It has been over 15 years since we left university in Middlesborough and fifteen years since we have travelled that far north. There are so many beautiful areas around there that we want to go back to. We want to show the children where we spent our uni days, where mum and dad met. We did make the most of exploring the area in our three years up there with York being on of our favourite destinations. York is steeped in history and would be an ideal weekend break with the family and there are plenty of hotels in York from luxury pads to last minute rooms Hotel Direct is a good option to look at.
I would like to take the children to visit some of the sights that shows York at it’s very best.
1. Barley Hall which has been restored as a medieval building. I think touching real history like this brings Education to life for children. Dylan especially likes this type of attraction.
2. The York Dungeon would also be on my list. Dyl and Lee have done the London Dungeons but I have never been but Dyl told me he wants to go again. Therefore I would head here. I would even be able to use the Merlin passes I won last week from Netmums! With shows on the Gunpowder plot and the Plague it would be a gruesome way to spend a few hours!
3. No trip to York is complete without taking a look at the amazing architecture of York Minister. Not only can you experience the history of the building in the undercroft but you can see York from a whole new perspective if you climb the275 steps up the tower. The views will be worth the effort.
4. Families also flock to the Jorvik Viking Center in their thousands each year. Classed as one of the top UK attractions it has four exhibitions and you come face to face with a Viking too. At JORVIK Viking Centre you are standing on the site of one of the most famous and astounding discoveries of modern archaeology. Between the years 1976-81 archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust revealed the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city of Jorvik as it stood nearly 1,000 years ago. These incredible discoveries enabled us to build the JORVIK Viking Centre on the very site where the excavations had taken place, creating a groundbreaking visitor experience that enabled you to experience life in Viking-Age York.
5. York Castle Museum is another venue to put on the to do list. My children love real life stories and have a fascination with prisons and how people were punished. Therefore visiting York Castle would satisfy this thirst for how people were punished. Did you know that William the Conqueror built the first castle in 1068 and we know it had a prison.
6. The Treasurers House is another popular tourist spot. This was the first house to be donated to National Trust wilth its contents. Guided tours are available daily to the Edwardian servants attics, empty and untouched since 1930 or you can venture in to the cellar with the guide and hear about Yorks most famous ghost story – the apperance of Roman soldiers appearing to walk on the Roman road that does lie beneath Treasurer’s House.
7. If after soaking up all that rich history you need somewhere to eat and relax Fossgate is a ideal. With plenty of independent restaurants featuring cuisine from all over the world you cannot go far wrong. All before collapsing into your Hotel Direct room and bed!
Disclosure: This post is in association with Hotel Direct.
