York

[ninjafoodienovice]

Going to spend a week in York with DH and 11 year old DS. I'm a history boffin so will be very happy but any suggestions of places to go that might interest DS?

Jorvik viking centre should please everyone. Railway museum free! Walk on the city walls free! Apparently it is still legal to shoot Scottish people with a bow and arrow from the walls. Harry Potter golf! Walk down the Shambles. Great town.

City! York Minster!

they do ghost walks round the city on an evening which are great fun too

only after sunset i believe :)

The Wizard Walk of York is fantastic too - great fun!

York Castle Museum is really good, including for youngsters. Easily a couple of hours.

If you're willing to venture outside the City Centre, the nuclear war bunker is fabulous. Not very "York" but cool as fuck.

I am also going next month with my 13 yr old DD. Is the York Pass worth it?

ooo where is this? do you mean eden camp?

Ghost tours in the evening are also brilliant for kids, adolescents and adults.

There are a fee escape rooms if you wanted something a bit different

there is also a cat cafe worth a visit... owned by friends of mine

No, not Eden Camp.

Here: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/york-cold-war-bunker/
Edited to answer your actual question - it's in a suburb about 1.5 miles outside of town called Acomb. Very easily accessed walking or on the bus.

It's absolutely brilliant. Just tucked away behind some flats 😅

Barley Hall and Dig are also part of the Yorvik group and are worth a visit. Dig is aimed at younger children but the last session of the day is for older teens/adults. If you have any Tesco vouchers you can use those at Yorvik attractions.

ETA sorry I misread your DS's age! At 11 he will enjoy Dig, you play at being an Archaeologist!

I'd say yes. We went with DD 14 last year. Used it loads.

Dig is quite good.

Sorry to recommend another non-City Centre thing but York Maze is fabulous for kids, teens and families: https://www.yorkmaze.com/

well i never knew that was there! thanks

The boat trip on the Ouse is quite nice. You get an interesting angle on York. Our 'driver' was quite the history buff!

Eden Camp is good too though and there’s a bus from York. Excellent if you’re remotely interested in WW2. Yorkshire Air Museum is also good, and also reachable by bus.

York Dungeon is what you’d expect but probably what an 11 year might enjoy!

The Crypt at the Minster is a really excellent museum and easily missed if you don’t know it’s there. They also do kids’ packs but they might be too young for an 11 year old.

Hole in Wand mini golf opposite Yorvik is good - no relation to Harry Potter of course.

Castle Howard (another bus!) has a good adventure playground as well as the house and grounds but again might be a bit young for him.

A few years since I've been but York's Chocolate story is there and another museum I've forgotten the name of, but I went with my mum (years ago now) and she kept saying 'My Nanna had that. I remember using those' etc to just abouteverything in it, bless her.

she was talking about the castle museum.. its a great place

I bet that's the Castle Museum!

Climb up to the roof of York Minster, my two loved that.

The railway museum is fantastic.

Castle Museum, ghost walk and museum gardens are lovely to picnic in…the museum in there is also worth a look. Clifford’s tower and a walk around the walls, you can go almost all the way around the walls but not with dogs!

I love York but I do think a week is a long time to spend there. Will you have a car? If so, then obvious things are day trips to the Dales, have a picnic, go up the White Horse , go out to Scarborough or whatever you fancy.

In York itself I reckon I could spend 3 to 4 days with an 11 year old (or even DH) without running out of things to do, unless you genuinely all do like just wandering about and visit all the museums and The Minster.