So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is usele...
So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend. (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Member since:01.02.2001
Reviews:544
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When I was planning my visit to York, one of the main places I wanted to visit was the Jorvik Viking Centre, situated in Coppergate, York. The Jorvik Centre is in the centre of York, and can be easily found by the many green signs which will point you in the direction of all the sights and attractions - of which there are many!
I booked my tickets online a couple of weeks previously. The service I found quick and efficient, and received the tickets through the post only a couple of days after booking. If you do book your tickets online, you will be given time slots to arrive there, like 10:15am, 11:15am, etc. We chose the 10:15am slot.
So, in my bag I had my train tickets and the tickets for the Jorvik Centre. I couldn't wait to get to York now! Me and my friend were due to visit the Jorvik Centre the day after arriving in York.
At 10:15am on the day in question
we made our way to the Jorvik Centre. There wasn't a queue at all, which I thought surprising. But, as it is Frebruary we made the journey, maybe it's quiet at this time of year. Entry was easy. We just handed over our tickets and entered the building. There is a seperate queue, however, for pre-booked ticket holders, and those who are just queing up for entry.
On entering the building you will first be ushered into a room by a person to sit on some seats. It's like you are in a small cinema with 4 rows of seats. There were only 4 of us in there at the time, which I though was quite nice. It wasn't too over-crowded and noisy. The man (or woman, but man on this case!), will tell you about the Romans and Vikings etc. He will explain to you about the short film you are about to watch. The film, I found, was really interesting. It shows 2 people dressed in present day, and it goes back in time to the 1960's, 1940's, 1870's. You will see what people used to wear from that era. It goes right back to 1086. Very interesting!
You are then ushered into the next part of the Jorvik Centre which was my favourite part, the car ride. You can use your camcorder in the cinema, but not on the car ride. Shame really, as that would have been good. The cars are quite big, and on the front you choose your language and are guided round by the voice of a little girl. She tells you about her lifestyle, her neighbours, etc. This era is set in the Viking era. You can see what games she play, what food they used to eat, and what they used to do for a living.
You can even see how the toilets were in those days! Talking of which, throughout the ride, there are small pockets of air holes blowing out air. And this isn't just any old air! It is the smell and aroma from them times. The kind of dwellings they lived in, the food they ate and eveything. As you pass the toilet, there is a figureine of a man sitting on there huffing and blowing. Even the smell of the toilet comes through! Euwwww! You will be able to see how people dressed in those days, and the kind of houses they used to live in. It really is all very fascinating! The car ride will last about 10 - 15 minutes.
On exiting the car ride, you will enter a room that has all artifacts and archeological (not sure of the spelling, but you know what I mean!) pieces what have been found. There are a couple of hands-on things which you can do, like writing your name in runes, or searching through a tray of rubble of things like wood and bones etc. It's certainly great for the kids!
After leaving this room, you are now in the shop where you can buy all viking related gifts and souviners of your visit, like pens, pencils and all the usual kind of things you can buy.
We throroughly enjoyed our visit and would definately recommend it to anyone. Even if you're not interesting in the Viking area, just go there if you are in York. It's a very worthwhile place to visit! We were in here for 1 hour, which I think is about right to look round everything.
OPENDING TIMES <><><><><><><>
April - October 10am - 1pm
November - March 10am - 4pm
Summer holidays (The dates will differ slightly each year) Saturday, Wednesday & Friday 9:30am - 5pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm
Christmas and New Year 24 December - 10am - 1pm 25 December - Closed 26 December - 11am - 4pm 31 December - 10am - 1pm 01 January - 11am - 4pm
PRICES <><><> Adults - £7.20 Children (5yrs - 15yrs) - £5.10 Family of 4 (2 adults & 2 children) - £21.95 Infants - free
Pictures of Jorvik Viking Centre (York)
The main entrance
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I loved it here - the ride with the realistic smells was great! x x x Jo x x x
mysteryshopper2 21.02.2004 13:53
I visited here when it first opened and thought it was fab. Cant wait till my son is old enough to take him along am sure he will love it. Great op :-)
Fruity_Tart 21.02.2004 00:41
I went to the Jorvik with school yeeeeears ago and thought it was brilliant. Can't wait to get to York and take the kids now cos I know my 4 year old would absolutely love the vile smells - vile, she is! lol Chris x
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Feb 15th, 2004
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