A TOP attraction which was forced to close after the River Ouse burst its banks is throwing open its doors again tomorrow.

York Dungeon will be welcoming visitors back to the darkest depths of the Cumberland Street attraction from 10am.

Mark Mattinson, general manager, said it was 'a fantastic feeling to be able to reopen so quickly'.

He praised his team for their quick work and resilience, and thanked organisations such as Visit York and the York BID for their support during 'really challenging few days' for many businesses in the city.

Water entered the building as the river level rose in Cumberland Street overnight on Monday.

Mark said the water was 'only a few inches deep' and receded 24 hour later, but it was enough to force them to close the attraction which takes visitors through more than 2,000 years of the city’s history.

Part of the attraction is underground, with water getting into some of the lower show areas.

"They are all stone floors so there was no damage to that," said Mark.

The Dungeon which has been inundated with floodwater on previous occasions has been designed to limit the damage.

Staff were able to get back into the property on Wednesday and organise the clean-up. A specialist commercial cleaning company was brought in and York-based J Lister Electrical did a full-site electrical safety inspection.

Mark said the building has been fully sanitised, all of the shows have been tested, and many guests who had pre-booked tickets were taken on walking tours of the streets of York with the Dungeon Jester.

Ticket sales reopened today, Thursday, ready for the Dungeon's reopening on Friday.

"It is about getting the word out that the city itself, and affected businesses are open again to dispel any negative impressions that the national media have created which doesn't help the city or economy at all," said Mark.

He said the flooding had come as businesses were trying to get through an already quieter time in the year, while also recovering from the Covid pandemic restrictions.

"The team has been fantastic," added Mark. "They have rallied around, working hard to coordinate things with the cleaning, taking flood defences down, contacting guests. We had a lot of pre-bookings for the three days we were closed. The admissions team contacted all the guests."

Many people who missed out on their visit have rebooked to return this weekend.

"We are looking forward to a really busy weekend. We won't be far off a sold-out day on Saturday. It gives us the chance to recoup what we lost. February half term is a key trading period for tourism bushinesses."

The previous week had also been busy, with schools in other parts of the country on their half term breaks.

Guests are now able to book tickets on the Dungeon website.

Mark added: “Whilst we have been able to overcome the challenges of the flood, we would reiterate our call for the Government to continue supporting tourism and hospitality businesses following the tough two years of the pandemic and it is really important that the reduced rate of VAT of 12.5 per cent for our industry is extended past its planned end date in April.”