Walking Tours - Association of Voluntary Guides
Walking Tours - Association of Voluntary Guides
Walking Tours - Association of Voluntary Guides
4.9
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York, North Yorkshire, England
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Walking Tours - Association of Voluntary Guides
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.9
1,079 reviews
Excellent
985
Very good
73
Average
12
Poor
4
Terrible
5
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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Martin C
8 contributions
Sep 2024 • Solo
What a fantastic way to spend a couple of hours in York,I learned more in two hours from our wonderful guide than I got from a previous visit in two days.Engaging,knowledgeable and enthusiastic our guide included us all (16 occasionally 20 as other people joined for a short time) one native Brit (me) and two Australians,the rest were Americans,he entertained and involved us all,(special mention to an American teenager with her parents for her knowledge of Henry the eighth and his wives,she put me to shame 😂) we all thoroughly enjoyed the tour which was conducted at a pace that was easily manageable even for an avowed couch potato like me. And as for stereotypes of American tourists I was very impressed by how thoughtful and interested and intelligent they all were,I would recommend this FREE!! tour to anyone without reservation.
Written September 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Iweinvanaalst
Lille, Belgium608 contributions
Oct 2024 • Solo
I participated in a free walking tour of York by the association of voluntary guides lead by Martin and warmly recommend it as an ideal introduction to your stay in this beautiful city.
In about two hours Martin summarised the history of the city, pointed out the major sites of interest and halted us at beautiful spots of green and tranquility. We also passed lots of cosy restaurants and stores with original themes.
The tour kicked off at the peaceful museum gardens just outside the city walls. Here you can see the last standing tower of the Roman city wall and the ruins of the abbey of Saint Mary, once the richest religious institution in the north of England.
We then climbed the city wall at Bootham bar and got back down at Monk bar, enjoying fine views of the minster. We halted at the beautiful Treasurer's house, admired the chapter house and the great minster window and wandered around the adjoining streets.
The final part of the tour passed through the famous shambles.
Given its free nature the tour only covers the exterior of buildings but I encourage you to visit some of them afterwards.
Given the limited time and walking distance the tour does not cover the area of Clifford's tower and the old bailey but to my knowledge neither do the paid tours and you can easily discover this on your pace afterwards using the Clifford's tower guidebook.
A big thank you to Martin for spending his time and sharing his passion and knowledge with us !
In about two hours Martin summarised the history of the city, pointed out the major sites of interest and halted us at beautiful spots of green and tranquility. We also passed lots of cosy restaurants and stores with original themes.
The tour kicked off at the peaceful museum gardens just outside the city walls. Here you can see the last standing tower of the Roman city wall and the ruins of the abbey of Saint Mary, once the richest religious institution in the north of England.
We then climbed the city wall at Bootham bar and got back down at Monk bar, enjoying fine views of the minster. We halted at the beautiful Treasurer's house, admired the chapter house and the great minster window and wandered around the adjoining streets.
The final part of the tour passed through the famous shambles.
Given its free nature the tour only covers the exterior of buildings but I encourage you to visit some of them afterwards.
Given the limited time and walking distance the tour does not cover the area of Clifford's tower and the old bailey but to my knowledge neither do the paid tours and you can easily discover this on your pace afterwards using the Clifford's tower guidebook.
A big thank you to Martin for spending his time and sharing his passion and knowledge with us !
Written October 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shane R
2 contributions
Mar 2025 • Solo
I have done lots of these so called free tours all over the UK but this was only the second (Bath was the other) that was genuinely free, our guide explained they are volunteer guides who do it for the love of the city.
By the end of the tour the word "love" was an understatement our guide (Fraser) positively adores York and his enthusiasm was contagious.
He took us back in time, forward to the future and back again like a history loving time traveller.
The tour was just over two hours but our group (a family, a couple of couples and three solo travellers) could have walked all day listening to him blend history, geography and architecture into a wonderful walk.
Plenty of humour, interesting facts and photo opportunities make this a must do on any visit to York.
Book in advance and do this tour at the start of your holiday it will set you up for things to do while you are there.
Deserves more than five stars.
By the end of the tour the word "love" was an understatement our guide (Fraser) positively adores York and his enthusiasm was contagious.
He took us back in time, forward to the future and back again like a history loving time traveller.
The tour was just over two hours but our group (a family, a couple of couples and three solo travellers) could have walked all day listening to him blend history, geography and architecture into a wonderful walk.
Plenty of humour, interesting facts and photo opportunities make this a must do on any visit to York.
Book in advance and do this tour at the start of your holiday it will set you up for things to do while you are there.
Deserves more than five stars.
Written March 6, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jany R
1 contribution
Dec 2024 • Family
We had an amazing tour of York today, December 29, with our guide, Martin. From start to finish, Martin was fantastic—he answered all our questions and made the experience fun and informative. We loved exploring the historic sites of the city, and his insights really brought everything to life. As a family from the United States, we felt welcomed and were able to fully enjoy the beauty and charm of York. We're already excited to come back! Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting.
