Daytrip to York with kids
 

We're contemplating a day trip on the train from London to York near the end of our 10 days in England. We've got a 7 year old and a 9 year old. Is this too much to do in a day?

Well, you know your kids and how resilient they are.

But the trip is entirely doable as a day trip. The train takes approx 2 hours from Kings Cross to York. And everything in York is withing walking distance.

The best things for kids would be the National railroad museum, the Jorvik Viking Center and the Castle museum (one of the best museums anywhere. Kids love the hands-on exhibits and the recreated Victorian streets), and a wlk on the medieval city walls.

For Adults - Yorkminster and the Shambles plus lunch or tea at any of a number of great cafes.

it would be a very busy/tiring day - if you could possibly manage an overnight stay it would be better. But if that's not on - then a day trip will at least give you a taste of York.

The Yorvik museum where you get in a little train and travel backwards through time to Viking York is also good for the younger members. You may like it yourselves, as well!

A day trip is doable, but it will be a full day.
Go to wwww.gner.co.uk for the best ticket prices. Go for a Daypex ticket, leave early from Kings Cross and return from York at about 7 30 pm and you will be back in London by 9 30 latest.
Go midweek for fewer tourists.
Any doubts about tickets, give GNER a ring. Don't just turn up at the station in London and buy a ticket or it will be very, very expensive. They can post the tickets to your hotel, or you can collect them at the station with a PIN.

Watch out for the queues at Jorvik Viking centre. We were in York last summer (midweek) and there were an awful lot of people waiting to get in. Perhaps it's possible to buy tickets in advance to avoid this? Because if you only have one day, it would be a shame to waste half of it standing in a queue...

Just returned -- were in York on Fri, Sat, Sun (Castle Howard actually)& Mon, May 23-26. Suggest you go to the Railroad Museum first (it's next to the train station) then as you walk into town center stop by Museum gardens to look at St. Mary's Abbey ruins(gardens are free). You come out near the Minster. Castle Museum & Jorvik are near each other on other side of town-- walk through Shambles area to go there. On Monday morning - Bank Holiday- there were very very long lines to get into Jorvik center; none for Museum. Since Jorvik was low on our priority list, we skipped it but late that afternoon, about 1 hr before closing, were back in that area -- no lines. After Jorvik's ride-through-time there is a museum-type area with hands-on for the youngsters. The cafe in Railroad Museum is good.