The Original Uncomfortable York™ Tour

Sahana was a great guide provoking thought and discussion about interesting topics

Great walking tour that highlights aspects of famous people, locations, and events you are probably unaware of. Makes you question the message you receive from monuments, plaques or historic buildings. Our tour guide (Amy, I think) was a fountain of knowledge and invited customer engagement throughout. I hope they develop additional tours to reveal more of York's uncomfortable history.

A highly informative, engaging experience that questions the "safe" narratives of conventional tours. Amy, our guide, was patient, knowledgable and keen to hear visitors' different perspectives. The tour recognises that history involves competing interpretations of evidence rather than fixed accounts. Thus, for example, we started by exploring how much more ethnically diverse the Romans were than mainstream narratives imply and later looked at the potential contradiction between Rowntree philanthropy in England and the use of indentured servants on former slave plantations in Jamaica and Dominica. We moved at a comfortable pace between Romans, medieval streetwalkers, an early 19th century lesbian "marriage", the history of chocolate production and the infamous 1190 massacre of Jews in Clifford's Tower. We were lucky to join the tour as part of York Unlocked, so our tickets were free. However, if you want to do a paid tour of York and you'd prefer something deeper than cute stories, this is an excellent option.

Such a good tour around york! Lived here 6 years and still learning t something new! Thank you to our wonderful guide 💜

We didn't know what to expect from this tour, but we HIGHLY recommend it. Our tour guide, Amber, was excellent and very knowledgeable (studying for her master's degree in public history). The tour is designed to tell the truth about historical events and people, not just a recitation of facts. It looks at both the positive and negative aspects of historical events. It is also interactive. Participants can share their opinions and points of view. We had some engaging and interesting conversations. It was by far one of the most interesting tours we have ever experienced. Very different.

It was really good to experience the untold history and stories of York which sometimes are knowingly and unknowingly ignored.

Really intresting tour, speaks about the things you wouldn't necessarily hear in a typical history visit. Definitely recommend if you like a debate style chat; very thought provoking in the best way. Our tour guide Sahara (apologies if spelt incorrect) was extremely friendly and very welcoming.

Incredible tour! Really interesting and thought provoking content, delivered in a very considered way. The whole tour was very well researched and we learnt lots about the history of York, despite living in the area a long time. Our guide Amy was engaging and enthusiastic, as well as encouraging discussion. She was very patient and we didn't feel rushed, despite having a lot of questions! Would recommend this tour to visitors and locals alike.

A very refreshing change from the walking tours we have done in other cities giving . Rob gave us a very holistic and realistic picture of York’s history with focus on the communities which are underrepresented in historical tours and discussions.

My partner and I took this tour and we absolutely loved it. We both work in history fields in the United States and this tour was absolutely refreshing with all the lesser known stories of York! We also really appreciated that the tour opened up a dialogue between the guide and tour participants, pushing us all to engage with the stories we were hearing about and to question our assumptions.