York 50+ Festival: The Uncomfortable York™ Tour

Join us on a unique walking tour of York, highlighting the untold histories and diverse stories rarely discussed on traditional heritage tours!

On the Uncomfortable York™ tour, you will go beyond the conventional stories of the city, hearing about the impact of women, people of colour, and LGBTQIA+ individuals from York's past. This tour invites attendees to see beyond the stone facades and uncover the lesser known narratives, while learning about the long history of the medieval city. Walking through the beautiful city centre, you will discuss its early settlement, medieval expansion and deep industrial heritage.

This tour was written and researched by academic historians from the University of Oxford and is delivered by trained student guides from York. It asks questions that provoke new ways of seeing the city landscape and its history, encouraging attendees to see York as more than a small English city, and instead as a vibrant international urban centre.

The development of this tour was kindly supported by the University of York Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP).

Accessibility Note:

The tour features several stops around the centre of York over the course of 1.5 hours. The tour doesn't contain stairs or curbs, but please note sometimes uneven pavement in the city centre and crowding on busy days.