York Walls Private Walking Tour

Really knowledgable about York’s history and his passion for the subject made it a really enjoyable walking tour

John met us right on time at our hotel and gave us a private tour of a lifetime! He tells the real historical stories of York dating back to 100 AD. John brings history to life with his colorful story telling and enthusiastic delivery of the subject matter. Just let John know your interests and he will customize the tour just for you. We liked the tour so much we were sad when our time ended so we booked another one. We would highly recommend any of John’s tours. You’ll be glad you did!

This is a very interesting and informative tour hearing about the Viking and the Roman history of York.

John was an excellent tour and full of knowledge and enthusiasm. Has a passion for the history. He showed us parts of York that we would never have found or known about. So glad we found him.

An amazing walk around York! John was very friendly and provided a detailed history of York’s rich history. Guaranteed to see things you would probably miss on your own. Most highly recommend

Would highly recommend, we did the ghost tour. John is outstanding with his knowledge and love of history. Had he been a teacher I would have passed my GCSE history with flying colours! Engaging and passionate, this was without a doubt the highlight of our 3 day stay in York. A thoroughly educational and enlightening 1.5 hours of walking around the city listening to ghost stories and seeing the sites.

🪄🥾 Walked the ancient York City Walls or "Bar Walls" for a journey through 2,000 years of history in 2 miles. Roman Walls is the longest medieval town walls in England, originally a defensive structure dating back to 71 AD, now offering a 2 mile elevated Walking Trail around the city. It’s a popular attraction, free to visit but worth checking opening hours before you go. Dogs aren’t allowed on the walls (except assistance dogs), so plan accordingly.

I’ve been on so many tours, and John’s tour of York was the all-time best. One guide for us two private tourists. Very accommodating to our preference as pick up location and tour contents. Personable and good sense of humor. Extremely knowledgable.

John’s tour was fantastic, as always! This was our fourth tour with him (the first City Walls tour, we usually do his ghost tour) and it did not disappoint. John is extremely knowledgeable, fun and funny. We and our friends we’ve introduced to John highly recommend!

This tour was a great experience and possibly the best money spent on my trip. John is so knowledgeable about the history of York and a wonderful communicator. I saw sites and heard stories that I would never have encountered on my own.

My wife and I have enjoyed numerous tours - both public and private - all over the world. Thanks to good luck (and my wife's excellent research), most of these tours were very good, many were excellent. We have both agreed that the private walking tour of the York Walls that we took a few weeks ago was simply the best tour that we have ever taken. The subject matter - the history of York (as seen in the York Walls excavation) thru the Roman times, Dark Ages, Norman and Medieval times was fascinating - - but the real star of the show was our guide John. John's passion for the subject, gift of bringing the story of history to life, insights into the human condition (past and present) and exceptional sense of humor, made for an unforgettable few hours. If you have only one tour to choose in York - or anywhere else for that matter - take this one! We are now forever spoiled - many thanks John!

John was great wealth of knowledge about England’s and York’s history. Very enthusiastic. Great time.

Wanted to experience walking on parts of the walls that surround the city centre of York. These walls are high, around 4 metres in height, and less than 2 metres across, and mainly do not have hand rails or anything to prevent you falling off onto the deep sloping grassy banks, so you really have to be careful up there! There were a fair few people walking on the walls when I was there in late July, and passing by each other at that height takes some careful footing! There are gaps in the walls at various intervals, where you can get off via the stairs if you want to. Not an activity for kids, - too risky! Would not even attempt this on a rainy or frosty day either!

John, our guide, was terrific. He was personable and very knowledgeable. It felt like we were having a conversation rather than being lectured to - interactive and fun!

Our family of five with three teens thoroughly enjoyed this tour! Was even better than expected. Was seeking an understanding of the walls and adjacent structures and their history and got that and more. John our tour guide really knows a lot of facts and better yet how to bring history to life, explaining how history is actually written and what life was like for the locals during their eras throughout time in York. John is what you wish all your high school history teachers would have been like, bringing stories alive with a Steve Irwin or Bear Grylls-like passion! We all agreed he was the best of all our similar tour guides of our trip through the UK. Super easy and responsive communication when scheduling. Highly recommend!

