Child Friendly 2 day Itinerary
Looking for a fun UK city to head to for a child friendly weekend? York has it all- history, magic, food and ghosts.. all hidden within its city walls. Dale, Daisy (11 at time of writing) headed up to York in February half term. We got the train Friday evening and arrived into the city at around 8pm- we headed straight to Premier Inn Blossom Street South– by the time we checked in we decided to get an early night ready for our first full day.
Day One
Early on our first morning we had porridge pots in the room so we could head straight out to the Shambles, one of York’s famous landmarks and best-preserved medieval shopping streets. It is believed to have been the inspiration behind Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley and once was full of butcher shops. Now the street is lined with cafes, jewellers, bakeries and shops. Getting there at 9am avoids the crowds- however some of the shops do not open until 10am. The Shambles Market is open from 9am and is well worth a look around. York’s Cathedral is also a stone’s throw from this area and is a selfie must.
At 10am back at the Shambles we had booked The Potions Cauldron for a ‘magical cauldron experience’. A ‘Master Potion Maker’ will teach you the history of the ‘World’s Most Magical Drinks Emporium’, then a wizard mixes a magical drink of your choice. A 45 minute experience is good value- its a good opportunity for a sit down and to re-hydrate with a sugar free drink.
We then continued to walk down some of York’s shopping streets, and ended up coming to a junction of York City Wall. The walls circle the outskirts of the city and all together are 3.4km long (the longest in England). You can download a map and an audio tour if you are super keen! At this point in the day we had some splendid sunshine- we got on trail at ‘Bootham Bar’ and walked around to ‘Monk Bar’- a very picturesque part of the city wall overlooking the Minster and University.
Like all days with children and walking involved- it was then time for a sit down and refreshment break. We had headed to the highly rated Rise Brunch, however took one look at the queue outside and settled for the Cosy Club opposite. Plenty of room, child friendly, lovely staff and great food (would highly recommend the dirty breakfast butty followed by a cheeky pint).
The afternoon adventure was to be the JORVIK Viking Centre. This is a pre-booking must as the wait line for non pre-purchased tickets was huge! Here you travel back to 975 AD and you take a ride through a reconstructed Viking town. Beware of the smells!
We then visited Clifford’s Tower. Built by by William the Conqueror, Clifford’s Tower has been a royal mint, a medieval stronghold and a Civil War garrison. If you are an English Heritage member then this is a must for free entry. We paid the entry price, however, it was worth the visit. If you book online you can save 15%. On a sunny day the views are spectacular. There are various QR codes throughout the tower which you can use to listen to the history- I would recommend taking headphones.
After a couple of hours recharging the batteries at the hotel, we headed out for dinner. We chose to go to a food court so there would be something for everyone. SPARK is near to Clifford’s Tower and was easily accessible from the Premier Inn via the York City Wall. We all had Greek food and Dale and I had a pint of beer- we took a card game to play. I really liked the vibe of this food court- my only feedback was by the time we were leaving it had got quiet rowdy of large groups of people day time drinking. I would recommend going earlier if with children.
We then headed into the City Centre for a York must do- a Ghost Tour. Booked via Trip Advisor, our tour guide met us at 8pm, dressed up in spooky gear. We then did a two hour tour around the haunted spots of York hearing the eerie tales of the past. Was it child friendly? I’m still on the fence. In hindsight we should have booked the 6pm earlier tour as by 9pm Daisy was really tired. Some of the stories were scary, I think at 11, Daisy was slightly too young for it. But would highly recommend for teenagers and adults!
Day Two
Our second day had a start with a Premier Inn breakfast (2 children can eat for free with one full paying adult). We then had pre-booked mini golf at Hole In Wand. This mini golf was a similar theme to The Potions Cauldron. You get the opportunity for a family photo on broomsticks, in which Dale bought a photo key ring of and then realised the logo in the top corner covered his head. Worth the hour entertainment if your family isn’t too competitive and ends up squabbling over mini golf rules!
We did a quick pit stop at The Shambles, for cake. I bought the most delicious scone from the Parlormade Scone House. Daisy got a huge cupcake from the market. We headed down to the river to King’s Staith Landing for a City Experience cruise. We had booked it online- the cruises were cancelled on the Saturday due to the high water levels however they had reopened on Sunday. We had some lovely sunshine on the 45 minutes guided cruise and took in the famous landmarks and history along the river.
We then spent an hour doing a bit of shopping around the town centre before heading back late afternoon along the city walls to the Premier Inn, where we had a Sunday Roast. We got a early evening train home.
Top recommendations of York:
- Base yourself in the city centre and use the York City Wall to navigate yourself around the city
- Learn about the history, whether its a ghost tour or visiting a historic landmark
- See York by boat- either via a cheaper option of a city cruise or hire a boat on the river