Welcome to our 4-day coddiwomple to York in June 2026. It’s been on my Bucket List for a while and especially since I gifted Tim a Mystery Adventure guide to the city for Christmas in 2025.
It’s a 5 or 6 hour drive up from Kent, so we decided to split the journey on the way up with a visit to the Clipstone Headstocks & Raleigh Museum near Mansfield, where Raleigh bicycles were first produced. However, the highlight for me was a guided tour of the old mining buildings from when the colliery operated between 1922 – 2003. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but our tour guide was so engaging and it was fascinating.
After an overnight stay in Mansfield, we headed up to Mother Shipton’s Cave; arguably England’s oldest tourist attraction. What a treat!
The park is situated in an unspoilt part of the Royal Forest of Knaresborough, on the banks of the River Nidd. Mother Shipton was born in a small cave in 1488, next to the petrifying well. Legend has it that she had the power of divination, predicting inventions and events such as the Great Fire of London. She became England’s most famous prophetess and soothsayer.
Your visit takes you on a mystical walk through the park past the spring that feeds the petrifying well with magical waters and along to the cave. People believed that the waters had healing powers and they used to carry the sick and dying to bathe in the well pool and drink the waters. It is still possible to dip your hand in the waters and make a wish (don’t tell anyone what you wished for though!) Mother Shipton’s cave is next to the well.
We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours here, and although Tim really enjoyed it he was itching to see something more tangible and mechanical again (he’s an engineer, not a mystic!) Therefore it was on to the National Railway Museum, home of iconic locomotives and tells the story of our railways. Again, I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy it (I’m the opposite to Tim; I’m a mystic, not an engineer!), but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s well worth a visit, and it’s free.
Believe it or not, this was only our second day and we hadn’t experienced the Main Event yet!
Our B&B for the next two nights was in Fulford and was within walking distance of the City, along the river.
We followed our guide book, solving clues to reveal the Gunpowder Snitch, taking in all the must-see sites of the city to solve the clues, including the bits that we might’ve easily missed.
The city is dominated by its colossal minster, consecrated in 1472 after 250 years of construction.
My favourite area is The Shambles, a cobbled street of medieval shops dating back to the 14th century. Its timber-framed overhanging buildings once housed butchers. Nowadays it is known for its links to Harry Potter and is a hub for quirky independent retailers (including the Ghost Merchants) and cafes.
The city is very clean and unpretentious, everyone is friendly, the shops are varied and we got a very strong sense of the history of the place. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of my favourite UK cities so far.
After walking for 6 hours non-stop, we were glad of our bed that night before starting the journey home the next day via Ashby-De-La-Zouch in Leicestershire. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore that area very well due to time.
