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City Walls Walks – Chester & York

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Couple enjoying the Chester City Walls walk

No visit to the historic cities of Chester or York is complete without a walk around their magnificent medieval city walls. Here’s our quick overview of each walk and guide on how to access the walls.

 

Chester City Walls Walk

Enjoy a complete 2 mile long circuit of Chester’s historic defensive city walls with wonderful views both across and down into the city. From the walls, you’ll be able to admire Chester’s spectacular range of Gothic, Tudor, Georgian, neoclassical and nineteenth century mock Tudor architecture and historic landmarks.

If you simply walk the walls, then you can easily complete the circuit within 40 minutes to an hour. However, as the wall passes most of the city’s historic spots, we would suggest using the walls as a great way to get around. You’ll be able to drop down from the walls to discover the cathedral, castle, Roman amphitheatre and the Eastgate clock. You’ll also be able to find lots of great places to eat and drink nearby or even within the walls themselves.

For more information about things to do, where to eat and drink or places to stay please visit our dedicated Chester page here.

 

Accessing Chester’s walls…
  • You can access the walls via the four main gateways: Bridgegate, Watergate, Eastgate (where you’ll find the beautiful Eastgate Clock) and Northgate
  • Chester city walls are open all year round with no opening/closing times
  • Dogs are welcome
  • While not completely accessible for wheelchair users or pushchairs there are large sections where there is access via level entry spots. See which parts of the walls are accessible by downloading the ‘Wheelchair Access Complete Wall Circuit’ map

 

York City Walls Walk

Couple enjoying the views from York City walls

 

Head up onto York’s historic walls where you’ll be treated to spectacular views across the city you just can’t experience from the streets. You can walk the 2.6 miles of walls in about an hour or so, but we’d recommend taking your time to soak in the views and sights along the way. And don’t forget to stop to admire the towering Gatehouses.

The walls are also a great way to move around the city throughout your trip. You can easily detour down from the walls to immerse yourself in centuries of history by visiting York Minister, the narrow streets of the Shambles and Clifford’s Tower. Plus, you are only a short walk from many unique experiences, like Jorvik Viking Centre, York’s Chocolate Story, Castle Museum and National railway museum.

For more information about things to do, where to eat and drink or places to stay please visit our dedicated York page here.

 

Accessing York’s walls…
  • We’d recommend starting from Bootham Bar (gatehouse) and going clockwise. Route available by clicking here
  • Opening times. You can usually access the walks from 8.00 am until they close at dusk (closing times for each month can be found via the York City Council’s website – click here)
  • Unfortunately, the city walls are not accessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs due to the narrow walkways and steps leading up the walls
  • Dogs are not allowed on the walls, except for guide/assistance dogs

 

So, now you will hopefully have a grasp of how to access and enjoy these magnificent historic walls. Don’t forget you can find more ideas on how to make the best use of your time in our historic cities by checking out our various ‘inspire‘ blog posts here.