Sightseeing’s buses back on the road to bring some festive cheer

City Sightseeing York’s open top tours will be back on the road from this Thursday, December 3.

Circular tours of York’s landmarks will run every 30 minutes on Monday to Friday and every 20 minutes on Saturday from 21 stops across the city, giving grandstand views of famous sights including York Minster and Clifford’s Tower.

For eight days from Tuesday December 15, the tours will feature festive activities, from carol singing to tree decorating, and appearances from historical figures including Oliver Cromwell and Queen Victoria to bring York’s own Christmas story to life.

The sightseeing firm is also promising plenty of bonus surprises throughout the one hour special tours including a VIP visit from Santa Claus.

York City Sightseeing’s general manager, Ben Mansfield, said: “We’re delighted to be back and just in time to run our special Christmas themed tours for the very first time.

“Our open-top buses are a safe and friendly way to bring the magic of Christmas in York to life, with plenty of fresh air and fun for the family.

“2020 has been a year like no other for us all, and yet we’ve already welcomed over 20,000 people onto our red sightseeing buses to enjoy our tours since our service resumed with the easing of lockdown rules in early July.

“We’re now ready to wrap up this year with our unique Christmas themed tours, and we expect demand for tickets to be high.”

Tickets start from £16 per adult and £35 for a family, with bookings available online. All the tours begin from Exhibition Square in the city centre, close to York Minster and Bootham Bar.

Earlier this year, TripAdvisor awarded the operator its coveted 2020 Travellers’ Choice Award.

Tourism agency Visit England has also awarded City Sightseeing York its “We’re Good to Go” ‘tourism tick’ confidence mark. To qualify, the bus tour operator demonstrated that all social distancing and cleanliness measures were in place on each of its buses.