Alternative Clothing finds home in ancient York

York has been home to a whole manner of different people from Romans to Saxon, Vikings, Normans and more. Now, two female entrepreneurs have brought alternative clothing to York.

Julie Aylward told me that she and her business partner, Kelly Brown, had no regrets about making the move from Hull in East Yorkshire to a shop on the historic Stonegate, in the capital of the White Rose County.

"The traders here on the Stonegate are really supportive of each other which is great. We were inspired to set up Heaven Forbid because we couldn't find the kind of clothes that reflected us as individuals. Most of our customers are tourists passing through, but we have a loyal and growing local following, too".

Heaven Forbid sells a range of t-shirts from rock to indie bands, mini-skirts, studded belts and hoodies. Many of the boutique’s products are British made.

Kelly said: "We stock Darkside, Hellbunny, Living Dead Souls, Death Kitty, Criminal Damage, Toxico, Iron Fist and Wedgewelly. And also independent handmade designs such as Frankenshirts, Pink Ribbon Boutique and Dolly Cool."

Both Julie and Kelly have a shared background in the alternative music scene, as Kelly explained: "We have links to Fibbers music venue, having done stalls at gigs there and also now their promo girl works for us too! Local bands we have links to are Raw Deal and Kid Ego, who we sell gig tickets and merchandise for."

You can connect with Heaven Forbid (alternative clothing) on MySpace, too.

Stonegate, which links Minster Gates to St Helen's Square, has been an important road for nearly 2,000 years.

Visitors to York can get to grips with the city’s rich heritage with the Best of York, Walk Talk Tour, which listeners can download to their iPhone, MP3 Player, iPod or mobile phone, for just £4.50. Unlike a normal guided tour with this self guided audio guide, listeners have the flexibility to stop and start as they see fit. The tour, which is made up of commentary points (like tracks on an iTunes album or a CD), begins in St Helen's Square and concludes outside the magnificent York Minster (pictured bottom left).

Visitors without the wherewithal to download the tour can hire it from the Tourist Information Centre at the De Grey Rooms.