York 3-hour self-guided walking tour and scavenger hunt

• Starting point:  in Tower Gardens, Tower St, York YO1 9SA, United Kingdom
• Distance: 3.2 km / 2.0 mi
• Duration: 3 hours
• Method: walking
• Required: Fully charged smartphone with internet access (data plan) – Wifi will not be enough.
• Suggested:
  • Water bottle
  • Local map

Ancient History

The earliest settlements here date to between 9-10,000 years ago in the Mesolithic.

When the Romans arrived in the 1st century CE, a tribe called the Brigantes occupied this territory. 3 Roman Emperors held court in York: Hadrian (122), Sptimium Severus (207-211), and Constantius I (306)

After the Romans departed, the area was taken over by the Angles (5th century). Then it was Northumbria in the 6th century. The Vikings later raided and captured York in the 9th century. 

The Normans then conquered England including York in the 11th century.

King John granted the city’s first charter in 1212. It began trading throughout England and Europe. Its principal export was grain.

Modern History

The city went through an economic decline in the 16th to 18th centuries. This was the Tudor period. 

Railways established York’s prominence by the late 19th century. North Eastern Railway (5500 employees) made York its headquarters. This, in turn, allowed the expansion of Rowntree’s Cocoa Works, and later, Terry’s of York.

York was also a center of early photography.

The city was bombed during the 2nd world war. Both the rail station and Rowntree’s factory were hit.

From the 1960s onward, tourism given it’s long history became its principal asset. Many museums emerged..