Difficulty: Easy
Walk Source: Walk 3 in the 'Vale of York and the Yorkshire Wolds' pathfinder guide
About half an hour or so out of York, along the A166, is the remains of a little medieval village; Wharram Percy. It sits in a quiet and beautiful valley in the Yorkshire Wolds, protected from high winds and with its own fish-pond. There are many footpaths around, so if you've got a map you can choose any number of variations on the walk.
I chose to more or less follow the path described in my guide-book, except that I did it back to front. There is a well kept car park near Bella farm, and from there you can follow signs down to the old village. The path gradually descends past a field, and crosses a small stream before reaching the English Heritage property. Admission is free, and the property is open all year round.
The first thing that greets you is the large house that accommodated the workers, and later the archaeologists who worked on the site for many many years. Behind that is the ruins of the village church, still quite impressive, with all four walls more or less there. Some graves are also still intact, with beautiful old gravestones.
The pond has been recreated to its old glory, and from there you head uphill towards the ridge of the little valley. There is a lovely view over the Vale of York extending from the village, and as you turn left at the small wooded area you get to walk alongside this view. From there it's not a long walk back to the car park; after turning left where you meet the tarmacked road you walk along a field for a while and then suddenly you are back where you started.
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