Walk the walls during daylight for an entrancing view of the Historic core

The English city of York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as the [York] City walls, the Bar walls and the Roman walls (though this last is a misnomer as very little of the extant stonework is of Roman origin, and the course of the wall has been substantially altered since Roman times).

The Danes occupied the city in 867. By this time the Roman defences were in poor repair, and the Danes demolished all the towers save the Multangular Tower and restored the walls.
The majority of the remaining walls, which encircle the whole of the medieval city, date from the 12th – 14th century, with some reconstruction carried out in the 19th century and later. From the east corner of the Roman walls, the medieval wall extends to Layerthorpe Bridge. After the bridge, the King’s Fishpool, a swamp created by the Normans’ damming of the River Foss, provided adequate security for the city, and no walls were ever built in this area.

The walls resume beyond the now canalised Foss at the Red Tower, a brick building which has been much restored over the years. They continue south and west around the Walmgate area, terminating in another tower (Fishergate Postern), near York Castle, which was formerly surrounded by its own walls and a moat.
A small stretch of wall on the west side of Tower Gardens terminates at Davy Tower, another brick tower located next to the River Ouse). This originally ran up to the castle walls, with a postern on Tower Street.

Beyond the Ouse, the walls resume at Skeldergate, where there was once another postern. They climb past Baile Hill, take a right turn and proceed north-west parallel to the Inner Ring Road. Near the railway station, they turn right again in a north-easterly direction, finishing at Barker Tower on the Ouse.

Barker Tower was once linked by a chain across the river, parallel to the nineteenth-century Lendal Bridge. A small stretch of wall then leads to the entrance to Museum Gardens, the Multangular Tower and the original line of the Roman walls. Today the walls are a scheduled ancient monument and a grade 1 listed building.

York Minster

York Minster is a world-famous artistic and architectural masterpiece built between the 1220s and the 1470s.

The Minster stands on a site where history has been made over the centuries. The Emperor Constantine began his progress to greatness here, and the foundations of the Roman buildings in which he lived can be seen under the central tower. St Paulinus baptised the local Saxon king on this spot, and many Archbishops, including St William of York, are buried here.

Great Yorkshire Show 2011, Harrogate

12-14 Jul 2011

The Showground is open between 7.30am and 7.30pm daily (no admission after 5pm), apart from Thursday 14th July when the show will shut at 6.30pm.

via GYS – Great Yorkshire Show 2011 – Bvents.Com.

Friday 8 – Saturday 16 July 2011

In 2011, York Early Music Festival celebrates the spirit of the 1951 Festival of Britain which saw the first performances in modern times of the York Cycle of Mystery Plays. Highlights will include a series of concerts curated by Professor John Bryan reflecting the early music content – and context – of the times including a celebration of the publication of Musica Britannica, also founded in 1951, as the authoritative national collection of British music. Other concerts will look at the broader picture of music written by migrants working in England from across the European community – from the Middle Ages to Georgian England.

NCEM – The National Centre for Early Music – York Early Music Festival.

June Meeting

Enjoy top class racing whilst raising money for charity.

Since 1971 this event has now raised over £5,000,000 for good causes and provided some fantastic racing excitement. Just by attending the day, racegoers will be helping to raise money for cancer related charities in York, one of which is Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan provides practical, medical, emotional and support and pushes for better cancer care.

The feature race of Saturday is the most valuable sprint handicap for three year old horses in Europe. There is a special thrill in cheering home your winning selection surrounded by thousands of people and a Saturday provides that excitement.

The lawns and champagne terraces provide a great place to celebrate or commiserate, now that summer is with us.

The first race time on Friday is set that little bit later which allows many people to wind down to the weekend by coming racing after a morning at work.

Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).

Dante Festival

Wed 11th – Fri 13th May

May Spring Meeting

Saturday 21st May

June Meeting

Fri 10th – Sat 11th June

52nd John Smiths Cup Meeting

Fri 8th – Sat 9th July

Music Showcase Weekend

Fri 22nd – Sat 23rd July

Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival

Wed 17th – Sat 20th August

September Meeting

Sunday 4th September

October Finale

Fri 7th – Sat 8th October

view raceday details

Friday 10th June

Gates Open: 11:15 , First Race: 14:10 , Last Race: 17:25 view raceday details

Saturday 11th June

Gates Open: 11:15 , First Race: 14:05 , Last Race: 17:25

via June Meeting : York Racecourse | Special offers, advance book tickets for 2011 fixtures, information, planning your raceday, conferences, corporate events, raceday hospitality, enquiries, go racing..

York Tourist Guide 2011/12

Visit York Major Events 2011 PDF

The Charlatans have today confirmed they will headline Saturday night at North Yorkshire’s premier summer festival, with British Sea Power topping the bill on Friday night and The Levellers closing the festival on Sunday.

The announcement follows months of speculation about who will fill the top spot. “This is fantastic news,” said festival director James Houston, “we’re all really excited that this is really happening now. They’re a brilliant band and have been on our wish list for years. Just can’t wait.”

via The Charlatans to headline Galtres Festival 2011-Forest of Galtres Festival 2011.

ONE visitor to Visit York got more than she bargained for when she dropped by yesterday.

Nora Stead, of Sowerby Bridge, in Calderdale, was the 450,000th visitor to the centre which marked its first birthday with a cake from Bettys.

She was greeted by staff and Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of Visit York.

The cake-cutting was part of a celebration which marked a record-breaking first year for the city’s new flagship tourist information centre at 1 Museum Street.

The facility replaced the old tourist information centre at the De Grey rooms where annual visitor numbers were 240,000, meaning an additional 210,000 customers have used the new service over the last year.

via Tourist office’s big day (From York Press).