CORONAVIRUS - York attractions prepare to reopen

Some of York's top visitor destinations have revealed their opening plans as the government relaxes Covid-19 restrictions for museums and attractions. 

JORVIK Viking Centre, Barley Hall and DIG - all part of York Archaeological Trust - will re-open for visitors on Saturday 11 July, with slightly different experiences on offer at each location to maintain social distancing.

Meanwhile, the Immersive Van Gogh experience at York St Mary's has announced it's reopening on the 4th of July, and running until the end of the year.

Sarah Maltby, director of attractions for York Archaeological Trust, said:

"When people are visiting attractions, they want it to be a fun and pleasant experience, and the risks associated with the pandemic mean that people are now vigilant about so many things that we took for granted before, particularly how close people get and how clean everything is.

These have been the first things that we've addressed across all three attractions, and once these are in place, making sure that the experience is as good or even better than before." 

Prebooking is essential across all attractions, with timed tickets and extended opening hours to enable visitors to maintain social distancing. Sarah said:

"Even with the relaxation to 'one metre plus' social distancing, our attractions will initially stick to two metres - we want people to feel extra safe, and have a natural flow through each site, whilst still being able to talk to our Vikings and other specialist staff.

This will mean that there are no crowds around display cases or galleries, so the whole experience should be pleasant and relaxed. In fact, for locals who might normally be put off by queuing and crowds, this is the perfect time to rediscover York's Viking heritage."

Cleaning and sanitation procedures have been stepped up, too, with visitors encouraged to use hand sanitiser at regular intervals during a visit as well as procedures to regularly disinfect the ride capsules. Ventilation using the air conditioning system will ensure that fresh air is channelled into JORVIK at all times and all visitors will have their temperature remotely taken when entering the building.

At DIG, where interactive activities are an integral part of the experience, techniques such as fogging will be used to regularly disinfect the artificial soil, with visitors given disposable gloves and face masks to wear as they unearth artefacts. Similarly, ventilation will be improved, temperature tests taken on arrival and a one-way system imposed.
 
A visit to Barley Hall is slightly more prescriptive than previously, with visitors asked to follow a set route which enables them to see everything whilst maintaining social distancing.

Re-opening the visitor attractions is crucial not only to help restart York's tourism industry, but also for York Archaeological Trust, the charity which relies on income from the attractions to continue its world-renowned programme of archaeological research and charitable educational activity. Sarah said:

"We were able to secure finance to cover operating costs whilst the attractions have been closed, including supporting our 'Discover from Home' learning projects, and income from the summer months will be essential for repaying this. We've also launched a fundraising drive for £30,000 to help cover the costs of reopening safely, and our supporters are already being very generous in moving us towards that goal."

When the Immersive Van Gogh Experienve at York St Mary's re-opens on 4 July, several measures will be in place to protect staff and visitors.  Prebooking will be essential, to limit any queues and to manage visitor flow through the experience.  Inside, the deckchairs where visitors enjoy immersive 360 degree animated projections of over 200 on Van Gogh’s most famous works, have been spaced according to social distancing guidelines.

All visitors will be required to wear face masks, with disposable masks available at the admissions desk.  Disposable caps will also be used for the Virtual Reality experience – an 11-minute journey through a day in Van Gogh’s life in Arles – with each VR headset fully sanitised after use.  

A larger space on the former church’s mezzanine now hosts the shop, with visitors exiting down the steps into the Coppergate Centre.  Wheelchair access remains available to the majority of the building.

Creative Director Mario Iacampo said:

“Every sector of the tourism industry has been hit hard by over three months of lockdown, but hopefully we’re now starting to see a way through this stage of the infection in a way that enables people to return to some kind of normality, albeit with measure in place to support measures which minimise the chance of transmission of Covid-19.

Fortunately, we are based in a light and airy former church, and have been able to change both the visitor flow and the amount of space allocated to each person.  It does mean running significantly below our original peak capacity, but we believe it is important for us to support the whole of York’s tourism and hospitality sector by giving people a reason to venture back into the city centre.

“So many people leave the experience with a wonderful sense of peace and well-being, and after months following all the guidance to stay home, we believe that this can be a positive and safe escape for anyone, whether local residents or visitors to the city."

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