Our guide John was amazing, very very knowledgable of York and British history and he made the whole experience very enjoyable and interesting, highly recommended!!

We walked most of the existing walls around York. Beautiful views!!! There are a lot of steps and no provisions for handicapped.Well worth the time!

What a fun and informative walking tour. Unlike any we have experienced. Our guide, John, was funny and so filled with unique facts. His deep understanding of York history made our stay here far more enjoyable. Highly recommend!!!

John is a wonderful guide. Lots of great info and very friendly. Highly recommend John and this tour.

It was a fine sunny day, not too hot snd the walk around the city walls was so pleasant and relaxing. It's not at all strenuous and you get to see York for a different and interesting aspect.

The first thing time visiting here since moving to the area. Lots of sights to see and a good day out my family really enjoyed the trip

John was a great guide. He was very funny and animated while also clearly have a mastery of his area of scholarship and practice. He had some interesting insights and thoughts about debunking some commonly held beliefs and oft repeated stories about UK history and culture (but not in any way outlandish or offensive). He took us (not far) off the beaten path, as well as to all the things we were expecting to see. We felt entertained and educated.

I had booked this tour, but wasn't given a meeting time. Emailed and called the operator and heard nothing, so at 8:00pm the night before our tour, I booked an alternative tour. At 9:45am morning of our tour, I got a reply to my email that we were meeting at 10:00am. Met our tour guide not long after and told him about the lack of communication, and he blamed Viator. Regardless, we started off on our tour, but he then told us that he had another tour booked in at 11:00am so we would have people joining us. So much for a "private tour". Turns out they had booked a viking tour, which we are not remotely interested in, so once they joined us, the tour turned into a viking tour! Definitely not what we booked! The tour description on Viator says it can be personalised for what you are interested in, and that we could be met at our hotel. No offer to meet at hotel, nor any question of what we were interested in at the start. It also shows approximately 12 places that we would attend on the tour. We went to about three of those. The tour guide spent most of the time talking about the history of the walls, which yes was interesting but went on for far too long, however as the tour description says, the tour was included to a walk on the walls. Didn't happen. I ended up telling the guide that we were going to join the other tour I had booked (which was too late, as it had left an hour before). Total waste of money. We spent $235 on this tour, which I consider a total waste. After leaving the tour, we went on the hop on hop off bus, and learnt far more and saw way more than we did on the tour. I suggest you avoid!

An excellent tour with lots of history. John was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his many stories. Great learning experience for us yanks!

Often walk round the walls stopping off a various pubs on the way. Lots of sights of york you don't usually see from the street.

Lovely looking over the sights of york when you look over the castle walls. It is worth doing when you visit york. It is great for people who love walking long distances.

Such a wonderful way to learn about the city, and without the crowds of tourists. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and modified the tour to our interests. Highly recommend!

John was an outstanding tour guide. Extremely engaging and informative. Our 3 generation family of six all loved the experience. Would highly recommend. The time passed by too quickly!

John, our guide, was wonderful! He is incredibly knowledgeable about both the history and the area. We had limited time in York but felt like we spent days there, after the tour. John lives and knows the city very well and was proud to share with us on this private tour, answering all our questions. Take this tour! John is very flexible if you communicate your time preference.

Fantastic tour. John was phenomenal! His ability to share so much historical knowledge in a funny, down to earth manner was exceptional. I could've listened to him for another 2 hours.

John was a wealth of historical information on the area and it was fascinating! I love how he took us right into the stories by imagining conversations or putting us in as characters to help the kids follow. Both our boys (12 & 14) enjoyed the tour as well. This is a MUST do while you’re in York!

