Yesterday was such a lush day and so, following work, we jumped in the car and decided to go on a little family adventure for some fresh air and exercise. One place we really love and that isn’t very far at all from us is Wharram Percy – A deserted medieval village.
Located here in East Yorkshire and just off the B1248 Beverley to Malton road, Wharram Percy is free English Heritage site with stunning views over the Yorkshire wolds. It is such a cute and unique little place, located down in a valley and is one of the largest and best preserved of Britain’s 3,000 or so known deserted medieval villages (and its only 20 minutes away from us!).
The walk is down a fairly steep hill from the little car park, but it is also good terrain so accessible for little legs too (but not prams or wheelchairs). As soon as we got on the path the kids were off – running down as they couldn’t wait to get to the little village!
You go through a couple of cow fields (which is a challenge if they make you nervous like me) but honestly they’ve always been super chill and seem used to walkers. As you cross a track and enter the next field where the site is located, you begin to meander up the other side of the valley, before out of what seems like nowhere, you spot the more modern farm house (1800’s) and, as you near it, you can see the well preserved church and foundations of what was the peasants housing (I believe). The church ruins are incredible and beautiful and the kids LOVE to explore them and go through all the old wooden doors and look at the ruins of houses of the past.
From there you can walk around the little church yard and a large pond with little wooden bridge and, well generally just soak up nature and history combined into one beauty spot!
As the weather was so lovely yesterday, our kids then paddled in the near by stream and we sat on the grass enjoying the evening sun over the wolds – it was such a lovely adventure and a place we really enjoy visiting.
Historic places make my soul happy and I love the idea of a deserted medieval village left for centuries and here now for us to learn and explore. If you are looking for a nice little walk in Yorkshire, a free little historical place to explore and learn more about The Percy Family and Saxons etc then hop on over for a peruse of our English Heritage – Wharram Percy – a beautiful and fascinating deserted medieval village!
