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FREE TOUR of YORK MINSTER
The Minster is the biggest jewel in the crown of York, and it is a place every Tourist should visit. The splendour of the windows seen from the inside at the four points of the compass is incredible. The chapels tombs and palaces all have something interesting to offer not to mention the museum in the undercroft. We take you around all the chapels, the nave and the Chapter House where the business of the Cathedral is done to give you a complete tour of this architectural masterpiece. All FREE, just download the app to access
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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.
We explore all you see below and more on our FREE York Minster Tour
- Tour Name - York Minster Tour
- Tour Location - York
- No. of Attractions - #10
- Tour Starting Point - The Nave
- Tour Ending Point - The South Transept
See the amazing Chapter House and the great windows of the Minster
York Minster
Construction of this building began in 1220 and finished in 1472. Imagine all the generations that saw it being built but not completed. Most , if not all Cathedrals are shaped like crosses. The earliest parts of the Cathedral you can see are the transepts which are the short bits of the cross that stick out to the sides and date from the early 13th Century. This building is both a Minster and a Cathedral. In fact they are two different things but this building serves both purposes. In Anglo Saxon times the word “mynster” , with a Y, was the name of a missionary centre that was served by clergy who used to travel around making converts and teaching. However this Minster is also a Cathedral as it is the seat of a Bishop or in this case an Archbishop who has a throne or a “Cathedra” in the building. Fin out more on our tour.
The Nave
The Nave is the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. This Nave is one of the longest of any cathedral in England and the widest Gothic nave in England. It is used for Sunday Mornings and special services with large congregations. In the nave is the great West Window., with its distinctive heart shaped centre. This is meant to be the heart of Jesus but it known locally here as the heart of Yorkshire. Legend has it that if you kiss under the heart then you will stay together forever. In 1330 the window cost £67. Find out more on our tour.
The North Transept
The star of the north transept has to be the Five Sisters Window, which we have pictured for you to make sure you are looking at the right one. This window dates from the 13th Century, and is made up of over 100,000 pieces of glass, set in geometric shapes, which may have had an Islamic influence as this was the time of the crusades. The glass may seem a bit dull. This something called “grisaille glass”. Find out more on our tour.
The Chapter House
This Chapter House was built in the 13th Century and is a marvel of medieval engineering, with the entire span of the roof supported without the use of a central pillar or any buttresses. Which means you can look up, or as some do lie down and look up, and see the full expanse of the beautiful medieval ceiling that has been here for over 700 years. The Chapter House is the Board Room of the Minster and its where the Dean and the Canons meet to discuss the daily business of running the minster. Find out more on our tour.
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North Aisle
In the North Aisle the first tomb you come to is the only tomb in the minster of a Royal person. This is Prince William, born in 1336, son of Edward III and younger brother of the Black Prince. One of 12 children he did not survive childhood. His effigy is of a young man but, in reality, he was only a few months old. It was probably done to make him seem more the noble knight than the baby he was. There are also more interesting tombs to discover. Find out more on our tour.
The Lady Chapel
Traditionally the largest chapel in a cathedral is dedicated to “Our Lady“, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapel is in almost daily use. With its ornate stonework and the Great South Window dominating the scene. Find out more on our tour.
The Choir
The Quire when it was built in the 14th and 15th Centuries was for Minster Clergy only, and was a church within a church, with the rest of the medieval congregation holding services in the Nave and Transepts. What you see is not the original medieval Quire but a Victorian re-creation. The original was destroyed by arson in 1829 by Jonathan Martin, who later judged to be insane and sent to an asylum. As is quite common in cathedrals the Choir is enclosed by screens. It is the traditional place where services are sung, hence the name, and its also the location of the Cathedra or seat of the Bishop, we have pictured it for you so you can locate it. Above all the stalls are plaques which were originally created to protect the wood from the hair oil of the Canons. The designs on those plaques are the symbols of the Saints associated with the churches that fall under the Minsters control.
The South Aisle
The star of the South Aisle has to be the St Cuthbert Window which tells the story of St Cuthbert, one of the most important of the English saints. His tomb lies in Durham Cathedral, where it can be visited. The window is thought to be 15th Century and is currently being refurbished, a process that will continue until 2024. He was an anglo-saxon monk who lived in the 7th Century and was the Bishop of Lindisfarne. He was renowned for his good works and miracles. Find out more on our tour.
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The Crossing
The two main features of the crossing are the central tower and the Choir Screen. The Choir Screen dates from the 15th Century and its role was to keep the Quire separate for the Minster community only. The figures that cover it represent the Kings of England from William I to Henry VI. The tower is the highest point in the Minster and in York. The original one fell down in 1407 and the new one is shorter than the original because of fears it may fall down again. Its still 60 meters high though, and it weighs a massive 16000 tons. It nearly collapsed in the 1960’s and had to be underpinned with massive concrete blocks, some of which you can see in the Undercroft. Find out more on our tour.
South Transept
The South transept is home to the the famous Rose Window. The South Transept is the oldest part of the Minster, and is due to the vision of Archbishop Walter De Grey, whose tomb is in the South Transept. Find out more on our tour
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SELF GUIDED WALKS
Do you wish to explore all the beautiful tourist spots? Download our application and discover the hidden beauty and mystery of your destination. Explore today!
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!
