066 - York has a network of narrow alleys linking various streets in the city centre, which are quite well used by locals as shortcuts from one busy street to another. A few years ago, Mark Jones wrote a fascinating book to guide visitors and locals through this network, which he called Snickelways.
Mark's definition of a Snickelway is "a narrow place to walk along, leading from somewhere to somewhere else, usually in a town or city, especially in the city of York". Some of these date back to medieval times, while others are much more recent.
This example links Stonegate and Swinegate, and passes through Coffee Yard and is one of the longest Snickelways.
If you want to see a more unusual side of York, get yourself a copy of either "A Walk around the Snickelways of York" or the expanded volume, "The Complete Snickelways of York", and either enjoy them in the comfort of your armchair, or come exploring!
What a lovely word and describes it perfectly! There are a lot of these in Whitby too but I think they're called something else there. I Love this shot!
I've been trying to find my copy of the book since I got back home, but so far without success. It's certainly a good read, and a lot of these Snickelways are quite fascinating and have interesting histories. I tend to use them as shortcuts, without much thought about them, but I paused here today to spend a few minutes out of the rain!
Thank you Lydia. There are a few snickelways with residences, but most haven't. In this snickelway, just behind the viewpoint is Barley Hall, a restored medieval town house open to the public. I'm not aware of a significant safety issue in using the snickelways. Quite a few of them are fairly busy during the daytime - there are even guided walks round a selection of them! However, I'm not sure I would want to use them at night.
Thank you Angela, I think they are quite interesting places. I've seen some of the ones in Whitby - they too give access to an interesting hidden world
Thank you Lisa - as you can see it was raining again, so this spot under the building was a useful place to stop!
I've been trying to find my copy of the book since I got back home, but so far without success. It's certainly a good read, and a lot of these Snickelways are quite fascinating and have interesting histories. I tend to use them as shortcuts, without much thought about them, but I paused here today to spend a few minutes out of the rain!
Thank you Lydia. There are a few snickelways with residences, but most haven't. In this snickelway, just behind the viewpoint is Barley Hall, a restored medieval town house open to the public. I'm not aware of a significant safety issue in using the snickelways. Quite a few of them are fairly busy during the daytime - there are even guided walks round a selection of them! However, I'm not sure I would want to use them at night.
Thank you Angela, I think they are quite interesting places. I've seen some of the ones in Whitby - they too give access to an interesting hidden world
Thank you Marie - I'm glad you found the info useful
Thank you - glad you enjoyed the view!
Thank you - glad you like it!