A FESTIVAL to celebrate York’s medieval walls will take place this weekend.

Building on the success of the 2018 event, the second York Walls Festival has several new activities and events. Everything is free, thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

There will be a Festival Information Point in the Museum Gardens, open from 9.30am to 4.30pm on both Saturday and Sunday, where people can collect a free festival map specially commissioned for this year.

The Red Tower on Foss Islands Road will be hosting a community barbecue on Saturday afternoon, with healthy choices available. There will also be a goat stew from Sierra Leone provided by a local resident. The Lord Mayor of York will arrive at 3.30pm to launch the event.

Fishergate Postern Tower on Piccadilly will be open both days from 10am to 4pm, featuring a new display of the archaeological dig which took place there last December, and also a book stall.

York Explore will be hosting Found Fiction, a community story writing event, and also has a children’s activity to ‘Design and Make a Tile’. Both events will be inspired by the walls.

Good Organisation guide Gavin Sullivan will lead four Invisible York walks as part the festival. The charity supports those affected by homelessness. Walks leave York Explore at 10am and noon on both days.

There will be a charity challenge in aid of York Mind. ‘Million-step-man’, aka Brian Mullins, who has been walking one million steps each month – about 17 miles per day - in aid of York Mind, is aiming to walk around York’s walls for 24 hours. The River Foss Society has organised display boards along Foss Islands Road to explain what the area used to be like when the King’s Fishpond flooded the area. They will also be demonstrating their water sampling techniques.

Organiser Martin Hetherington, from Friends of York Walls, said: “Our aim is to encourage as many people as possible to enjoy the walls, while at the same time learning more about their unique heritage value.

“Thanks to a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant we have been able to extend the Festival to cover both the Saturday and Sunday, and we have several more partners on board, and a stronger community focus.”