Above York Minster Photo Gallery

York Minster is an expensive place to visit. Their website claims it costs over 30,000 pounds a day to run it, and the price for a church entry ticket is 18.2 pounds if you're not local. With the tower climb, it's only another 6 pounds more, so you might as well go up to enjoy the view. Staff at the ticketing counter are careful to go through a long health questionnaire to weed out any potential medical conditions that may prevent you from climbing the 275 steps up the tower. This was a bit odd, since I've climbed other taller churches over the years around Europe but the folks here seem a exercise a lot more caution. The admission system is also more complex. While you can get a ticket to visit the church's interiors right away, the separate ticket for the tower is timed so they group everyone together at set times for the climb. With the narrow staircase, visitors can only go in one direction at a time and there are staff at the bottom and top of the tower to make sure everyone has gone through. The first section up to the lower roof was relatively straight forward. There, you can admire the surroundings and architectural structure. The next section up is the real tough one. The staircase spirals up and is very narrow, barely wide enough for a person to twist through. The stairs are steep so this is where the health questionnaire becomes relevant. Nevertheless, the top of the tower offers beautiful views in all directions. It was worth the gruelling climb.