My Nerdy Tour of York || Three days of history, urban sketching and vegan eats

June 22, 2026•12 min read

Being autistic, navigating the world is significantly harder, and it means that I’m not as independent as I’d like to be. So, occasionally, I like to use solo travel as a means of pushing that independence and proving that I can rely on myself when needed.

So…last month I decided to take some time away in order to travel up to Whitby and York, both for fun and as a challenge for my own independence.

I was fortunate enough to spend a wonderful day in Whitby, followed by another three in in the magical York.

You can read all about my time in Whitby here, but for this post, I present part two of my Northern expedition!

Day 1

Trains, Evensong and rat’s blood?

After arriving in York from Whitby, I wheeled my suitcase alongside the River Ouse in order to deposit it at the AirBnB I was staying at - because I didn’t want to have to lug it around the city all afternoon!

Since I had been travelling all morning, I knew that I would be exhausted and therefore wanted a fairly low-key afternoon activity.

So, in between hail showers and sunny spells, I made my way to the National Railway Museum.

Entry was free, so not only did this require low-energy, it was low-cost as well!

In the midst of the sensory-nightmare that is travelling to a new city, a spacious, quiet museum is a much-needed oasis. It’s almost embarrassing to admit how long I spent soaking up the peace of this place - taking hours to wander around the many locomotives and admire the displays of railway-related equipment or memorabilia whilst the rain pattered against the ceiling.

Although impossible to narrow down into one highlight, a few of the best moments of my afternoon at the NRM included: sitting to sketch the iconic Mallard in the Great Hall cafe; walking through the only bullet train outside of Japan; exploring the maze of goodies in the North Shed museum store; and imagining the bustling life of railway stations of old in the newly-reopened Station Hall, housing a remarkable restored 1920s WHSmith Kiosk.

The Mallard, roughly immortalised in my sketchbook

There was so much magic held within just those two sheds.

Autistic girl nerds out over old trains…how stereotypical?

Speaking of magic… I need to take a moment to geek out about the AirBnB I was staying at during my time here.

An enchanted witches' hovel, it was a small, cosy space, decorated with spooky, witchy goodies - including a shelf of potions and ingredients among the likes of ‘elf semen,’ and ‘rat blood.’ In the middle of the room, next to my dining table, sat a cauldron, and under my bed lay the bones of who I can only assume was a previous troublesome tenant.

Set outside of the city - but still being only a 20 minute walk away - it was in a wonderful location for rest breaks in between activities, like that of the first evening after my trip to the museum, before I decided to leave the safety of my hovel and navigate my way to York Minster for Evensong.

Although I ended up missing my bus stop and briefly lost myself in the medieval maze of The Shambles in the evening, I successfully followed the sound of church bells to the Cathedral, arriving only three minutes late for the service. After the stress of navigating my way there, anxiety was high and I debated going in, but, eventually, I mustered enough courage to step through the doors and, fortunately, I was guided to one of only two remaining seats in the choir.

The service itself was other-worldly (and probably made that much sweeter by the fact that I had almost had a meltdown on the church steps outside).

Evensong - or any session of worship - is a free way to experience the magnificence of the Minster and is something I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting York.

However, I would advise you to arrive earlier than I did in order to ensure you definitely get a seat!

On the way back to my AirBnB after a goosebump-inducing service, I put in an order to a fully vegan Chinese restaurant, Orchid York, I managed to find after some googling a few weeks back.

Having picked up my dinner for the evening, I once again wandered along the glittering Ouse, lit by the setting sun, excited to tuck into a comforting tofu bao and stir-fry after such a tiring day.

Day 2

The never-ending tour (and lots of good vegan eats)

The first pressing action on my agenda today was appeasing my rumbling stomach with some breakfast.

Walking up Museum Street, I managed to get a table at Brew and Brownie, a small locally-sourced cafe and bakehouse. I enjoyed a yoghurt bowl, topped with a sweet apple-cinamon granola and tangy berry compote, made vegan upon my request.

If you’d like to visit, I’d urge you to get here early, as a queue had formed outside of the door by the time I was leaving!

Accompanied with a filling breakfast and pot of loose-leaf peppermint tea, I decided to use my time here to finish up some lineart from my sketches the day before. I always feel self-conscious when I first pull out my sketchbook in public, worried that I’ve somehow managed to place myself in a crowd of secret art-critics. But more often than not, nobody pays any attention, and those that do react with positivity - like the group of American students who stopped to compliment what I was doing as they were leaving. Thanks, guys.

Breakfast all wrapped up, it was time for object two of today’s agenda: a walking tour of the city.

The view of York Minster from Museum Street

I love a free walking tour, and it’s a blessing that a large handful of major tourist cities offer them. Guided by volunteers who, more often than not, live locally, I find that they’re a financially accessible and relaxing way to explore the major sights of a city, whilst hearing stories of its past along the way.

And despite practically being the final boss of all introverts, I don’t mind the communal aspect, as you very rarely have to actually interact with your fellow tourists.

We explored the history of York Abbey as we wandered through the Museum gardens, heard about the Roman’s ‘Eboracum,’ and discussed how the Minster’s stained glass window was painstakingly removed and hidden under our feet during WW2 as we walked along the City Walls. All before being kindly deposited just outside of the world-famous Shambles.

One of the best preserved medieval shopping streets in England, this is a great place to engage in some window-shopping.

My sketchbook page dedicated to the architecture of the Shambles

Strolling along The Shambles felt akin to stepping into a children’s storybook: everything felt imbued with magic, as if the crooked buildings themselves were only held up by some sort of enchantment, and the nostalgic smell of confectionery danced through the air. I can see why it’s believed to have inspired Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley!

