York City Walls: Bloody History Walking Tour & Mad Alice

5.00

(7 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

You hear her before you see her — Mad Alice, voice echoing off the old stones by Micklegate Bar. There’s a nervous energy in the group as we climb those steps; someone jokes about losing their head (I laughed, but then noticed the iron spikes and thought twice). The air smells faintly damp, like old leaves and stone dust. I’d walked past these walls before but never really looked at them — not like this.

Alice doesn’t just tell stories; she throws them at you. One minute we’re peering down at traffic from high above, next she’s pointing out where heads once hung as warnings. She made us pause by a section where wildflowers poke through cracks — “even here, life finds a way,” she said. I still think about that view over the gardens behind St Mary’s Abbey, all tangled green with bits of ruined arches poking through. The city felt different from up there, kind of suspended between past and present.

There were moments that got under my skin — like when Alice told us about the medieval Jewish community and what happened to them near Monk Bar. She didn’t sugarcoat it. I caught myself holding my breath as she described it; even now I’m not sure what to do with that feeling. But then someone asked about haunted pubs (of course), and suddenly we were laughing again, scanning rooftops for murder holes and ghostly windows.

The tour ended with Alice handing out her own map of York’s city walls — scribbled notes and all. Some folks kept walking the circuit; I ducked into The Black Swan for a pint instead (couldn’t resist). If you want a day trip in York that’s more than just pretty photos, this bloody history walking tour is it. Just wear good shoes — those steps are no joke.