Walking the Walls of York

The ancient cultural capital of the north of England, with nearly two miles (3.4 km) of city walls still standing

First published 27 May 2022, on a-maverick.com.

The location of York in relation to the local nature parks, and the former rival city of Lancaster in the west. For scale, Lancaster is about 112 km or 70 miles westward of York. Map data ©2022 Google, north at top.

AFTER Tadcaster, I arrived in the ancient walled city of York, historically the second most important city in England after London, though it is much smaller than London now.

The City of York and its suburbs. The modern city (inside the red boundary) is about 10 km or six and a half miles across by its longest dimension. Map data ©2022 Google, north at top.

York also has 3.4 kilometres or nearly two miles of city walls, still in good condition.

Detail from an information panel about the city walls

‘A map of York, England by Guy Speed from 1611’. Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

The city walls distinguish York from a lot of other cities and speak to a violent past. York was founded by the Romans in 71 CE as a bastion against the northern barbarians, that is to say, my Scottish ancestors. And that was when the first set of walls was built.