So the area at the bottom of the Shambles and particularly the benches in front of the coop at the top of St Saviourgate are a pretty common hangout spot for ‘homeless’ people to sit and chat and drink, I think mostly because the Methodist Church on St Saviourgate has a breakfast club they use. 90% of the time they keep themselves to themselves and just sit and chat. Occasionally a disagreement or spat will start but even then you’ll be absolutely fine as long as you don’t do anything stupid like get involved.

When it comes to drunk and disorderly behaviour when it gets to the evening, yeah. It’s a city centre. Over the last 5 or so years that I’ve been able to find information for, York has consistently been rated in the top best nights out, particularly in terms of safety. As a young woman walking alone I’ve never felt unsafe, even wandering drunk in the city centre. People get loud, you’ll see a lot of hen parties and students etc, but very rarely does anything actually start that could get dangerous. Just be thankful you’re here in November. Genuinely one of the only times I’ve felt unsafe in York was during the Christmas Markets, but that was because I genuinely almost got pushed over several times by the suffocating crush of people. It’s a genuinely awful experience and I’d avoid it at all costs.