YORK
trail 1 - Minster to Monkgate
York is a walled city in North Yorkshire. The city was founded by the Romans and has been an important part of British history ever since. The city became a major trading and religious centre. Eventually chocolate and railways became the major industries in York, though they have now declined. At present the biggest employers are in service industries.
York is easily reached by road or train and has many attractions for tourists. Cars can easily be parked for a week while attractions, shops, cafes restaurants and bars keep a visitor occupied.
Two rivers run through York, the Ouse and the Foss. This pub trail looks at pubs caught between the river Ouse and the city wall on the more substantial side which includes the Shambles and York Minster.
Welcome to Yorkshire National Trust Yorkshire Visit York York Brewery Train Museum Jorvic Viking centre York Walls
PUB CRAWLS
There are five pub crawls illustrated for York involving 39 drinking establishments. Several pubs feature in more than one crawl.
All journeys start from the Minster which is the tallest place in York
The FIVE York town centre trails are:
1. Around The Minster. (green icons) 8+2 pubs
2. In the middle lanes (Purple icons) 8+1 pubs
3. Down Stonegate (yellow icons) 7+2 pubs
4. Around King's Square (Red icons) 8+2
5. About Fossgate (Blue icons) 9 pubs
1. Around The Minster. (green)
Trail 1 The Minster to Monkgate - (green icons) 8+2 pubs
After staring at the front door of the Minster turn to the left and wander along the street in front of you. After the tea shop on the right is The York Arms. Further down is The Hole In The Wall followed by, at the Botham (ancient gate way) The Lamb and Lion. Coming up the other side there is The Eagle and Child and then The Three Legged Mare.
Now walking past and along the side of the Minster the road curves round and The Cross Keys appears on the corner. Up the road from this is The Golden Slipper followed by The Royal Oak.
Additions
Opposite the Cross Keys is Vahe and then just down the road is, on the right The Habit and on the left The Snickleback Inn.
The York Trails
-
Minster to Monkgate
York Arms
The Lamb & Lion
Eagle & Child
Three legged Mare
The Cross Keys
The Golden Slipper
The Royal Oak
+ The Habit
+ Snickleback Inn
-
MIDDLE LANES
Thirteen Thirty One
The Slug & Lettuce
Stonegate yard
+ Bobo Lobo
+ Kennedy's
Oscar's
Roman Bath
Three Cranes
Burn's Hotel
-
Stonegate
House of the Trembling Madness
Evil Eye
Ye Olde Starre Inn
Kennedy's
+ Bobo Lobo
Yorkshire Terrier
The Punchbowl
Harker's
Lendall Cellars
-
King's Square
The Cross Keys
+ The Golden Slipper
+ The Royal Oak
The Habit
Snickleback Inn
Old White Swan
The Golden Lion
Pivni
The Duke of York
Last Drop
-
Fossgate
Ye Olde Shambles
Pavement Vaults
The Three Tuns
Golden Fleece
Sutler's
The Terrace
The Bluebell
The Hop
Fossgate Social
PUB FACTS
Local Pub Guide - Within the Walls
York is a place where many people enjoy a pub crawl as it is full of interesting bars.
Almost all pubs do food.
Lots have outside seating.
Most have some sort of courtyard to the rear for smoking if not sunbathing.
Several have roof top terraces.
PLACES TO VISIT WITH PUBTRAILS
The towns and villages highlighted on this web site have a wide variety of pubs and beers in them. All of the places are great to visit, whether for a day or longer, and most have tourist attractions for all of the family.
There is a large variety of pubs throughout the different towns shown below. Some you may wish never to visit again but even discovering these can be interesting. There are pubs that you would not take your wife into. While some you could not take your girlfriend into. A few you would not take either into. However, most of the pubs are very pleasant.
HOME MAP of places visited
Alnwick Ambleside Anstruther Bakewell Bamburgh Barnard Castle Bath Berwick upon Tweed Birnam & Dunkeld Bourton on the Water Bowness on Windermere Bridge of Allan Chester Chichester Dunblane Dunoon Edinburgh Ely Fort William Glasgow Gourock Helensburgh Inverness Kelso Keswick Knaresbourgh Largs Linlithgow Lyme Regis Melrose Montrose Newton Stewart North Berwick Norwich Oban Pebbles Penzance Portree Pitlochry Quorn Richmond Rothesay St Andrews Seahouses Seend Shrewsbury Skipton Stirling Stratford-upon-Avon Stockton Heath Whitby Windemere Whitstable York
York Arms closed
York Arms is a Sam Smith’s pub. The right hand door takes you to a small lounge and then on to a small seating area while the left hand door is to a large bar room. The sides are connected at back. Padded banquettes around side with some round tables. Another ghost place.
Have a pint
real ale : Samuel Smiths Old Brewery Bitter
Bitter : Sovereign; India Ale
lager :Taddy lager, Alpine, Original Organic
cider : Cheddar Valley Extra stout
Hole In The Wall
Hole In The Wall is red brick outside and inside. A Marston’s pub specialising in lunch and evening food. Pleasant servery is to the left just after entering while the room opens up to the right and goes further back and round.
Yet again a haunted pub in York.
Have a pint
Real ale : Mansfield Cask Ale; Sunbeam (Banks); Pedigree;
Battle Axe (Rudgate)
Lager: Peroni; Bud; Fosters; San Miguel; Stella; Carling
Cider: Strongbow and Dark Fruits; Rekorderlig Apple Guinness
The Lamb and Lion
The Lamb and Lion now known as The Fat Badger has an entrance that is a bit hidden behind the old Botham Bar (the ancient gate). Once in to this multiroomed place, there is a rectangular room to the left with the servery on the back wall. The layout is old floorboards and five wooden tables but in such a way that people who would not go into an old cheaper bar seem quite happy for a price. The corridor from the entrance continues on with a couple of rooms around to the right and then right again. To the left there is an entrance to a very big beer garden – one of the best in the centre-overlooked by wall walk.
