Everyone likes cycling round York. And everyone likes owls. (Except maybe for voles, shrews and mice.)
So here’s a super bike trail that takes you round York on roads and quiet paths to see a dozen or so figures, mosaics and statues that celebrate the hooting, wise, clear-sighted birds of prey.
The full version is 21 miles in and around York, and will take all day; there are plenty of refreshment and toilet stops. A ‘lite’ version (only the asterisked entries below) is under 5 miles and takes in the half-dozen owls in or near the city centre.
Both versions start at the Minster and finish at an owl-themed pub. We’ll also list some of the places in the city to see and hear the real things.
→ See map of full route
→ See map of lite route
1 Minster Gates: Minerva owl*
Start at the main entrance of the Minster, and cycle down Minster Gates – yes, you’re allowed to, it’s not a footstreet. At its corner with Petergate, up above head height, is the statue of Minerva (if you’re a 2,500-year-old Roman) or Athena (if you’re a 3,500-year-old Greek). Both names refer to the same goddess, who oversaw vital matters such as warfare, strategy and wisdom. She’s often depicted, as here, with an owl advisor. Being wise, it presumably suggests that a great strategy is not to go to war pointlessly, particularly with nations who control strategic oil corridors, for instance. The sculpture – white owl and all – includes piles of books because originally there was a bookshop on the corner, and was crafted by one John Wolstenholme in 1801. They think it’s all over – it isn’t yet.
Practical info Many cafes nearby with toilets. Public loos at Silver Street 300m away (charge).
From here you pick your way through the quiet back streets of the Groves, a residential district that used to be a rat-run-cum-polluted-traffic-jam until recent restrictions made it much better. Bike paths take you across Bootham Stray to New Earswick.
2 New Earswick: Mouse owl
A stump-carved owl along with a mouse, who looks rather blasé about its proximity to an efficient and merciless raptor. It’s off Garth Terrace in the village of New Earswick, a model-village originally founded by chocolate magnate and philanthropist Joseph Rowntree in the early 1900s. The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) still acts as housing admin and car provider for the place. The owl here was carved from the remains of a tree with a chainsaw by artist Karl Barker in 2026, based on local kids’ drawings.
Practical info The Folk Hall Cafe nearby on Hawthorn Terrace, run by the JRHT, is an excellent, and very reasonably-priced, little gem. There are free public toilets there, plus a post office and library.
Return over Bootham Stray and venture along makeshift bike paths through Clifton Moor past Rawcliffe Lake. Cycle through the Park and Ride (free toilets!) and through the pleasant meadows of Rawcliffe, part of the Way of the Roses long-distance cycle route.
3 Clifton Ings: Guide owl
A splendid carved wooden owl perched on a helpful signpost that was unveiled in 2026. The designs for the sculptures were inspired by artwork produced by Year Six pupils from Clifton with Rawcliffe Primary School after they visited the Ings in 2022. A local sculptor turned their drawings into reality. Look out for more sculptures and benches to be installed on the Ings in the near future – there will be owls on one of the benches.
Practical info The nearest cafe is McDonald’s at Clifton Moor retail park about 2km away away (YO30 4XU). More proximate (and free) toilets are at Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride where you cycled through, about 800m away.
Carry on along the floodplains to a dog leg. Nowadays the gate here is open into Homestead Park, another Rowntree initiative and lovely local facility. Be prepared to push your bike when inside the park.
4 Homestead Park: Bench owl
Another collaboration with the Year Sixers above, in Homestead Park. They came up with the animals that feature in the design on this carved wooden bench. Look for two owls, the squirrel holding a nut, a mouse…
Practical info A minute’s walk away is the Hive Cafe coffee and cake truck, and free park toilets. Child play area.
Carry on pushing through the park and on to the main road. Cycle lanes and paths (part of the York Orbital) guide you over a large road bridge into the suburb of Acomb.
5 Acomb: Mural owls
A striking, colourful and rather gorgeous house-end mural. Entitled Togetherness, Curtis Hylton’s work depicts a tawny owl (left) and a barn owl (right). It was created during the 2026 Paint Jam and commissioned by event curators Art Of Protest.
Practical info Acomb is a lively place with shops, cafes, supermarket, pub and library (which also has a cafe) all fairly close together on this road (Front St). A toilet is at Cross St (Front Street side of junction with Green Lane), accessible only by radar key (disabled use only) 9am–5pm.
Head left down Green Lane and wiggle through to Lowfield Green, an open space amongst some self-build properties.
6 Acomb: Accidental owl
The owl that shouldn’t have been. During development works when this former school grounds was a building site, a tree was mistakenly over-trimmed. Rather than remove the trunk, it was adapted into this fine carved wooden owl by an unknown local sculptor around 2019, and heat-treated as weatherproofing.
Practical info Cafes and toilets as above.
Ride down the tedious lengths of Gale Lane and Chaloners Road, past Hoggs Pond, and join unpleasant Tadcaster Road. Pass by the huge Tesco and head for the Park and Ride on paths which take you to the ring-road edge of the city, and one of its natural gems.
