York's Medieval Milestones

Think of York and what springs to mind? The magnificent York Minster, perhaps? Maybe the Shambles, one of Europe's best preserved Medieval streets.

Listeners to the Best of York audio walking tour will hear about the history of both the Shambles and the Minster and much more.

Last year The Merchant Adventurers' celebrated 650 years since work first began on the construction of the Hall. Built between 1357 and 1361 many experts believe the Hall to be the finest medieval guild hall surviving in Britain.

The Hall has three rooms which fulfilled the business, charitable and religious, functions of a medieval guild. The Great Hall, was the setting for trading and social functions, the Undercroft was the site for a hospital the Merchants ran. And there was a chapel, too.

York was a centre of trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Woolen goods were exported to Scandinavia and German ports. Listeners to the Best of York mp3 guided tour can hear how a man wanting to trade in York needed to become Freeman. The Freemen then formed Guilds, which specialised in making or trading in a particular type of goods.

Hear how gradually York's position as a trading centre was undermined. The city's importance as a port declined when Hull was granted a Royal Charter in 1299.

Today the Guild (or Company) has around 150 members drawn from all walks of life.

To hear an audio sample from the Best of York city walking tour please click here. With a Walk Talk Tour you're in charge. No need to feel too much like a tourist with a guidebook in your hands, or struggle to follow - let alone hear - the conventional tour guide.

The Best of York iPod travel guide costs just £4.50. The professionally produced tour comes complete with a free downloadable map so you won't miss a thing.

Don't have an iPod, MP3 player, BlackBerry or mobile phone with MP3 capability? Don't worry, you can still listen to the Walk Talk Tour of York. You can hire a pre-loaded tour from the two Tourist Information Centres in York for £5.

The Best of York audio walking tour begins in St Helen's Square. Hear about the origins of the Roman fort in York. Walk on to the Assembly Rooms, before proceeding to the King's Manor, which has a ghostly tale to tell. Walk through the Museum Gardens past the ruins of St Leonard’s Hospital (founded circa 1100), which was once the biggest hospital in the north of England, and then cross the river Ouse by Lendal Bridge. To make the most of your podcast guided tour of York, check out our Where & When page, which provides information about the opening times and admission charges along the tour's route.

Hear about the role of the Rowntree Family in York. Cross back over the Ouse via the Ouse Bridge. Hear about the 'pub that floods' and more, before reaching Clifford's Tower. Find out how an infamous highwayman spent his final days and more. Uncover the remains of Viking York at the Jorvik Centre.

Arrive at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall. From the Hall walk along the Shambles. Visit Holy Trinity Church, before scaling the City's Walls at Monk Bar. Finish your tour at the largest Gothic Cathedral North of the Alps, York Minster.