York Audio Tour: Echoes Through Time

Explore York at your own pace

Beneath York's medieval stones, shadows linger from royal plots and shattered walls. Every tower, ruin, and alley hides a secret whisper of rebellion or betrayal.

Set out on a self-guided audio tour that weaves you through centuries of turbulence and intrigue-unlocking tales in hidden corners and echoing passageways that most visitors walk right by.

What hidden code was once etched inside St Mary's Abbey at night? Which condemned prisoner vanished from York Castle without a trace during an armed revolt? Who really left a shoe behind in the darkest corner of the York Castle Museum, sparking a city-wide scandal?

Photo: Sarah, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 3.8 km (2.3 miles)
• Stops: 14 landmarks, including North Eastern Railway War Memorial, York City War Memorial, St Olave's Church, York
• Audio: up to 35 minutes of narration
• Starts at: North Eastern Railway War Memorial

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• North Eastern Railway War Memorial
• York City War Memorial
• St Olave's Church, York
• St Mary's Abbey, York
• Archaeology Data Service
• York Art Gallery
• BBC Radio York
• York Minster
• St Michael le Belfrey, York
• York Oratory
• Mansion House, York
• Jorvik Viking Centre
• Tower Street drill hall, York
• York Castle

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Voice of Clam (Wikimedia Commons, public domain); Sarah, Don Lodge (Unsplash).