Frequently Asked Questions Relating to Covid Closure

Due to COVID-19, some teams at the JORVIK Group of Attractions are temporarily away.

JORVIK Viking Centre, Barley Hall and DIG: An Archaeological Adventure have re-opened for visitors, but some teams will remain unavailable for a few weeks.

On this page we have listed answers to questions you may have during this time.

Which attractions are open?

JORVIK Viking Centre, Barley Hall and DIG: An Archaeological Adventure have re-opened. The Richard III and Henry VII Experiences will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

We have new social distancing and safety policies to make sure visits are safe and enjoyable for all our visitors and staff, including restricting the number of people in the attraction, ensuring social distancing and extra hygiene precautions. You can read more about these new policies here for JORVIK Viking Centre, here for Barley Hall and here for DIG: An Archaeological Adventure.

We are only accepting visitors who have booked in advance online or by calling 01904 615505.

I had a booking for one or more of the attractions when they were closed. What should I do?

We have contacted as many people as possible regarding bookings until 10th July 2020 (the day before we re-opened). If we had not reached you yet, you can:

• Change your booking online, if you set up an online account when you originally booked. You are not able to request a refund using our online system.
• If you haven’t got an online account, we will contact you as soon as we can. We will offer you the opportunity to change your booking, or we can give you a refund. We will need to speak to you to process a refund, because card details are not stored in our system for security reasons. Thank you for your patience – our team were furloughed for several weeks so we are now working through our call lists as quickly as possible.

I had visited previously and wanted to make use of the 12 months’ free entry. Will this be extended?

Yes, if you still have your receipt we will be extending the period for which you can get free entry by 4 months, to 16 months from the date of your receipt.

I have an urgent query, how can I contact the JORVIK Group of Attractions?

Please email jorvikgroup@yorkat.co.uk and if your query is urgent, one of our team will respond as soon as they can. If your query is not urgent,  it may be some time before we are able to reply.

How can I support York Archaeological Trust?

The coronavirus crisis is causing unpredictable and significant concerns for JORVIK Viking Centre, our sister attractions and York Archaeological Trust as a whole. Our staff and visitors’ safety is our top priority. However, making our attractions safe has incurred unexpected costs, and combined with the severe ticket income loss, our future plans are under threat.

We would be hugely grateful for your support helping us raise £120,000 to cover the costs of developing and running this exciting and beneficial new project.

How can I make a booking for private hire of JORVIK Viking Centre or Barley Hall?

Our attractions are closed for private hire for the foreseeable future. The hospitality team are currently unavailable, but if you email eventsandhospitality@yorkat.co.uk they will reply as soon as possible when we re-open. If you have an urgent query, please email jorvikgroup@yorkat.co.uk.

Can I still apply to volunteer?

We have currently placed our volunteer applications on hold. We will post further information about our next intake later this year. 

Can I still apply to undertake a placement?

We have currently placed our placement applications on hold. We will post further information about our next intake later this year.

I have a research question relating to your attractions / the Vikings – who can I contact?

Please submit your question to jorvik@yorkat.co.uk. We will respond at the earliest opportunity, but be aware that there may be a delay of several weeks before the relevant department can respond.