Working in a school means we’re always thinking about and planning where to go ready for the school holidays. My husband suggested York and when I saw that St Nicholas Fair would be there this year, from the 18th November until the 23rd of December, I knew it would be lovely to visit this Christmas. As the spaniels are older now, they are much more chilled out and I have no worries about taking them with us to built up areas. We often take them into Durham City and when visiting Cornwall, last summer, we took a trip to the city of Truro, so they’re pretty well adapted dogs – which is great for us. Our dogs are part of our family and if we can take them with us on a day out, then we more often than not will.
With us visiting especially for the Christmas Market, I knew we would be outdoors the whole visit, and we were looking forward to sampling some of the treats the stalls had to offer, so I didn’t bother researching dog friendly cafes etc. (I will leave that for another visit) We did however, sensibly look at the weather forecast to make sure it would be a dry day when we visited.
First up, we arrived super early! Which is a bit of a tradition on our family days out. Being our first family trip to York City we didn’t know where we would park, but because it wasn’t busy we had a choice of car parks. We parked at Union Terrace Carpark and paid on arrival for four hours parking, costing £9.60, which is about average city centre prices. There were toilets too (40p charge) which I felt was a bonus, especially after my essential morning takeaway coffee for the drive there.
From the carpark, we walked south towards High Petergate, the medieval route into York from the North. The minute you reach the walls and archways of this historical city you’re immediately thrown back in time and the sights are amazing. The benefits of arriving early, before the market was even open, was that you can enjoy the sights without the crowds of people. I knew exactly where we were heading first……
The Shambles
One of York’s most famous streets, and one I’d not visited until this day is The Shambles. As you walk down this narrow medieval street, with its over hanging buildings, you can imagine the hustle and bustle of butchers selling their meat and the remains being thrown out without a care of who was walking by. Now it boasts gorgeous little boutiques and popular cafes and we enjoyed browsing without the crowds of people. The contrast of walking back through the shambles nearly four hours later however showed just how popular it is.
From here we walked to York Minster, to admire the view of one of the worlds most magnificent cathedrals. What a sight. Next to the cathedral’s south door was a pleasant little Winter Village. With several little wooden stalls offering a variety of treats, food and gifts. As well as handy seating pods for you to take advantage of.
After leisurely browsing through the streets of York, taking in the sights whilst enjoying ‘the not so crowded streets’ and another coffee later, we finally came to Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square where alpine chalets where lined side by side. The market, which opened at 10 o’clock, was just beginning to come alive and I was surprised by how many stalls there were.
There was something for everyone from mulled wine & cider, unique arts, crafts & jewellery, all kinds of delicious treats and a multitude of savoury snacks too, knit wear, gin and so much more. The smell of cinnamon and spiced apples filled the air from the hand made, pot pourri, dried fruit Christmas decorations.
Ellie, our daughter, loves crystals so she was happy when we came across a stall packed with them along with fossils, which would be fab for children’s stocking fillers. The spaniels weren’t forgotten about either as one stall sold some natural pheasant treats too and they enjoyed the smells and sights as much as us. And of course were made a fuss of by other shoppers.
Being a family who love our sweet treats we decided to sample some of the brownies from Brown and Blond Brownies A very good choice; they were delicious.
After all the shopping and eating of brownies whilst listening to the live music we felt very festive but needed a sit down and some refreshments. I had noticed in Parliament St, THOR’S Tipi, a pop up bar. It looked very inviting with its pretty lights and fire pit in the middle that we couldn’t resist. During the day it’s a family and dog friendly pub whilst selling Yuzu Street food, turning into a bustling popular place, with live music, for nights out with friends during the Christmas party season. At just before 11am though it was quiet enough for us to enjoy a drink next to the fire pit, to warm up with the spaniels.
It was a nice end to what was a very festive morning at St Nicholas Fair. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found there were plenty of stalls and variety to suit everyone. I would definitely recommend a visit if it returns next year.
For people not wanting to physically visit the market for whatever reason, I was impressed to see a virtual version of the market where you could order gifts etc online at the Visit York website.
Spaniels By The Sea 
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