-racing course, amongst other sporting teams, but it does not have a huge sports arena / centre where concerts and larger competitions could be regularly held. Some gigs take place at the Raceground and also at smaller venues like the Barbican (the latter is where the Snooker UK Championships are held annually), but it still would be nice if the city had a few more larger sports and entertainment options.

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Our next cheap train tickets adventure will be to Kendal and Windermere, in the Lake District! The forecast is due to be snowy, so we will be around stunning scenery for those couple of days ☺️

– The Ginger Globetrotter🌍