Have a pint here
Real ale : Boltmaker (Timothy Taylor); Golen Pippin (Copper Dragon); Saltire Stout Number 5; Black Sheep
Lager: Carlsberg; San Miguel
Cider: Somersby; Aspall Suffolk Guinness
Eagle and Child
Eagle and Child is a Leeds Brewery pub. A little seating either side of door then the right hand side is the servery with a tall counter not for the vertically challenged. However, around the other side of servery is a counter at a more regular height. The room then opened out with dining tables and chairs. This these is continued in a large back room. Off of this is a large outside seating area. Decor seems a bit lacking in variety – all a bit plain. Upstairs are more rooms.
Have a pint here
Real ale : Best; Pale Ale; Yorkshire Gold; Midnight Bell (all Leeds Brewery);
Bitter: Monsoon IPA; Gathering Storm; Ramen PA
Lager; Birra Moretta; ; Leondis Lager ;
Cider: Thatchers Old Rascal (real);
Three Legged Mare
Three Legged Mare is a York Brewery pub, now taken over by Black Sheep. . There is seating either side of the doorway with the servery set back to the right half way into the room. Beyond the servery the pub opens out a little and has another small room just beyond. High ceiling and lots of light. Serving Black Sheep beers plus several others
Quick appearance in "Hairy Bikers' Pubs that Built Britain"
Featured in Pint To Pint, The Telegraph's crawl around Britain's best pubs
Occasionally in Good Beer Guide, last 2021; CAMRA pub of the season 2018
Have a pint here
Real ale : Guzzler; Ghost Ale; Terrier; (all York Brewery)
Organic Liverpool Pilsner
Bitter: Yankee (Roosters); Imperium; Legion IX
Lager: Frontier Lager; Tuborg; San Miguel;
Cider: Maverick Cider (real); Thatchers Gold
What’s in a name? It was a gallows that could hang three people at once.
PUB QUIZ
In which sea is the Isle of Man situated?
Answer at foot of the page
The Cross Keys ★
The Cross Keys is one of four Nicolson pubs in the centre of York. This one is situated at a Y-junction and spreads down both streets. The servery has a similar shape serving two sides of a triangle. There is plenty of comfortable seating and ding tables and chairs. Some rooms around the right hand side and here is also an outside courtyard looking out towards the minster.
Have a pint here
Real ale : Red Macgregor (Orkney): Nicolsons PA; Three Swords; Dick Firkin; Britannia (Navigation); John Smiths; The Rev James Rye; Off The Wall
Lager: Becks; Stella; Peroni; Carling
Aspall Suffolk; Strongbow
Golden Slipper ★
Golden Slipper is a multiroomed traditional bar. The entrance takes you along a short corridor to the main bar area with the servery ahead on the left. There is seating round to the left between the window and the servery. Off to the right are two smaller rooms and just beyond the bar area a small ‘library’ room. There is a outside courtyard at the back. Offers food.
Have more here
Real ale : Farmers Blonde (Bradfield); Bombardier; Golden Pippin (Copper Dragon); Timothy Taylor Golden Best; Proper Job (St Austel)
Bitter: John Smiths
Lager: Coors; Carling; Heineken; Amstel
Milestones cloudy cider; Strongbow Guinness
The Royal Oak ★
The Royal Oak has 17th Century Inn emblazoned outside (perhaps 1591) on a mock Tudor frontage. Inside is a corridor where there is a small sitting room to the right; with a small bar first left then further on, still left, a lounge. The servery is in the middle and serves both these areas. Food is important in the lounge which also has a small seating area up a few steps. The back lounge has been tastefully and carefully decorated and then has red fairy lights hanging around the room.
Have a pint here (in the bar)
Featured in Yorkshire's Real Heritage Pubs
Real ale : Golden Salimander; Dark Island; Old Peculiar; Rev James (Brains); Theakstons Best Bitter
Lager :Becks; Carling; Estrella
The Habit ★
The Habit is another pub with a shop window appearance; however, it is not a bottle shop. Downstairs is a small room, which narrows with depth, with small servery at the far right. Downstairs has very basic tables and chairs while upstairs has low couches and low tables. There is also a terrace with York Minster touring over it. Food is recommended. Music most nights. Kegs piled in corners.
Have a pint here.
Real ale : Absolutely (Madness) ; Hobgoblin; New World; Old speckled Hen
Craft: Shipyard Pale Ale 13 Guns IPA (Thwaites)
Lager:; Krusovice; Leffe; Estrella; San Miguel; King Star (Wychwood)
Cider: Rekorderlig Apple ; Strawberry Lime Guinness
The Snickleway Inn
The Snickleway Inn is a popular local pub. The entrance takes you to the main bar area with a high ceiling. The counter is straight in front with some seating along the right by the window. Off of the main area are two other small rooms; one straight ahead and a thinner one to the left and down a step. These rooms have much lower ceilings. Despite the light from the large windows the pub has a dark traditional feel to it. . There is a back outside courtyard.
Quick appearance in "Hairy Bikers' Pubs that Built Britain" info
Have a pint here.
Real ale : Copper Dragon Best Bitter; Moonshine; Snecklifter; Dark Masquerade (Half Moon): Steam Beer Amber Ale; Yankee (Roosters)
Bitter: John Smith
Lager: Samuel Adams; Amstel; 1664; Fosters Guinness
“Mmm ....beer
.”
—Homer Simpson
ANSWER: Irish Sea