Written December 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
julie r
Liverpool, UK42 contributions
May 2024 • Family
About 14 of us were entertainingly guided around York and through its history by Kevin. 2000 years of history was imparted at about 20 different spots both on the Walls and around the city. The guides ask for no tips so we donated some money to an animal charity. 2 1/2 hours of exercise and learning. Would thoroughly recommend.
Written May 19, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yohann
9 contributions
May 2024 • Family
Fraser gave us a fantastic tour for 2,5 hours, to a group of 13 people. He gave detailed information when it was pertinent, he was fun, interactive and generous to answer any question. He is clearly passioned about York’s history. It’s amazing that this tour was free - Fraser didn’t even accept tip. I highly recommend.
Written May 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
adventure021
Dublin, Ireland42 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
We and a couple of our friends from Australia went a this tour on Saturday 28th September and what a brilliant tour it was ! Our guide Fraser was so knowledgable and friendly we couldn’t have asked for more from start to finish he has everyone’s attention with his knowledge of the walk, our friends from Oz had booked a couple of paid tours but cancelled then as they felt they got all the information from Fraser, the whole tour wasn’t rushed at all in fact it ran over a bit as we were all so interested by Fraser knowledge. This truly was an amazing tour and cannot recommend this tour and Fraser enough ! In fact we are planning another visit with some other friends and would love them to experience the tour with us again soon.
Well done Fraser 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💯💯💯💯💯
Well done Fraser 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💯💯💯💯💯
Written September 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Priya M
Chiswick, UK6 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
The walking tour led by our very able and fun guide Fraser was fantastic! My 2 kids and I were fascinated by the history of the city brought to life by the many anecdotes. The views were fantastic and we were blessed with clear sunny weather. It is amazing that the city of York provides these free walking tours and that volunteers are willing to give up their time for this worthy cause. Highly recommended.
Written April 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura N
31 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
100% recommended tour. Our Guide John had great knowledge about all the places visited and not knowing much about English history was good to have someone willing to answer all my questions.
The tour is very nice, I only recommend wearing a good coat in case it rains or is very cold.
You can tell that John loves his work and likes to share the stories about the sites we visit. The tour was extended a little longer than planned as it showed us an additional location.
Very good tour, asks nothing of the paid tours.
The tour is very nice, I only recommend wearing a good coat in case it rains or is very cold.
You can tell that John loves his work and likes to share the stories about the sites we visit. The tour was extended a little longer than planned as it showed us an additional location.
Very good tour, asks nothing of the paid tours.
Automatically translated
Written September 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pankaj P
Jaipur, India20 contributions
Jun 2024 • Family
We did this superb walking tour of York with Wendy as our guide on 26 Jun 2024 at 1030 am. She was charming, witty and possessed excellent knowledge of York's interesting history. Her accent was delicious and clear to understand for an Indian family like us. She captivated our group of diverse people with ease for two and a half hours. It was a very enjoyable experience as we got to hear interesting anecdotes, historical facts under clear blue skies (weather Gods were kind to us) with a couple of lovely British families as fellow tourists. We got to see parts of York those we would have missed otherwise.. I think everyone should make a point to take this wonderful tour.
Written June 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The website isn't working. How do we book?
Written September 4, 2022
Seems to be working OK.
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association of voluntary guides to the city of york
Written September 5, 2022
hello!! I would like to take a walking tour next week. Do you need to book in advance?
Where is the meeting point and at what time does it start?
Thank you in advance!
Written June 10, 2021
We will be in York on Monday April 13, 2020. Do you have any available tours?
Thank you!!
Written March 2, 2020
Hi, I’m sorry but it’s not me that offers the walking tour. You might want to check York Tourist Office or wait until you arrive. They tend to take anyone who turns up as there doesn’t appear to be any restriction on numbers.
Written March 2, 2020
Location and time of this Free tour in York, please. Joseph
Written February 10, 2020
Sorry for the delayed response. The tour departed from opposite York Minster from what I understand to be Exhibition Square. The times are displayed outside and left at approx 10am on the day we did it.
Written February 14, 2020
Hola, quería saber si el tour se realiza todos los días,horario y lugar de encuentro. Son solo en inglés'? Gracias
Written January 15, 2020
Hi, we will be in York on Sunday 11th of august and Monday 12th...could you give me the times for the tours please?
thanks!
Written August 6, 2019
In summer they do a 6:30pm tour which was the one we went on. This is in addition to the 10am tour.
Written August 7, 2019
Hey the website doesn’t work do you have any more info on this tour eg. Time is starts and where?
Written October 24, 2018
They have 2 tours each day . 1030 and 1330 . Starts at exhibition square.
Written October 26, 2018
Hello, please could you give me some information on how I would book on to this walking tour? Many thanks, Yasmin.
Written September 2, 2018
You don’t need to book just turn up . Website tell you the time each day . Just check times and go . We went for the 1015 tour.
Written September 2, 2018
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