2018-04 -- Walking the City Walls of York

York has a long and fascinating history. It has been around since at least the Roman invasion into England in 43 AD. In fact, while we were here, there was an article in the local newspaper about builders finding several Roman skeletons dating from 60 AD while excavating to renovate a hotel.

Roman East Tower ruins

While the Romans began the York City Walls, the sections that remain to walk upon today started as earthenworks by William the Conqueror. He was a Norman who invaded England in 1066. Today, only 2 miles of walls remain standing. However, the entire loop, including the walking between wall sections is a 5K (3.1 miles).

City Walls of York

Our hotel (Premiere Inn on Blossom Street) was less than a block from Mickelgate Bar. This is a proper gate, with insignia and the sculptures of men standing on the top of the turrets. At this gate, stone steps lead up to the city walls. There's the option to either go toward York Castle or toward York Minster. Let’s check out the sights going counter clockwise, starting toward York Castle.

The first stop along the wall is Baile Hill, a tower built in the “motte and baile” manner of erecting towers from earthworks and timbers in a short 6 days in the time of William the Conqueror. Today, it is a circular, flat stone section at the corner of the wall.

Ducks and ducklings on the path between Skeldergate Bridge and Clifford's tower

Walking on, the walls end just before Skeldergate Bridge. You’ll need to cross over this bridge, with plaques listing that it was erected in the mid 1800s and another from the 1940s abolishing the toll to cross the bridge. There was a four-person skulling team in the water as I walked down the stairs on the other side. Their coach was riding his bike along the paved bike path and shouting encouragement while checking his watch for their splits.

Clifford's Tower

A short walk through a park with a couple of duck familes and their ducklings leads to the back of a city wall that is now just the edge of the backyard for a few homes. Crossing Tower Street, look straight up the hill to see Clifford’s Tower, originally a baile and motte structure that was updated in the mid-1200s to the current stone structure still standing today.

Fishergate Tower placard

To continue to the walls, follow the sidewalk around to the right around York Castle and enter the City Walls at the next gate, Fishergate. Fishergate Tower is the latest instantiation on this site, built in 1505. It has a more modern convenience, the “garderobe”, or toilet for the guards to use. There is a little section built out from the tower with a hole opening for a drop to the ground below. From here, you can walk the stairs up to get on the walls again.

The next stop is Fishergate Bar. “Bar” in these instances means a gateway. It also means stairs to go up and down. The runners who passed us on the way down on the steps barely missed being hit by two cycles that zoomed through this gate.

The next stop was Walmgate Bar. Before there were stone walls running around the city, the ramparts were made of earth. There is still part of an arch here from the 12th century, although today’s gate has had additions from the 14th and 15th centuries. In this gateway, there is a tiny coffeeshop. A very interesting place to have a cup of tea. It also meant that we had to take the stairs down on one side of the street, cross over the street and then take the stairs back up to continue along the walls.

Red Tower

Our final stop on this section of the walls was the Red Tower. “Tower” seems to be a bit of a misnomer. It looks more like a small square house. However, the ground level now is higher than when it was built in 1490.  This is the end of the city walls because William of Normandy dammed up the Ouse River so that a lake could be formed. That lake, the King’s Fishpool, provided a defense of the city from Red Tower to Layerthorpe Bridge.

Layerthorpe Tower

We walked along Foss Islands Road until we arrived at Layerthrope Bridge, then climbed back onto the city walls. Layerthorpe was built in the 13th century. Just before the next “bar”, there is scaffolding and construction. However, the metal grated scaffolding stairs might be even safer to walk down with the constant driizzle and rain in York!

The door and stairway up to Monkgate bar

Monkgate Bar

The next stop is Monkgate Bar. This gate hosts the Richard III Experience. It was built in the early 14th century but has had expansions in the 15th century. In the 17th century, stone figures appearing to throw down boulders were added to the very top of the gate. It is the tallest bar in York. To get back on the wall in the gate, we had to squeeze past an old wooden door with metal buttons on it and walk up a narrow wooden stairway. It is defintely only one person wide!

York Minster from the city walls

The next section of the wall highlights a tower (the east tower) of the original Roman Wall. It is such an interesting experience to look down at the remains of a tower from almost 2000 years ago on the edge of a residential neighborhood. This section of wall also has the best views of York Minster.

Portcullis in Bootham bar

It ends at Bootham Bar, just across from the York Art Gallery. Inside the bar, you can see the wooden portcullis. We descended the street here and continued walking along St. Leonard’s Street until we came to some interesting ruins just outside the York Library. This is the old St. Leonard’s hospital, built in the 1200s AD.

Lendal Tower

Continue along Museum Street, and, you’ll see Lendal Tower on this side of the river. It is from the 13th century and was used to as one of two towers to anchor a chain across the River Ouse at night to prevent people from boating into York without paying a toll.

Barker Tower

Crossing over the river, we stopped at Barker Tower, the tower that the chain was stretched to. This tower is from the 14th century. It is also the start of the city walls on the south side of the river. From here, we walked all the way back to Micklegate Bar.

Hope that you enjoyed the tour of the York City Walls!