York Uncomfortable Walking History Tour

Join us on an insightful walking tour of York, highlighting untold histories and diverse stories.
On the Uncomfortable York™ tour, you will go beyond the conventional stories of the city, hearing about the impact of women, people of colour, and LGBTQIA+ individuals from York's past.

This tour invites attendees to see beyond the stone facades and uncover the lesser known narratives of York, while learning about the long history of the medieval city. Walking through the beautiful city centre, you will discuss its early settlement, medieval expansion and deep industrial heritage.

This tour was written and researched by academic historians from the University of Oxford and is delivered by trained student guides from York. It asks questions that provoke new ways of seeing the city landscape and its history, encouraging attendees to see York as more than a small English city, and instead as a vibrant international urban centre.

Meeting Point

Bennett's Cafe and Bistro

30-32 High Petergate, York YO1 7EH, UK

Meet your guide outside Bennett's Cafe and Bistro, in front of York Minster. Your guide will be carrying a purple tote bag with our 'Uncomfortable York' logo.

What's included:

• Uncomfortable York Guide

Not included:

• Tour does not go into any buildings or attractions.

What to expect:

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

York Minster

Minster Yard, Deangate, York, YO1 7HH

Tour begins outside the dazzling York Minster Cathedral, where we introduce the tour and discuss the staging of heritage sapces.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Barley Hall

2 Coffee Yard, Stonegate, York, YO1 8AR

Learn about Medieval York and the holes in our modern understandings of it.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Kings Square

City Centre, York, YO1 8BH

At our second stop in the historic city centre we introduce the chocolate history of the city and commercialisation.

15 minutes

Pavement

Pavement, York, YO1 9UP

Walking down the historic street, tellingly named 'pavement' you will learn about the Rowntree Grocer's and the beginnings of international trade networks in the city.

15 minutes

Castlegate

31 Castlegate, York, YO1 9RN

Immerse yourself in the medieval Castlegate area and learn about the first female confectionaries in the city.

15 minutes

Tower Gardens

Tower Street, York

Finish the tour with an overview of Jewish history in the city, from the early medieval to the modern.

15 minutes