A visit to York Christmas Market!

Last week Stu and I headed off for a day out to York Christmas Market! I have always wanted to visit a proper Christmas market and I have always been told that York is one of the best and as a bonus it's only a hour and half away from us. This year it started on the 14th of November and runs until the 22nd of December.

We arrived at York just after 9am and had a little wander, we could have taken a bus from the train station to where the Christmas market is but we wanted to take in the sights and despite it being freezing cold it was a lovely walk! You can't miss York Minister! I knew it was big but didn't expect it to be so big! 

Shambles is one of York's most famous landmarks and one of the best preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. It is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley from Harry Potter and it really did feel like it especially with the Harry Potter shops and The Shop That Must Not Be Named!!

We arrived at the area where the market is a little before 10am and the stalls were just starting to open up. There are 75 alpine chalets lining Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square which offer local crafts, artisan products and delicious seasonal treats.

We had a wander around taking everything in and planning what we were going to eat later on in the day. At the time we had no idea how busy it would get later on in the day.

We stopped for a mulled wine, tis the season and all. I had a shot of brandy added to mine. I was still full of cold and thought it would help and it did. It certainly had a bit of a kick to it which cleared my chest. 

We carried on wandering around the stalls. I love how pretty York is. The buildings have so much history and are so quaint and charming. Did you know that Guy Fawkes, the gunpowder plot guy was born in York? It was only when we went walking past a pub and saw the plaque on the wall and signs on the window. It wasn't this pub pictured below, I just wanted to share how pretty the buildings are.

It was heading towards lunch time and we already knew what we wanted to eat! Steak and chips! Cut and Craft a steak restaurant in York have a pop-up stall at the market and before we went I had seen so many videos on TikTok about the steak and chips. I don't usually eat steak but this was amazing!!! It cost £14 which seems a lot but it is steak and like I said before it was amazing! 

The only thing I want to complain about is the toilet situation in York! Firstly they were really hard to find despite the maps that were scattered around. I didn't know York at all and I struggled to find one and the 2nd issue I had that it cost me forty pence to have a pee! It's a good job they took card payments as I didn't have any change. I sat on the loo for longer than I normally would just to get my 40p worth. hehehe

More wandering was done and I started buying things. I could have easily spent a small fortune on things like pies, flavoured vodka, fudge and scotch eggs but I was very reserved and only bought a couple of pork pies when it came to food. The pork pie stall had some amazing flavours, the Paddington Bear one did horrify me at first, my first thought was that someone had cooked that loveable bear but no, it was marmalade flavoured. Such a strange combo but it works. I also brought home a turkey, cranberry and pork pie, some cup coasters, pin badges for the girls a cute little knitted sunflower and some Christmas trinkets and decorations. 

By around half past two it was really starting to get busy! In fact the queues were getting crazy, especially for the food stalls. When we had our steak and chips there were 2 people in front of us, later on the afternoon there was about 40 people waiting to be served.  

Have you ever had a stacked hot chocolate before? These were another thing that I had seen on TikTok and I needed to try one! Hot chocolate in the cup, a cookie on top with a layer or flame toasted marshmallow that was toasted in front of us, whipped cream another little cookie and a York wafer. It is the only way I want hot chocolate in future! The heat from the drink melts the chocolate in the cookie which makes it all gooey which is perfection!

People say Christmas markets are expensive but I didn't find that. £7 for a hot chocolate, the way it came was worth it. You pay around £5 for one from Starbucks or Costa. The only thing I saw which I thought was expensive was the macarons but they always are and are not my cup of tea anyway. The gifty type things and Christmas decorations were reasonably priced and I am happy to pay more for something that is hand crafted and not mass produced.

By about half past three we decided to head back to the train station to catch our train home. We had an amazing day out and I will be going back again next year. We timed it really well, when we were leaving there were hoards of people heading to the market, I dread to think how busy it would be on a weekend and closer to Christmas. I think going on a week day helped too as all the kids were still at school.

Have you been to York Christmas market before? Are you planning on going to any Christmas markets this year?