My blog is turning TripAdvisor today with my news and views from York and its recently-opened Chocolate Story.
Let's get over the first subject which TripAdvisors are largely whinging about.....it's not cheap! But what is? With an hour to spare, I took the kids into the Minster and it's nine quid to get in there these days! Thankfully my friend slipped me her York Libraries card and we got in free. Hey, I'm a church-goer, I give my fair share to keep the CofE afloat. Perhaps its Commissioners could sell off some of its vast estate and then everyone could continue to enjoy the wonders of York Minster etc without having to re-mortgage the house.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, the Chocolate Story entry fee. Well, first piece of advice; buy online before you go. It's not rocket science. The couple in front of us hadn't and the tours were full. The couple not only let down their visibly upset daughter but also taught her some bad manners by taking their planning incompetence out on the ticket desk girl. Nice.
Anyway, it's £25 for a family online (2+2) with a guaranteed tour allocation or £28 on the door and risk not getting in. Simples.
Once inside, they'd got me from the get-go by handing out chocolate bars as we waited to start the tour. Nice touch.
We were a 41-year-old, a 60-something-year-old and my boys at five and ten, and we all enjoyed it immensely. It's a brief journey from the origins of chocolate and the cocoa pod through to its arrival and growth in York and on to an interactive demonstration of how it is made. They've got it covered.
It's a rather potted history but with a five-year-old in tow it was suffice and cleverly combined the personal approach of a friendly tour guide with modern technology via wall-mounted screens masquerading as olde-worlde portraits. It's a lovely touch when the guide converses with the 'portraits' to tell the story of York's confectionery families.
Then it's hands-on and you can design your own chocolate bar wrapper (pic below), create a lollipop (to take home) and watch chocolates being made, up-close, and then taste the wares.
Yes, it's expensive but I commend them for a great use of a relatively small space right in the heart of historic York and the ability to keep us all entertained for around an hour.
Then, of course, it's exit through the gift shop and cafe serving a mean hot chocolate as you would expect.
It's one of those conundrums. The likes of Leeds Royal Armouries and the new Football Museum in Manchester are free to get in, which is great. But once inside you pay to have a go at shooting; a gun or a football (i.e. depending on which museum you are in!). At York's Chocolate Story, once you have paid to go in, all the activities, tasters and the chocolates you make are free so it's swings and roundabouts really.
www.yorkschocolatestory.com
