The Wolds Way

A curving route around and across the Yorkshire Wolds via Market Weighton, linking the North Sea to the Humber. The path follows the crest of the chalk escarpment overlooking the Vales of York and Pickering. The landscape is dominated by farming and grazing fields separated by long, straight hedgerows and lanes.

There are very few villages along the way, and the solitude is one of the great appeals of the Wolds Way. This sense of solitude may be emphasized by the large number of deserted medieval villages near the path.

Some of these have been excavated and interpreted, as at Wharram Percy. Others lie undisturbed beneath the pasture turf. Many of these villages were abandoned at the time of the Black Death in the mid-14th century.

Even more ancient are the numerous Bronze Age burial mounds which decorate the Wold tops. Down in the valleys there are long stretches of earthworks dating from the same period. Several ruined abbeys can be found along the path, notably Warter Priory and Watton Abbey.

Although the land appears relatively gentle, the escarpment of the Wolds is cut by numerous steep valleys, making for a very "up and down" walking experience! The landscape abounds in chalk-loving plants, such as the rare Bee Orchid and Yellow Worts.

Highlights:
Humber Bridge - once the world's longest single span bridge
Londesborough Park - former home of the powerful Clifford family
Wharram Percy - a deserted medieval village
Thixendale - the most isolated village in the Wolds