Nerds on Tour: Mini weekend trip to York

A little write up of our weekend trip to York – I had a bad back but we made the best of it given the circumstances! I didn’t manage to take all the Halloween photos I wanted, but we still had a lovely time!

Food and Drink

If you’re looking for Thai food in York, make sure to visit Khao San Road. My boyfriend professed that it was the best chicken satay that he’d ever had. The red curry was also exceptional and it was a lovely quiet place off the beaten track.

If you do want something on the beaten track, you have to visit Drake’s Fish and Chip bar. I will attest that this is the best haddock I’ve had – the batter was exceptional. It didn’t last long enough for me to take a picture.

Must-visit shops

It’s absolutely obvious that the place to be is The Shambles. It’s an incredibly busy tourist trap… but it’s pretty essential for any trip to York. My tip is try to go in the early evening or early in the morning if you’d like to take pictures of the area. Because of the busy street, we wore masks and we were very happy to see that the shops were enforcing this too.

Here are some essential shops to visit during a quick weekend trip to York:

  • The Potions Cauldron – I visited here 2 years ago and enjoyed it twice as much this time! I spent a little while in there, enjoying the smells of the “poisons and potions” and bought a lovely little “magic meter”, a slushie, butterscotch ale and “Basilisk blood” mocktail. The staff were lovely and friendly and really in character too!
  • Travelling Man The most perfect nerd shop, a small walk from The Shambles. I spent the longest in here – find all your essential Dungeons and Dragons, Manga, Graphic Novels and Board game needs!
    
  • The Shop that must not be Named – Perfect for a Harry Potter fan, but it’s amazing how different I felt now that I have distanced myself from JK Rowling’s works. I loved it when I visited two years ago, back when Harry Potter was a bigger part of my life.

Related post: Straight outta Hogsmeade: The Shambles

Things to do

We had to cancel our ghost walk, unfortunately! I couldn’t walk a few paces, let alone for an hour around York. Definitely something to do next time…

Luckily, the second day we’d planned a river cruise. A nicely cheap experience which consisted of a lovely sunset boat ride down the River Ouse. There was not a great view of the city from the river, however there were some beautiful natural views and the tour guide was really entertaining. Plus it was a super romantic gift for my boyfriend’s birthday.

Place to stay

The place we stayed would have been perfect… if my back hadn’t decided to pack in on the day of the trip. It was situated just 15 mins walk to town, and that walk happens to be through the York museum gardens. The park was so picturesque and tranquil. Had the circumstances been different then it would have been a pleasant wander into town, rather than a painful one!

It was also a lovely little self-contained studio flat with a small kitchenette and a really comfortable bed (much required after a week of walking around!)

Place we stayed: Sycamore Apartments, Sycamore Place, YO30 7DW

Overall, I had a lovely time and want to go back again immediately! Now to support my back for the rest of the week!

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