History

The Yorkshire Wolds hold layers of human history. Near Hessle, the Black Mill was once used to crush chalk for whitening paint. At North Ferriby walkers follow paths shaped by centuries of estuary trade and farming.

At Nunburnholme the Victorian naturalist Reverend Francis Orpen Morris served as vicar. Morris meticulously catalogued the local birdlife for his definitive guides, finding the Wolds to be a perfect, undisturbed habitat.

Beyond Thixendale the trail reaches Wharram Percy, the most famous of over 100 deserted medieval villages in the Yorkshire Wolds. Abandoned in the 15th century due to the Black Death and forced evictions for sheep farming, only the ruined walls of St Martin's Church remain standing. It is one of the most studied medieval sites in Britain.

The northern Wolds also hold significant military history. The trail passes Pocklington Aerodrome, a former World War II base for Wellington and Halifax bombers, now used for gliding. Further north lies RAF Staxton Wold, an important radar base since the 1930s and currently the oldest operating radar site in the world. The site has been used for early warnings since Roman times, when beacons were set up on the ridge.

Evidence of the Cold War can also be found; walkers may spot the remains of underground bunkers designed to monitor potential nuclear attacks and report to headquarters in York.