Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Christmas Fairs and Markets in York and North Yorkshire

estherrosie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:42:11 +0000

A visit to one of the many Christmas Fairs and Christmas Markets held in York and North Yorkshire should definitely be top of your list for a great family day out in the next couple of months.
Now the dark nights are officially here it is time to embrace the winter months, wrap up in your favourite hat, scarf and cosy coat and peruse some of the best local produce, crafts and beautiful Christmas gift ideas that your region has to offer.

Surround yourself with the sounds and smells that only a winter Yorkshire can bring you and get right in the mood for the Christmas festivities to come.

You don’t even need to wait that long. The Christmas Markets and Christmas Fairs kick off right from the start of November and there are plenty to choose from depending on the style of goods you are looking for.

If you would like your event or venue’s link here just pop it in the comments box for me at the end of the page or email to Esther at support@directoryofyork.net

We are busy collecting Christmas menus/party dates and any great ideas for Christmas in York and North Yorkshire. We post them all for free here and we are happy to link back to you.

I look forward to receiving all your events and entertainment promotions.

Here are some of the York Christmas Fairs and Markets and some other great North Yorkshire Arts and Craft Fairs – if you know of any more or want a mention for your stall just pop it in the comments box below or email me(Esther) at support@directoryofyork.net

From	Time	What’s On	Where
02 November 2009	10.30am – 3.30pm	RSPCA Christmas Fair	The Guildhall
04 November 2009	9.30am – 4.30pm	Arts and Craft Fair	The Golden Lion Hotel, Northallerton,
05 November 2009		Grassington Dickensian Christmas Fair	Grassington Hall
05 November 2009	10am – 1pm	Christmas Fayre	Filey Evron Centre Concert Hall
06 November 2009	9.30am – 3.30pm	NSPCC Christmas Shopping Fair	Castle Howard
7^th and 8^th November 2009	10am – 5pm	Arts and Craft Fair	St Williams College
07 November 2009	9am – 1pm	Driffield Farmers’ Market	Driffield Showgournd, Kelleythorpe
08 November 2009	11am – 4pm	Contemporary Art and Craft Fair	The Tithe Barn
08 November 2009		Jewellery and Bead Craft Fair	Ripley Town Hall
12^th – 15^th November 2009		Crafts for Christmas Fairs	The Yorkshire Event Centre, Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8PW
14 November 2009		Grand Christmas Gift and Antique Fair	Thirsk Rural Business Centre
14 November 2009	10am – 4pm	Christmas Craft Fair – Yorkshire Air Ambulance	Fylingdales Village Hall, Whitby
14^th and 15^th November 2009	9.30am – 4.30pm	Christmas Craft Festival	Duncombe Park
15 November 2009	11am – 3pm	Christmas Gift and Craft Fair	Foxholes Village Hall, Scarborough
21^st and 22^nd November 2009	10am to 4pm	Christmas Craft Fair	Goathland Parish Hall Whitby
22 November 2009	10am to 6pm	The Christmas Fashion and Gift Fair	National Railway Museum
26^th – 29^th November 2009	10am – 5pm	Arts and Craft Fair	St Williams College
26^th – 29^th November 2009		St Nicholas Fair – Christmas Market	York Centre
27^th -29^th November 2009	10am onwards	Simply Christmas 2009	Harrogate International Centre
28 November 2009	10am – 12 noon	Christmas Fair	Martin House Children’s Hospice, Scarborough
28^th – 29^th November 2009	10am – 5pm	Antiques Fair	National Railway Museum
28^th – 29^th November 2009	10am to 4pm	Christmas Shopping Weekend and Fairy Trail	Whitby Abbey
28^th -29^th November 2009	10.30am – 4pm	Traditional Christmas Fair	The Moors National Park Centre, Danby, Whitby
29 November 2009	11am – 4pm	FLARE Contemporary Art and Craft Market	The Chapel – York Cemetery
29 November 2009		York Dolls House and Miniatures Fair	York Racecourse
29 November 2009	10am to 4pm	Christmas Contemporary Market	Castle Howard
2^nd – 20^th December 2009		York International Christmas Fayre	Parliament Street
3^rd – 6th December 2009	10am – 5pm	Lightwater Shopping Village (Ripon) Dickensian Festival	Light Water Shopping Village
5^th and 6^th December 2009	10.30am – 4.30pm	Christmas Fair	Sutton Bank YO7 2EH
08 December 2009	10am – 4pm	Christmas Craft and Produce Market	Castle Howard
12^th and 13^th December 2009	10.00am – 5.00pm	Christmas Fayre	Barley Hall, Stonegate YO1 8AR
13 December 2009	10.30am – 2.30pm	Mumsworld Christmas Gift Fair Extravaganza	Cairn Hotel, Ripon Road, North Yorkshire, HG1 2JD
13 December 2009		Toy and Train Collectors Fair	York Racecourse

