Showing 1–5 of 5 free attractions in York
WaterAllerthorpe Lakeland Park
SightseeingHoly Trinity Church
SightseeingThe Potions Cauldron
Sports & ActivitiesCycle the Solar System
Indoor PlayCONNECT Festival
Free Family Days Out in York
York's free list is short and eccentric, which for a city this heavily ticketed is not a complaint. Five entries: Holy Trinity Church is a medieval church you can go into, The Potions Cauldron is a themed venue in the centre, Cycle the Solar System is a scale model of the solar system laid out along a route you ride, Allerthorpe Lakeland Park is water and open ground outside the city, and CONNECT Festival is an event rather than a place. Two indoor, four outdoor.
Almost everything famous in York costs money, so the interesting free entries are the odd ones. The solar system ride in particular is worth more attention than it gets.
Free days out in York: FAQs
What actually is Cycle the Solar System?
Cycle the Solar System is a scale model laid out along a cycle route, with the planets placed at proportional distances so the ride itself teaches the scale of the thing. It is a genuinely good idea and it depends entirely on your family having bikes and the confidence to use them on the route. Check the surface and the traffic arrangements against the age and ability of your least confident rider.
Is an event listing reliable to plan around?
CONNECT Festival is an event, which means it happens on particular dates and does not exist between them. That is the fundamental difference between an event entry and a venue entry on any list like this, and it is why an event should never be the reason for a journey without checking dates first. Events also change their arrangements year to year more than venues do.
Is the church worth taking children into?
Holy Trinity Church records indoor and outdoor space and is the sort of small medieval building people walk past for years without entering. Children respond to old churches better than expected when there is something specific to find, so giving them a task on the way in helps. It is also short, quiet and free, which makes it a good ten minutes between other things rather than a destination.