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Abbey Gardens & Exhibition Square
This walk covers the entire area of what was once the Abbey of St Marys, one of the grandest and richest Abbeys in England. It includes gardens, abbey ruins, a roman tower and medieval buildings as well as the 19th Century Exhibition Centre, now an art gallery. Hear about the difficult relationship between the Abbey and the residents of the City and the role a church played in the English Civil War as a gun emplacement.
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Each walk delivers a unique and fascinating user experience. Through Tourist Walks’ self guided tour application you can explore the hidden gems created by local experts. For people wanting to explore the neighbourhood and experience the local culture, we provide a unique experience of exploring the city using GPS guided audio tours. We provide a free walk to our new users.
Full Audio Visual Commentary
Tourist Walks is an application that can give you the freedom to explore the famous walks at your own discretion. We have created a full audio-visual self-guided experience that gives you the confidence to explore and discover the stories of various cities on your own.
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Get a list of all the tourist sites you can visit. The Tourist Walks application will guide you to your next destination because every journey starts with a single step.
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Even if you don’t understand the local language of the city you are visiting, Don’t worry. Audio guided walks have multilingual text assistance that will guide you in your native language.
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/Restart Go at Your Own Pace
Tourist Walks’ audios are narrated by professionals who will keep you entertained while you are walking your way to the next destination. We help you discover the city around you in a more impressive way.
Download the Walk App & Use Offline. No Mobile Data Required.
It is always frustrating when you wish to travel somewhere but your mobile phone service is out-of-order. Don’t worry! Tourist Walks comes with an offline version of built-in maps you might need, even without internet access.
FREE App & Walk Summaries
Each walk delivers a unique and fascinating user experience. Through Tourist Walks’ self guided tour application you can explore the hidden gems created by local experts. For people wanting to explore the neighbourhood and experience the local culture, we provide a unique experience of exploring the city using GPS guided audio tours. The App is FREE, and all the walk summaries are FREE, each walk is individually priced and you can buy all the walks for a city at a discounted price.
Full Audio Visual Commentary
Tourist Walks is an application that can give you the freedom to explore the famous walks at your own discretion. We have created a full audio-visual self-guided experience that gives you the confidence to explore and discover the stories of various cities on your own.
Visit the Best Tourist Sites & Explore Them
Get a list of all the tourist sites you can visit. The Tourist Walks application will guide you to your next destination because every journey starts with a single step.
GPS and Multilingual Audio and Text Guidance
Even if you don’t understand the local language of the city you are visiting, Don’t worry. Audio guided walks have multilingual text assistance that will guide you in your native language.
Start/Stop/Rewind
/Restart Go at Your Own Pace
Tourist Walks’ audios are narrated by professionals who will keep you entertained while you are walking your way to the next destination. We help you discover the city around you in a more impressive way.
Download the Walk App & Use Offline. No Mobile Data Required.
It is always frustrating when you wish to travel somewhere but your mobile phone service is out-of-order. Don’t worry! Tourist Walks comes with an offline version of built-in maps you might need, even without internet access.
Beauty and history on this Abbey Gardens & Exhibition Square Tour
- Tour Name - Abby Gardens & Exhibition Square
- Tour Location - York
- No. of Attractions - #17
- Tour Starting Point - Exhibition Square
- Tour Ending Point - Kings Manor
Immerse Yourself in History on this Abbey Gardens & Exhibition Square Walking Tour
Exhibition Square
“Exhibition Square”, a space created in 1879 by, amongst other things, removing part of the medieval town wall. It was created to hold the Industrial and Fine Arts Exhibition which ran from May to December 1879 and attracted over half a million visitors. Things to see here include the William Etty statue and St Margarets Arch. Find out more on our tour.
St Marys Tower
The scene today is a quiet and peaceful one. However in 1644 York was under siege from the Earl of Manchesters Parliamentarian army with the Royalists firmly encamped inside Yorks Walls. On the 16th June suddenly there was a loud explosion, St Marys tower had been mined and explosives placed underneath it. Much of St Marys tower was destroyed along with part of the walls falling outwards on those trying to get in. Around 600 men with ladders and weapons burst into the breach. They rushed through the orchard garden and bowling green. But thats as far as they got. There was a ferocious counter attack from the Royalist garrison with fierce fighting on the green and murderous musket fire from Royalists on the walls. Find out more on our tour.
The Edible Woods Garden
The Edible Woods Garden was planted in July 2015. The design of the Edible Wood is based on the principles of forest gardening. The idea is to explore our relationship with food, and the future of agrarian farming. It features plants that have an edible element, and plants that are both attractive and useful, which are sought after qualities as gardens become smaller ,and people search for plants that can serve a variety of purposes.
The Geological Map
The pebble mosaic set into the floor depicts the Yorkshire section of William Smiths famous Geological map of 1815. Smith’s original map was an incredible achievement. It was the first ever geological map of a whole country, and was surveyed by Smith alone, travelling on foot and horseback. The pebbles in the mosaic reflect the colours Smith used in his map.
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St Marys Abbey
These remains are all that is left of St Mary’s Abbey, once one of the finest and wealthiest Benedictine Monasterys in the country. We have pictured how it once looked for you. You are standing in the central point of the cross shaped building. The long base of the cross extending to where the broken archway is on the other end of the wall. The abbey church was 350 meters long and the complex included the library, a cloister, which is a covered walkway around a garden, the chapter house for carrying out the business of the monastery, and the scriptorium where bibles were produced by hand. Beyond those buildings were the kitchens, the novices building and the infirmary. Find out more on our tour.