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The Walls and Snickelways of York

Nat Guest — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:16:40 +0000

Walk towards York city centre from the railway station, and you are immediately hit by the sight of York Minster, perching above the city and sailing majestically upwards, clad only in its occasional scaffolding and the clouds. But once inside the streets themselves you may find a more secret York, nestled in between the bustling streets and shopfronts: the walls and snickelways of York.

‘Snickelways’ is the name for the tiny, threading footpaths and alleyways that thread through the larger streets and throughout the city. These passages are found in towns all over the country, and go by many names; ‘snickelway’ is a term coined by local author Mark Jones and is a cross between the regional variants of ‘snicket’, ‘ginnel’ and ‘alleyway’. The reason the snickelways are so appealing to both young and old lies in their air of mystery; they are almost always dim, shadowy places with intriguing names such as ‘Mad Alice Lane’ and ‘Hole-in-the-Wall’. The darkness in them looks as though it could swallow you up; as though you could go down the rabbit hole like Alice did and find yourself in a whole other world. There is an element of danger to these dark holes: Where do they go? What’s on the other side? Will I come back?
Of course you always do come back, but these ‘spaces in-between’ have a netherworldly, almost liminal feel; you are not quite in one place and yet not quite in another.

As a child, a favourite snickelway of mine was always the one found just off Swinegate, where many of the walls and gates along it were aptly decorated with pictures and statues of pigs. Now, most of the pigs are gone, but the snickelways remain, as curious as ever, interlacing their way through York’s higgledy-piggledy streets.

Local author Mark Jones’ book, A Walk Around the Snickelways of York , takes in 50 of York’s hidden passageways and is now seen as the definitive walk for any visitors wanting to get a real feel for the secret places and backstreets of York. The book is available to buy in many of York’s shops, or online from the Visit York e-shop or amazon.co.uk .

The Walls of York

If you have loftier ideas than these mysterious paths, you may wish to turn your view skywards and venture up onto the walls of York instead. The walls were built originally in Roman times as a defense against potential threats, although little of the original stonework remains. Nowadays, the city is not completely encircled (there are no longer many threats from the outside world needing defending against!), and the walls run between four main ‘bars’ (or gates) and a couple of smaller bars (just to confuse matters, the streets are called ‘gates’, such as Mickelgate). The main bars interspersing the walls are known as Bootham Bar, Monk Bar, Walmgate Bar and Mickelgate Bar. The names of these gates and bars hark back to York’s Old Norse heritage, when it was once known as Jorvik, the country’s main Viking settlement.

Open from 8am until dusk, the walls offer a unique vantage point across York, as well as being a beautiful and historically important artifact in themselves. The walls are punctuated by information plaques to teach you about them, as well as an interactive multimedia station in Bootham Bar for the more technologically-minded of us. You can walk the walls of York as countless thousands have done throughout history, treading in the footsteps of those who long ago fought for the city. They are open every day of the year apart from Christmas day, weather allowing; in cases of ice or heavy snow, the walls are closed for obvious safety reasons.

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Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Christmas Fairs and Markets in York and North Yorkshire

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The Walls and Snickelways of York