City Walls opening and closing times
Find out when you can follow the elevated circular walkway around York's City Walls, on foot and for free; get details of:
Opening times for the City Walls
The City Wall walkway gates are usually opened daily at 8.00am, excluding:
- 25 December
- in very high winds
- to accommodate repairs, planned maintenance and other conservation works
- in icy or slippery conditions
Closures in cold weather
In cold weather the City Walls are inspected at 7.00am each day at 3 locations:
- Bishophill
- Lendal Bridge
- Lord Mayor's Walk
Conditions at these 3 locations give us a good indication what the rest of the City Walls are like underfoot.
Whilst weather may improve throughout the day, during winter months the sun doesn't get high enough in the day to melt ice at all locations, meaning that the City Walls walkway will remain unsafe, so will stay closed all day.
Unplanned closures
If any part of the City Walls walkway is not open as usual, we'll make announcements on local radio, and using our social media channels:
Alternatively, you can check in person on the day of your visit at Visit York, 21 Parliament Street, York, YO1 8SG.
Closing times for the City Walls
The gates to the City Wall walkway are closed at dusk.
Gates are closed in an anti-clockwise direction, starting from Fishergate Postern Tower. The process of locking the gates takes about 1 hour to complete, starting at the following times throughout the year:
- January: 3.30pm
- February: 4.30pm
- March: (up to the clocks changing): 5.30pm
- March: (after clocks have changed) and April: 7.30pm
- May: 8.00pm
- June and July: 9.00pm
- August: 8.00pm
- September (start to mid): 7.00pm
- September (mid to end): 6.00pm
- October (up to the clocks changing): 5.00pm
- October (after clocks have changed): 3.30pm
- November and December: 3.30pm