York Good Bad and Ugly

Maybe people can wear what they like?

"Really rowdy young people after 5 pm on the streets"

Sounds like a normal Friday night in York :). Is the fact that they were young relevant? Having a fun night out is what young people do.

Kittycate, that’s an average night out in any British city. I love how the girls make such an effort. I think part of the fun of a Friday or Saturday night out is the time the big groups of girls spend with their girlfriends getting themselves ready to go out.

I remember some of the shoes I used to wear, which may be why I have arthritic toes now, but at the time I was having a blast.

I know I’ve been critical of some of the levels of rowdy public drunkenness though in some places - see my comments in the other thread, about a night in Newquay. It can be a shock to the system.

I think if we're being kind to the OP we can put it down to "cultural differences" :) Gave me a chuckle to start the weekend anyway!

Agree with The Star Inn, we rented a gorgeous house next door for our stay in York and enjoyed breakfast there most days.

York does attract a lot of stag and hen parties and also a lot of revellers from nearby towns and cities. It can get rowdy but that's your typical weekend night up and down the country.

As for the men wearing shorts and t-shirts, it's summer and Brits will insist on making the most of it and if that means shorts on a night out then so be it. I'm assuming they were mostly smart shorts rather than baggy cargo shorts? Personally I think a pair of well fitted chino shorts and a smart polo shirt is perfectly acceptable for a night out.

It does raise an interesting point though. British drinking culture may come as a shock to some from North America. I'm picturing kittycate counting drunk lasses, slightly horrified :)

Pairings Wine Bar seems to get good reviews all over the internet from what I can see. From what I read it does sound like somewhere they've put a bit of thought into what they're offering. You weren't impressed by their service?

This is normal for a British weekend night out, especially in the North of the country where women tend to doll up more. There are whole TikTok accounts dedicated to it. Bristol and London are more casual but you’ll certainly see it even there. It’s quite the spectacle.

Maybe we should reframe it as the British passeggiata. ;-)

The pass-out-giata. It’s definitely a unique cultural experience.

We were in York in April. Arrived on a Saturday night and agree that is a bit drunken and rowdy. We expected this so it came as no surprise. The rest of our stay was nicer in this regard. We had good service at Pairings but were only there for a drink and a cheese plate. We also did the Bloody Tour and absolutely loved Mad Alice.

Anybody who, like myself, has had occasion to visit Newcastle Upon Tyne’s Bigg Market on a Saturday night will only see the goings on in York as sedate and comparatively restrained! Although York on horse race weekends is probably best avoided as it can be very unruly as too many folk, post race meeting, attempt to wedge themselves into a city centre that can’t cope.

Interesting discussions here. I found weekend nights in central Glasgow to be borderline frightening. Eighty percent of the females could be confused with hookers were they to be teleported to New York or Los Angeles, and few of the young people (under, say, 63) were within shouting distance of sobriety. Didn't really see that in any other UK city I've visited, but perhaps I will again upon visiting York. Not looking forward to it, particularly.

We did three nights in York on our own in 2017 and it is one of our favorite British cities.

Loved walking the amazing Minster, the ancient walls, the National Railway Museum, the three museums we visited and the atmosphere in the city.

Didn't see any rowdy youths.

I found weekend nights in central Glasgow to be borderline frightening

Interesting that you say that. I'm Scottish and I notice a big difference between Glasgow and London. Much more of a culture of public drunkenness up in Glasgow. If you're out of the centre particularly, Glasgow can be much more sketchy because people are drunk and open to having a scrap. Buckfast is a thing :)

I won't quote what you said about the comparison to New York or LA. Sounds a bit off the way you made that point.

Thanks for the tip on where you stayed, I'm going to look it up. I haven't been to York yet and now I'm even more excited about getting there if the worst thing about it is how other people are dressed.

Glasgow can be much more sketchy because people are drunk and open to having a scrap. Buckfast is a thing :)

It is a lifetime goal of mine to get pissed on Buckfast in Glasgow. I've never been able to find it in the US, but honestly, how can something that's "made by monks and drank by drunks" NOT be a good idea in a bottle?

Or maybe not.

Never know unless you try!

-- Mike Beebe

Mike, Buckfast is grim, your best best is to mix Carlsberg Special Brew with Irn Bru, that'll get you living like a local ; )

Coventry on the weekend is another haunt of the micro mini and all dolled up, especially in mid winter.

Anybody who, like myself, has had occasion to visit Newcastle Upon Tyne’s Bigg Market on a Saturday night will only see the goings on in York as sedate and comparatively retrained!

I wonder what the folks who named the new bridge were thinking when they did that? The Winking Bridge.

Glad you enjoyed 21 York. We stayed there a few years ago and it was excellent. The breakfast was perhaps the best of any accommodation we’ve stayed at. Nice folks too.

If you look up Nightlife on the streets of the UK , you will be horrified.
Been like this for years.
Where the women find these outfits is a mystery.

Don't let it put you off visiting the bigger cities…most of us here are long in our beds by the time these scenes are playing out! ;)

Nigel - “The Winking Bridge”. My friends who are N.E. Natives, one a ‘proper Geordie’ (like Cockneys, authentic Geordies are confined to a specific, smallish geographical area) refer to it as “The Blinking Eye”.

I found a lot of that throughout my travels.

When I was in Plymouth, I asked a hotel employee where a good pub was for dinner. She directed me to one, but warned me that the city would be loud and rowdy, since it was the night before a Bank Holiday. And indeed it was. I saw quite a few groups of guys walking the streets or drinking in the pub, laughing and having a rousing good time. Some had girlfriends, but some women were alone and seemed to be having just as much fun without the guys. :-)