7 Askham Bog: Bog owls
The delightful nature reserve of Askham (peat) Bog is one of the most important and diverse sites in Yorkshire (and an SSSI). Its 45 hectares are explorable on foot (no cycling) on a series of boardwalks, and it provides a haven for local wildlife – including owls both real and wooden. The two wooden ones are on a carved treestump that forms an entrance marker to the reserve. You walk past it about 100m from where you lock your bikes on the inadequate cycle parking. They were installed here in 1983, when the Yorkshire Naturalists Trust changed its name to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Visitors here at dusk or dawn often report hearing the real thing.
Practical info No toilets here: the nearest are back at the Park and Ride you passed. More can be found in the Tesco you saw a kilometre or so previously, along with a cafe-restaurant and the usual huge-supermarket facilities.
Retrace your path a bit back along the bike path but now continue along Sim Balk Lane and the car-free path that takes you eventually, rather thrillingly, past (and over) the Racecourse. You descend to the banks of the Ouse and turn left at the wonderful Millennium Bridge to enter marvellous Rowntree Park.
8 Rowntree Park: Flood owl*
A lychgate/dovecote in front of Rowntree Park’s Reading Room Library shows flood levels over the years. At the top of its east side, inside, is a silhouette wooden owl. Fashioned by local printmaker Gerard Hobson, it was part of a trail originally launched in 2017.
Practical info Toilets, coffee, cake, light meals and books are the exciting combination offered by Explore York Reading cafe right opposite the lychgate. Bike parking too. The park also has public toilets about 200m away towards the river and left, by the basketball courts. In summer, a boat by the Millennium Bridge sells excellent ice-cream.
Leave the park and head over the Ouse via the grand Millennium Bridge (which makes a good place to sit) and head downriver towards Fulford.
9 Fulford Library: Book owl, Soft owl*
In the grounds of St Oswald’s Primary School is a very nice carved owl. It’s visible even when the gates are shut, but when the library is open you can see it close up. The owl is the symbol of the school, and the specific mascot animal of Key Stage Two classes here.
Inside Fulford Library opposite is a further owl, made of fabric, sitting on the top of a bookshelf in the far corner.
Practical info Toilets in the library. No cafe but they’ll fill up water bottles for thirsty owl-bagging cyclists. Access to the library (and hence the owl outside) is only during its opening times of 2pm–5pm Tue, Thu and Fri, and 10am–12.30pm Sat. (So, closed on Sun, Mon and Wed.)
Ride back the main road and turn left, then soon after right, down Pasture Farm Close.
10 Fulford: Stained glass owl*
On the front door of a private house (so be respectful) is a beautiful stained-glass owl. The work of artist Ann Sotheran, it was commissioned by the original owner of the property. That owner had a strong connection to Ellerton church in the Lower Derwent valley; her father was a keen ornithologist, and the valley is part of a triple SSSI due in large part to the abundant populations of over-wintering birds. ‘Ellerton church itself has a very special connection with barn owls – one might say they are the spirit bird of the place.’
Practical info Cafe and toilets in Starbucks, 105 Main Street, YO10 4PN. There are some pubs and shops too.
Cycle back up the main road towards town, and back north along the east side of the river into the centre. Once in the footstreet area you’ll be pushing the bike during shopping hours, as cycling isn’t allowed then.
11 Davygate: Mosaic owl*
A curious owl on a curious corner of central York. Off Davygate is this little three-walled square, unused except for a few haphazard gravestones (St Helen’s Burial Ground). But looking over them is this fine coloured-stone mosaic of a snowy owl, created in 1973 by artist Pamela Estdale (1931–1993) of Pannal, south of Harrogate.
Practical info There are countless cafes and pubs nearby. The nearest public toilets are on Silver St (charge). Many people hop in to M&S 100m away down Parliament Sq.
Head back west over the river on Lendal Bridge and turn left. Your final owl, and perhaps reward drink or meal, awaits.
12 Rougier St: Hooting owl*
The Hooting Owl Distillery pub-restaurant thoroughly celebrates its name. Lock your bike up on the racks outside and step in to see how many owly figurines, models and posters you can spot. There’s a bargain pizza deal and bar serving cask ales and own-brand gin.
The owl connections come from founder Dom M’Benga, whose distilling hobby began in a manor house with a golden owl statue on a doorframe. It inspired the fanciful back story of the Distillery, and inspired the birdy decorations inside. Owl items are constantly being added, so there’ll always be something new to see. You can also book tours via the website.
Practical info Toilets, drinks and meals available onsite.
Where to hear real owls
We hope you enjoyed the Owl Trail. But if you want to see and hear real ones, where should you ride…?
People who live near and cycle through Danesmead Wood (parallel to the Ouse, between the Millennium Bridge and Love Lane, St Oswald’s Road) report hearing and seeing owls at daybreak and dusk in autumn and spring.
Askham Bog has tawny owls flying around at such times too – easy to identify from their traditional ‘too-wit-too-woo’ call. These are actually a duet between conversing couples: ‘too-wit’ is the female, ‘too-woo’ the male response.
More about toilets
Organisations around the city offer a seat to rest on, plus access to a toilet, through the For Your Convenience toilet scheme. More information is on the Live Well York website.
Map (Full version)
Map (Lite version)