Bought the app for £1.99 and this made it so much more interesting and easy to work out which part of the wall we were working on. We covered the entire wall circuit but split it into two separate attempts which made it less of a trek. Great views and an interesting event

On previous visits to York we have walked the city walls, enjoying the views it has to offer, without really knowing the history of the walls. We. decided to take the York City Walls tour. We turned up, on the day, without booking, for the 10.30 a.m. walking tour. We received a friendly greeting on arrival and waited for our tour guide, Tom, who was excellent. There is a small gift shop, with some nice souvenirs, and books on the history of York. Tom's expertise was archaeology and the history of York and we learned how important the city walls have been, and still are today, to the citizens of York. We were lucky to be the only two on the tour and learned so much of the history of the city walls, right up to modern times. The tour takes 60 minutes, during which we learned so much. Fascinating and fun. Value for Money, excellent, at £8.50 for us both!

It was a great pleasure to take this walking tour. John was a punctual person. He met me at the station with great welcoming. He so informative and know a lot about history especially the history of York. I really enjoyed every minute of it and couldn't track the time. I recommend this trip to anyone who visits the city. Thank you John and I am happy that I know a friend who is passionate about history. Osa

I booked the York Walls private tour weeks in advance. The tour guide did not show for the tour. Numerous attempts were made to call and email the week of the tour with no response from the tour guide. Viator’s response when I called was for them to also call and send another email. When they could not reach the tour guide, I was told to go at the time I included in my email then cancel if the tour guide does not show up. The refund process was cumbersome with the refund taking up to seven days.

Excellent tour. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. Our guide provided a comprehensive overview not only of York and its history but also of the history of Northern England and the Viking invaders. Very informative and entertaining.

We had a great day. It was a step back in history. Stunning views as we circled the old city. Really enjoyed exploring York. Well recommend

We had a great morning with John. He has tremendous knowledge and was great in passing it on. We learnt a lot about York and it’s amazing history. Would highly recommend.

Provides a different view of the city, especially around the Minster. Not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.

Lovely experience ,beautiful and scenic views and fun people. I highly recommend this experience best

Our guide was great. He took us back in time to early york, viking york, dark ages york etc. Explained and showed us all the roman beginnings of the walls, the various stages of wall and city progress. He was truly entertaining and educational. Dont miss this

This was back in May 2021. I had an incredible tour and learnt so much along the way. I would highly recommend and encourage booking this tour as you will not be disappointed! Sorry it took me two years to type this up! and leave well deserved feedback

York Walls Private Walking Tour is an EXCELLENT company. They gave us an experience to remember and cherish. John was our guide and extensively knowledgeable of York’s history. He was amazing. Viator failed us miserably. Will never use them again. They took my £££ but never confirmed the tour with York Walls & we were left standing in front on the Minster with no guide. The phone number for Viator was useless. Eventually my husband, at home, got through to someone & they contacted John who called me & promised a 10 minute wait. He arrived & gave us an excellent tour but said that Viator had let them down several times before by not confirming bookings.

John's enthusiasm & passion for his town was infectious. From Romans to Vikings to King Henry VIII, we were given a very entertaining overview of York's colourful history.

My husband and I spent the day in the city so spent just over an hour walking around various sections of the walls. There are lots of informative boards along the way explaining the history behind various structures which my husband and I really enjoyed. Have to say the views are something which made the experience even more enjoyable on such a clear day as we had we could take in some lovely views of the cathedral.

Excellent personal tour tailored around my interests of the Medieval period and the British Civil War. This tour was delivered with great expertise, knowledge and a real passion for the history of York. A number of areas discussed were supplemented with 3D imagery to really bring the talk to life. One of the best tours I have been on and I cannot recommend it enough.

John was charismatic, engaging, informative and friendly. We loved discovering the hidden gems in York!

Great tour guide, John…. Excellent knowledge and a pleasure to listen to and a fully enjoyable experience. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this tour5* all the way.

I am very particular about my tour guides, but John surpassed my high expectations!! He may be the best tour guide I have had in my many travels. I know my history and I know when I am being given bull! He was accurate, informative, and enjoyable. We had wonderful discussions and my husband had to put an end to the tour, I could have gone on for hours. I keep thinking if things I should have asked.