Things you didn't know about... York

Grand old York is halfway up and halfway down
York sits in the middle of the United Kingdom and is virtually the same distance from London as it is from Edinburgh.

York's cathedral is the largest in Northern Europe
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe. It took over 250 years to build, from 1220 until its consecration in 1472.

York boasts the world's largest railway museum
The National Railway Museum in York is the world's largest. Its three giant halls house, among other exhibits, the world's fastest steam engine, the Mallard, and the Flying Scotsman, the first steam engine to record a speed of 100 mph.

York is derived from a Viking name
In 866, the Vikings captured Eoferwic from the Angles. It was named Jorvik and made the capital of a kingdom that covered a large swathe of northern England. After 1066, William the Conqueror used York, derived from Jorvik or Yorwik, as his northern base.

York pioneered a satellite-guided transit system
York was the first city in the UK to trial a highly advanced public transport scheme that combines tram-like buses, traffic light recognition and satellite tracking technology. Called FTR, it also incorporates raised curbs at bus stops.

York is famous for its chocolate
In 1767, two men named Bayldon and Berry set up business in York to sell candied peel. After joining forces with Joseph Terry a few years later, the business grew to become Terry's, of Chocolate Orange fame. In 1775, also in York, Mary Tuke opened a shop in Walmgate, whose cocoa operations were subsequently bought by Henry Isaac Rowntree in 1862. Some 124 years later, the Yorkie bar appeared.

York provided the venue for a royal marriage in 1961
The Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley in 1961 in York Minster, one of the few times a member of the Royal Family was married outside London.

York's many, many ghosts go way back
York claims to be the most haunted city in Europe. The city's Treasurer's House is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as having the "ghosts of greatest longevity"—ghosts of a Roman legion are said to haunt its cellars.

Gunpowder Plotter Guy Fawkes was born in York
Guy Fawkes was born in 1570 in Stonegate, York.

York's football stadium is named after a chocolate bar
In 2003, York City Football Club was bought by a supporters' trust, thus ensuring the survival of the floundering club. In early 2005, the club offered naming rights to its ground to Nestlé, York's biggest employer, and since then its stadium, formerly Bootham Crescent, has been known as KitKat Crescent.