York Day Trip with Kids
In October we experienced our first half-term break in the UK, and decided to spend our week off from school visiting Edinburgh, Scotland with a bonus stop in York, England.
I’ll be honest: a big part of this trip was driven by our (Josh’s and my) love of Harry Potter. Have we introduced the kids to Harry Potter? Not yet. Did we still plan Harry Potter related activities and sightseeing? One hundred percent.
To maximize our time, we decided to leave Lincoln directly from picking up the kids from school on Friday afternoon and drove up to York (about 1 hour 45 minute drive). We planned to then take the train on the following day from York up to Edinburgh.
By the time we reached York on Friday evening, the kids were worn out from their week at school (and it was pouring) so we decided to stay in for dinner at the hotel. We stayed at the Hilton York just for the night, which had a great view of Clifford’s Tower right across the street.
The next morning, we awoke to grey skies and more rain. I was loving the moodiness of the weather for the time of year. Since we had a train to catch later that afternoon, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before checking out, stored our luggage with the front desk, and then ventured out into York.
First stop: The Shambles.
Since it was close to Halloween, I was really looking forward to the vibes here. This medieval street of shops is rumored to have been part of the inspiration for Diagon Alley, or possibly Knockturn Alley.
On a different fandom note, I’ve been reading through the Throne of Glass series recently, and there were definitely moments I felt like Celaena walking through Rifthold. Or Vin running through Luthadel, for you Brandon Sanderson fans. Really, take your pick of fictional fantasy city, and wear a black hood walking through the Shambles on a rainy October day, then let your imagination carry you away.
But I digress. Back to the Harry Potter connection.
There are a number of wizarding world inspired businesses around the Shambles, including a kid-friendly potions class experience at The Potions Academy. I booked this in advance for our morning in York. It looked fun, inexpensive, and I also wanted to compare it to a different potions class experience I had planned for us in Edinburgh.
The Potions Academy
The first trick was to find it.
There’s a Potions Cauldron storefront in the Shambles. But the actual entrance for the Potions Academy experience is around the corner, in the Little Shambles, near the market. Make sure you arrive early to give yourself plenty of time to find the right entrance for the experience. It felt a bit like looking for a wizarding speakeasy.
The overall experience took 30 minutes, and is essentially an interactive performance led by your wizard potions master. I don’t want to give away all of the magical secrets, but at the end you receive a potion (bottle of themed soda) and a token for completing the course.
For £6.49 per person, I felt like it was appropriately priced. Josh and I were entertained; the kids were a little taken aback at first, mainly because they’re not familiar with Harry Potter yet. But they were into it by the end, especially once they got to mix the “potions” together. We’re not big soda drinkers, so I was slightly disappointed that was the only potion option, but the designs on the bottles are great and I intend to recycle them for Halloween decor!
After our potions experience, we were in need of a different type of brew—so we headed over to Vi Coffee, which had the most beautiful modern, Scandinavian-style space with excellent craft coffee and pastries.
Latte from Vi Coffee
From Vi Coffee, we were just around the corner from the Monk Gate entrance to the city walls, which you can climb and walk for free. We just walked a portion of it, but had some great views. Note: the wall walk is a bit narrow in places, so if it’s crowded, prepare to wait in spots so everyone can pass each other.
We followed the walls until we reached Bootham Bar, where we exited to pop in to York Cathedral.
York Minster
Visiting cathedrals can be a lot to take in… without children in tow. But with kids, we just know going into it that we’re not getting the most in-depth experience—and we’re okay with that. To us, simply exposing the kids to these historical sites is worthwhile, even if we’re not stopping to read every single sign. Josh and I take turns monitoring the kids if one of us comes across a particularly interesting display, but otherwise, we’re usually on the move. The kids usually breeze through, hunting for any kid-friendly activities like puzzles or dress-up areas, which are always a bonus if we can find them.
At York Cathedral, I really enjoyed walking through the underground catacombs, which had some interesting early church history and artifacts. And the kids did find an interactive puzzle display for building a Gothic arch… so, you know, educational.
By the time we wrapped up at the cathedral, it was time to start making our way toward the train station, so we walked back to the hotel to collect our car and luggage. We wished our car luck in the long-term parking lot at York Station, grabbed a quick bite from Starbucks, then boarded our train for Edinburgh.
Stay tuned for part two, all about our week in Edinburgh!
Here’s the quick breakdown of our day:
The Shambles
Potions Academy Experience
Vi Coffee
Walked the city walls
York Minster Cathedral
What I would love to see on a future visit:
The York Ghost Merchants
More time exploring the Shambles
Clifford Tower
Have you been to York? Tell me your recommendations for our next visit!
Side note: School terms are structured a little differently in the UK. In the US, we’re used to a two-semester system (fall and spring) with a three-month long summer break, a two-week winter break, a one-week spring break, and occasional three-day weekends scattered throughout the year.
In the UK, our experience has been a three-term system (Michaelmas, Lent, and Trinity) with a two-month long summer break, one-to-two week breaks in the middle of term (aka half-term), plus about two weeks off in between terms, but no long weekends except for the May Bank Holiday.