Yoirk Minster from York City Walls

York City Walls

Route: York City Walls

Area: North Yorkshire

Date of walk: 14th April 2026

Walkers: Andrew 

Distance: 4.8 miles 

Ascent: 100 feet

Weather: Mostly sunny

York City Walls (or “Bar Walls”) are a scheduled ancient monument encircling the historic City of York and comprise two miles of surviving masonry. They are the longest town walls in England. They were built mainly in the 13th century of magnesian limestone. There are four main bars, or fortified gateways,  two smaller gateways with more modern stonework and one postern (a very small gateway defended by a tower), frequent intermediate towers, and details such as windows, arrow-slits and gun ports, sculptures, and masons’ marks. Walking the trail around the Walls is roughly like walking the edges of a kilometre square. Each side in this square has a grand medieval fortified gateway called a “bar”. The trail is divided by these bars into four unequal corners (credit to The Friends of York Wall for this and other information, the site is a treasure trove and contains a huge amount of detail about every feature seen along the way)

I parked in the short stay car park at Coppergate, but the walk may be started from anywhere along the route, including the railway station which is close by. I joined the York City Walls at the Fishergate Postern Tower and climbed up the the wall, setting off in an anti-clockwise direction. There is an unprotected drop of about 15 feet along the way. On reaching Red Tower I descended to the pavement as there is no wall for a short section which was once a large marshy lake that neither the Walls nor attackers could easily cross. After walking past Foss Islands I regained the City Walls at Layerthorpe Bridge which leads to Monk Bar. The section beyond Monk Bar was the highlight of the walk, with views of York Minster, looking quite magnificent

The sight of the Minster tempted me to leave the Walls at Bootham Bar and to visit the interior (charges apply). After admiring the awesome architecture I returned to the streets and crossed the River Ouse at Lendal Tower, beyond which I climbed back up to the York City Walls to resume the circuit, passing by the railway station along the way. There were lovely retrospective views of the Minster from here. I continued to Baile Hill, a man-made earth mound and the only remaining feature of the fortification known as the Old Baile. Its origins date back to 1068. I descended from here to cross the River Ouse and, at another section where there is no wall, walked past Clifford’s Tower, the largest surviving part of York Castle, northern England’s greatest medieval fortress. From here it was a short stroll back to Fishergate Postern Tower to complete the circuit, one which had been full of interest every step of the way

Note that the York City Walls walk is 2.8 miles long if followed without deviation. However, there are numerous opportunities to leave the Walls and visit nearby points of interest (hence my walk was nearly 5 miles). The route map shows the Walls walk only and does not reflect my meanderings. Dogs are not allowed on the Walls. The Walls are generally open from 8am, check here for times

Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)

Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow

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