A child at heart, I found a lot of joy within the charming Stonegate Teddy Bear store; and as someone who begins counting down to Christmas in January, practically lost my mind in Käthe Wohlfhart’s festive shop of dreams - their only permanent location in the UK.

Only 6 more months to go...!

By this point in the day I had worked up an appetite for some lunch, so I hunted down a comforting Moroccan-spiced carrot soup, found at Goji Cafe - an entirely vegetarian cafe and deli just a short walk behind the Minster.

Satiated by soup and light sketching, I finally made my way to York Minster.

Despite visiting for Evensong the night prior, I wanted to actually see the beauty of the entire building - not just the choir.

The price tag for this place is not small, sitting at a whopping £20 - an increase of £7.50 since 2022... meaning it now costs more than entry to The Vatican. Ouch!

However, tickets last for an entire year, and the work required for constant restoration costs the Minster around £30,000 a day… and that money has to come from somewhere, I guess.

I had joined yet another walking tour in order to try and get my money’s worth within the Minster, but in hindsight, I would have enjoyed my time better had I slowly explored the building at my own leisure, not surrounded by even more people - despite the interesting factoids we were fed on the building’s breath-taking architecture.

Although I still highly valued my visit, I don’t feel as though the entry price was entirely worth it for me - as I only had two hours here before the day’s exhaustion kicked in and I had to leave before I entered near-meltdown territory.

I would urge you to consider whether or not you feel the ticket is justifiable before visiting. Even though the building is stunning, I would instead suggest simply visiting for a worship service or two if you’re on a tight budget and time schedule.

After such a long day of sightseeing, I just wanted to hibernate in my AirBnB for the evening, so that’s exactly what I did. Cosying up with last night’s leftovers, a DVD (kindly supplied by my host) and a massive oreo doughnut picked up on my walk back, I clocked out for the night.

Day 3

Clifford’s Tower, York Museum and Dick Turpin

With a 2 o’ clock train booked, I only had the morning to finish exploring the city, but I feel I made great use of that time.

After dropping off my luggage for the day at a Premier Inn nearby the train station, I savoured a veggie full English at Bruks cafe - which swapped hash browns for a traditional bubble and squeak, yum!

Then, I thought it would be smart to put the newly purchased English Heritage Membership I picked up in Whitby to good use by visiting Clifford’s Tower.

The (slightly wobbly) Clifford’s Tower

Whilst you can walk past the iconic tilted tower sitting upon its hill without paying a single penny - and I would highly suggest you do so - its interior houses even more history of York and its castles, along with a wonderful panoramic view of the city itself at the very top.

Clifford's Tower, watercolour and ink (soon to be available in print form!)

At the bottom of the hill also sits York Castle Museum, historically a site of justice, now a highly-rated visitor attraction.

Dick Turpin, whose grave only sits a short walk away, was famously incarcerated here under the alias of John Palmer after fleeing to Yorkshire - before the handwriting upon a letter written from inside the Castle walls revealed his identity and he was sentenced to execution within the city.

As a history-obsessed British girl having grown up in the 2010s, Horrible Histories’ Adam-Ant inspired rendition of Turpin’s life went platinum on my family's computer - so I felt it would be almost criminal not to detour and see his grave.

Matthew Baynton meant a lot to 8-year-old Owen

Satisfied, I made my way back into the city centre via the iconic city walls - humming the aforementioned song to myself all the way along:

‘"That’s not John Palmer’s hand, that’s Dick Turpin’s," he cried!'

The walk along the City Walls

With only another two hours before my train, I wanted to squeeze in a visit to the Yorkshire Museum.

Sat within colourful botanical gardens and neighbour to the ruins of York Abbey, it’s a great spot to rest when the weather permits.

The quiet museum tells the story of the entire county of Yorkshire, chronicling the Romans, Vikings and even dinosaurs that previously inhabited the land.

This was another wonderful space to decompress and admire the museum’s collections - do you get the sense by now that I’m a little bit obsessed with museums?

I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of the historic library, situated on the top floor. The walls are decorated with maps and shelves of antique books, and a stuffed bear looms over your reading in the corner, who is slightly off-putting - someone needs to tell him it’s rude to stare.

Running out of time, after seeing all I was content with within the museum, I sped-walked past the station to collect my bag before circling around for my train- and although slightly nightmarish due to the fact that the train had been well overbooked, I was happy to be on the way home after such a satisfyingly tiring week.

Despite my exhaustion, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in York.

As you can tell from this looooooong post, I got up to a lot over the course of my three days in the city, but I think the highlight of this trip was simply getting to explore everything on foot throughout day two and experiencing the magic of The Shambles.

I stumbled across so many quaint shops (including lots of bookshops, of course) and left with a bank of creative inspiration.

I obviously didn’t have long, so I’d love to return someday as there were a few further things I would love to tick off of my York bucket-list - namely the Art Gallery, Castle Museum and Cold War Bunker - but for now, I’m content with all that I saw and did.

I hope that you enjoyed reading through my travels. If you are visiting this magical city anytime soon, I hope I may have given you some inspiration for what to do... and if not, I hope I’ve inspired you to consider a trip to York!

I’m planning on writing a further blog post specifically expanding on my experience in solo travel as an autistic person, discussing challenges along with some tips for how I make it work (most of the time...).

If you’d like, sign up to my newsletter to hear about that when it goes live. You’ll also get a handy 15% discount on my shop, first-glimpses at products and behind-the-scenes updates every month.

Until next time,