York Audio Tour: The Heslington Historic Trail

Explore York at your own pace

A city where ancient monks once hid secrets beneath college lawns and scholars shaped revolutions that echoed across continents-York invites a deeper look. This self-guided audio tour unlocks Heslington's leafy corners, untold festival tales, and timeless architecture that most travelers walk right past.

Who sounded the midnight warning in Heslington Hall as hidden powers clashed behind its grand facade? What rare relic lies buried beneath the peaceful stones of Heslington Church? Why did a single rebellious idea at the York Festival of Ideas send shockwaves through academia?

Stride from quiet chapels to stately halls, tracing lost rebellions and whispered intrigues beneath every footstep. Every turn delivers glimpses of forgotten drama and sparks wonder in familiar streets-revealing York not as a museum, but as a living maze of mystery and revelation.

Photo: Sarah, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 3.0 km (1.9 miles)
• Stops: 10 landmarks, including University of York Library, Borthwick Institute for Archives, Heslington Church
• Audio: up to 25 minutes of narration
• Starts at: University of York Library

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

• University of York Library
• Borthwick Institute for Archives
• Heslington Church
• The Charles XII, York
• The Deramore Arms
• Heslington Hall
• Vice-Chancellor's House
• York Festival of Ideas
• Spring Lane Building, University of York
• Central Hall, University of York

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: Karl Moran, Sarah, Don Lodge (Unsplash).