Edinburgh Castle had many roles in the past from royal palace to prison to parliament to barracks. It’s still in use by the armed forces but its most famous as the home of Scotland’s crown jewels and the fabled Stone of Destiny, its ancient coronation throne. Other highlights include the chapel, palace, prison vaults and the One O’Clock Gun, fired...

The first gate in York’s walls was located here in Roman times, when it was known as the porta principalis dextra and led to the fort where the Minster now stands. The present bar is around a thousand years old or later, however. The gate still has a portcullis (the gate is kept fixed up, so go inside to see...

The keep of the former York Castle, which was originally surrounded by water by the river and a moat. This present building dates from the 13th century though the first castle was built two hundred years earlier. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, William the Conquerer began a campaign to dominate the north of the country. Having cleared...

Postern Gate marks the start of the section of the walls leading to the Red Tower. (When it was built, the River Foss came up to the side of it, meaning that no walls were needed on the other side.) The city walls originally had several postern gates, where people on foot could gain access to the city. Originally there...

This is the tallest, and most elaborate, of York’s bars, with four floors, and was built in the 1300s in such a way that each floor could be defended separately. It replaced an original Roman gate further along the walls. The coat of arms on the outside is of the Plantagent royal house. Look for the small statues on the...

In Roman York this street was called via praetoria. Stonegate led from the army’s headquarters (on the site of the Minster) down to the ships on the River Ouse. In medieval times the street was used to transport the stones up from the barges for the building of the Minster. With its medieval buildings, the street now has small shops, cafés and pubs...

Midway between London and Edinburgh, where north-south and east-west lines cross, York is an important railway city. This goes back to the very earliest days of this mode of transport. York’s very first station was a temporary wooden built affair in 1839. A stone-built station was erected in 1841 just inside the city walls, built as part of the “Railway Madness”...

(This is Section 2 of the York Minster Itinerary) Stand between the North and South Transepts, in front of the Choir screen. Ceiling The tower is about 70 metres above you, about the height of a 23 storey building. It’s claimed the tower weighs the equivalent of 40 jumbo jets. Unsurprisingly, its construction was not without problems, and in 1407 it...

(This is Section 4 of the York Minster Itinerary.) From the North Transept walk along the passage or vestibule in the right-hand corner to enter the Chapter House. A chapter house is a room built to hold meetings in. This spectacular chapter house (1260-1286) is a hidden gem in a corner of the Minster. It’s octagonal and about 20 metres...

(This is Section 5 of the York Minster Itinerary.) The eastern part of the minster, beyond the screen, was completed in 1472. It was the last part to be built. The choir is in the Perpendicular style, a later gothic style. (It has stronger vertical lines than the more flamboyant decorated gothic, sometimes seen as a reaction to the Black Death...

A walk round the building in an anti-clockwise direction, starting at the oak West Doors. The building is in the Gothic style of architecture. Built over more than two centuries the style varies from Early English Gothic (13th century, lighter, pointed arches, narrow windows) to Perpendicular (14th-16th century, larger windows, tracery, timber roofing). The carvings around the large West Door tell...

The church is basically cross-shaped. Visitors normally enter at the south door, on the Stonegate side of the building.  The main door is the west door, however. Assuming that you are now inside and standing at the west door facing the altar … • The main part of the building in front of you is the Nave. Processions from the...

(This is Section 1 of the York Minster Itinerary.) Work began on the nave in 1291 (around 70 years after the start of the building) and is in Decorated Gothic style (vaulted roofs, pointed arches, large windows and spires). The nave is the area where large congregations sit, and where processions from the West Door lead towards the altar at...

The hike up to the roof of the Minster is well worthwhile if you’re fit and the weather is suitable. Once you are up the 275 steps you’ll be rewarded with the best views down to the street and over the city and on a clear day to the hills beyond. The hills to the north west are the Howardian...

(This is Section 3 of the York Minster Itinerary.) The transepts are the oldest parts of the cathedral. The north transept was finished in around 1260. The south transept took 250 years to complete. The tomb of Archbishop de Grey, who commissioned the start of it is in the south transept. (The silver buried with him was removed during restoration...

(The undercroft is the Section 6 (the final section) of the York Minster Itinerary. It contains audiovisual displays about the minster and its history. It will round off your visit, though you might wish to begin your visit here instead to get the bigger picture. It’s your choice!) Entrance to the Undercroft is via the vault in the south choir aisle, near the...