St Marys Lodge
The Lodge was built in the 15th Century to add to the buildings that formed the gatehouse entrance to the abbey. It may have been used as a guesthouse or the place where alms were given to the poor. Later it became a court house, and then in the 18th Century, it was part of a pub. It is now the headquarters of the York Museums Trust.
St Olaves Church
Saint Olaves church has been here on this spot since before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Saint Olave was the patron saint of Norway and before he converted, he was famous for attacking London by boat and destroying London Bridge. Olave or Olaf as he was perhaps better known, converted to christianity, and was responsible for establishing the christian church in Norway as well as this church in York. After the Norman conquest it became the church of the Benedictine order of monks in York. Find out more on our tour
Museum Garden
This area was also part of the Abbey grounds and it once contained many buildings that supported the workings of the abbey. The botanic gardens cover an area of around 10 acres and are famous for their shrub, trees, perennials and bulbs and they are also home to many animals such as foxes, squirrels and hedgehogs, not to mention many species of birds, butterflies, moths and insects.
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Hospitium
This was the Abbey “Hospitium”, built in the 14th Century. You may think from the name that it was the abbey hospital. In fact its name is more closely linked to the word hospitality and it was the guest house for visitors of low social rank. It was part of a group of buildings that included a brew house, a mill and a stables. The oldest parts of the ground floor were built around 1300 and today it’s a popular award-winning venue for wedding receptions. Find out more on our tour.
The Observatory
This octagonal building, dating from 1832, is Yorkshires oldest Observatory and is also home to the Museums astronomy collection. It details York’s contribution to the development of the discipline of astronomy, the magnitude of which may surprise you. It also has a clock which tells the time based on the position of the stars. At one time it was THE clock by which all clocks in York were set. It is still always 4 minutes and 20 seconds behind GMT. Unless you were a member of the Yorkshire Philosophical society it would cost you sixpence to check your clock against it. Find out more on our tour.
Yorkshire Museum
The museum was built in a Greek Revival style and opened in 1830. It was actually one of the first purpose-built museums in Britain. If you like museums this one has three collections that are designated “pre-eminent collections of national and international importance”. There are also often special exhibitions which may also be of interest and they are usually advertised around these grounds. There is an entry charge however.
Roman Tower
This tower is called the Roman multi angular tower. The bottom half of this tower is Roman with the smaller stones and the brick stripes and the top half is medieval. It was a corner tower of the roman and medieval City of York. Find out more on our tour.
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St Leonards Undercroft
This is the remains of the undercroft and chapel of the medieval Saint Leonards hospital. This hospital was built in the 13th Century. It was the largest hospital in England during the middle ages and stretched from here to where the Royal Theatre now stands just near Bootham Bar. It had over 220 beds and was run by a team of Augustinian monks and women.
Cup and Ring Stone
Called “cup and ring” the origin of the stone is unknown, but cup and ring marks are a form of prehistoric rock art, and possibly a form of writing marking astronomical events. Other examples have been found in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Northumberland. This one is thought to be the oldest example in the country.
The Anglian Tower
This tower is called the Anglian tower because it’s thought to have been built between the 7th and 9th centuries, which was when the Anglo Saxons came to York. Although some think it was actually built late in the 5th Century by the Romans.
Kings Manor
When the Abbey was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII the AbbotsHouse was taken over, rebuilt and extended to house The Great Council Of The North. Originally set up in the 15th Century by Edward IV the Council was meant to represent Royal Justice in the North of England. During the English Civil War, at the end of the 17th century, this was the Royalist Headquarters of King Charles I and the main coat of arms you see over the front door are his. Find out more on our tour.
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Other Recommended Walks in the City
London Pub Walks Video Gallery
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. After the walks have been downloaded, for which you need an internet connection, no mobile data is required to do the walks.
No you can pause and resume at any point within the walk. Whether you need a coffee or a comfort break the walks are entirely flexible.
Yes you will receive both verbal guidance and a GPS enabled map to take you around each of the points of interest on the walks.
No the walks are circular so you will receive multiple options of where to start each walk.
Yes there are providing you buy them as a bundle, not one at a time. You can even buy all the walks in one package at a very generous price.
For each point of interest you will get information both verbally and in text and sometimes video form together with helpful images to get the most from each one.
You can pay by all manner of credit and debit cards as well as Paypal.
In the walk summary we point out if the walk is suitable for wheelchairs and pets, and there is also an indication of the distance of the walk, and how long it will take.
Yes we would love to hear from you through our website: www.touristwalks.co.uk
Happy Tourists
I absolutely enjoyed using the Tourist Walk app! The guided walking tours are very informative and interesting. I was able to find the tour I wanted quickly and easily, and the app was very easy to navigate. The walking tour itself was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about the city. Overall, I would highly recommend this.
Carla Mathew
Tourist Walk is an excellent walking guide app. It is extremely user-friendly and provides great information on the various tours available. I would highly recommend this app to anyone visiting a new city!
Shaun Miles
Tourist Walk is an amazing app that provides guided tours of various cities. The app is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. I was able to find the tour I was looking for quickly and easily. The tour itself was very informative and interesting. I would highly recommend this app to anyone visiting a new city!
