Originally set out as a formal space for the fashion conscious to stroll and socialise, New Walk also offered a welcome escape from the city. Even today there is still a sense of occasion as you leave the noise and bustle of the city to embark upon one of England’s first riverside walks.

New Walk’s Trees
New Walk initially stretched from Tower Gardens to the junction where the River Foss joins the River Ouse. When it opened to the public, visitors and residents alike were given a unique opportunity to walk along the banks of the River Ouse, shaded by parallel rows of elm trees. Although the first trees to be planted were elms, other varieties were later interspersed among them. These are the very large trees we can see today: the younger trees are mostly replacements for the elms, which had to be cut down in 1980 after an outbreak of Dutch Elm Disease.

The Desire to Promenade
To us this type of urban walk may not seem so remarkable, but its creation was an important part of the attempts made by the eighteenth-century City Corporation to raise York’s status to that of a leading Georgian social centre. The city sought to provide entertainment for the gentry and growing middle classes. The New Walk was only one of the many developments across the city, others included the racecourse, the Mansion House and the Assembly Rooms.

The walk proved to be extremely popular, being one of only a few such walks in the country, and was soon extended further out of the city. The original Blue Bridge was built in 1738 and other improvements at this time included extending the width of the walk, an additional row of trees and also the planting of hedges to separate the walk from surrounding wild landscape.

The New Walk Today
During the 1830s the first houses were built alongside the walk. From this time onwards, the New Walk was seen as a safe alternative to the main road into the city. Today York’s residents use New Walk to travel either on foot or by bicycle from the suburbs to the centre of town. Meanwhile visitors can still enjoy a chance to escape the city and walk along the banks of the river. The main features of the New Walk which were enjoyed by the Georgians are still clearly visible today, including the iron gates and railings just over Blue Bridge, the current Blue Bridge and the Pikeing Well. With the erection of the Millennium Bridge, walkers can now complete a circular route returning to the city on the opposite bank via the Edwardian Rowntree Park. This has increased the volume of users dramatically and allowed an increased appreciation of this historical walk.