Visitors Offered Ten Of York’s Most Iconic Selfie Locations With New Online Interactive Map

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Visitors Offered Ten Of York’s Most Iconic Selfie Locations With New Online Interactive Map

16 September 2016

Get your best smile and selfie-stick at the ready and follow the footprints around York to complete the brand new York Selfie Trail. Make It York has picked out the most iconic photo-spots in the city so you can take ten sensational selfies to make your Instagram followers swoon.

Ten of the most iconic photo locations in York have been chosen to be part of this brand new York Selfie Trail, leading visitors around the historic city of York. And Ragnar the Viking was the first to take part in the Selfie Trail this week and has created his own Instagram collage @visityork.

You can get a right royal selfie in front of Queen Victoria’s Gladstone carriage at the National Railway Museum, cosy up to Constantine for a group shot by York Minster or wear Clifford’s Tower like a crown from the corner of Tower Street.

2,000 copies of the Selfie Trail will be in stock in the Visit York Information Centre at 1 Museum Street and at York Railway station – and offered to Selfie takers when they arrive into York, with a free customised Selfie stick going to the first one hundred visitors to take part – just bring your smart phone to the Visit York Information Centre and show your selfie to one of the team. The selfie trail promises to help visitors find the best angles and guarantees a great photo in every spot.

The word ‘Selfie’ was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013 and even then research showed the frequency of use of the word selfie had increased by 17,000% within just one year. The word gained momentum throughout the English-speaking world in 2013 as it evolved from a social media buzzword to mainstream shorthand for a self-portrait photograph.

Now tourism brand Visit York is capitalising on the popularity of taking a selfie (and sharing it online) to encourage visitors to explore the city’s most iconic viewpoints.

Kate McMullen, Head of Tourism, Make It York, said,

‘Visitors often ask us which are the best and most iconic places to take photos and millions of visitors take and, crucially for us, share selfies every year. We hope visitors will be inspired by Ragnar the Viking and his collection of selfies, to make their own York selfie collage on Instagram and share their collections with us.’

Paul Whiting, Marketing Manager, Jorvik Viking Centre said,

‘The Vikings were not as hairy and dirty as is commonly imagined and they were actually quite vain. They were keen on looking after their appearance and if the selfie had been invented in 975, they would probably have enjoyed sprucing themselves up for a York selfie – bringing out their inner Norse-issist!’

Visitors can also use a new online map, where you can click on the different locations to find out more, or pick up a postcard map from the Visitor Centre. Post your best #yorkselfie online and be sure to tag @visityork and #yorkselfie on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to be in with a chance to win a selfie stick.

The ten selfie locations are:

  • York Railway Station – Platform 4 – get a shot with the magnificent view of the Victorian roof
  • Ouse Bridge – For the best views of the River Ouse
  • Clifford’s Tower – Wear Clifford’s Tower like a crown from the corner of Tower Street
  • King’s Court – Face King’s Court for the optimal view of the Shambles
  • Shambles Market – In front of the flower stall – frame yourself with the striking Shambles Market sign
  • York Minster – Cosy up to Constantine for a group selfie by York Minster
  • York Art Gallery – Stand by the William Etty statue for a perfectly framed shot
  • St Mary’s Abbey – Capture yourself with the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey
  • City Walls – Stand on the walls opposite the Grand Hotel for a cracking shot of Lendal Bridge, York Minster and the city
  • National Railway Museum – Take a right royal selfie in front of Gladstone, the iconic loco that hauled Queen Victoria’s carriages

So what are you waiting for? Grab your phone, get camera-ready and keep your eyes peeled for the York Selfie Trail footprints (find the pavement footprints to get the very best photo) around the city from this weekend.