River Foss in the context of "Vale of York"

York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a minster, castle and city walls, all of which are Grade I listed. It is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of the wider City of York district. It is located 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Leeds, 90 miles (140 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 207 miles (333 km) north of London. York's built-up area had a recorded population of 141,685 at the 2021 census.

The city was founded under the name of Eboracum in AD 71. It then became the capital of Britannia Inferior, a province of the Roman Empire, and was later the capital of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria and Scandinavian York. In the Middle Ages it became the northern England ecclesiastical province's centre, and grew as a wool-trading centre. In the 19th century it became a major railway network hub and confectionery-manufacturing centre. In the Second World War York was bombed in the Baedeker Blitz. Although York was less targeted during the war than other, more industrialised northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration took place up until the 1960s.

York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the north-west side of the River Foss. The now ruined keep of the medieval Norman castle is commonly referred to as Clifford's Tower. Built originally on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of Jórvík, the castle suffered a tumultuous early history before developing into a major fortification with extensive water defences. After a major explosion in 1684 rendered the remaining military defences uninhabitable, York Castle continued to be used as a jail and prison until 1929.

Haxby is a town and civil parish in the City of York district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 Census, the parish had a population of 8,754, which reduced to 8,428 at the 2011 Census.

Open farmland extends to the north as far as the villages of Sutton-on-the-Forest and Strensall. The River Foss and Earswick is to the east. It is outside of the York Outer Ring Road (A1237) and near the New Earswick and Huntington areas of York, to the south. It shares a continuous built-up area with the village and parish of Wigginton to the west.