The Belt

 1. Park just outside Nunburnholme at the end of Butt Lane / start of Lowfields Lane at the Yorkshire Wolds Way signpost, where there is enough room to get off the road. Then take the Wolds Way / Public Bridleway signposted to Huggate.

2. The path goes up a fairly steepish white stony path (Bratt Lane) through the middle of some trees and emerges at a gate into a field. 

3. Go through the gate and walk up the path on the right-hand side until you get to another gate in the fence on your right, where the Wolds Way continuous forwards and there is a public footpath sign pointing right. Turn right through the gate.

4. Follow the path straight ahead with fields to your left until you come to where the path turns sharp left and into the woods - you are now on The Belt.

Once you are back in Nunburnholme you could visit St James' Church which spans 1,000 years of history. Prior to 1066 the church was at the centre of the settlement at Nunburnholme. If there was a church building, it was most likely made of wood with a thatch roof. The Anglo-Saxon stone cross discovered in 1872 there, shows that it was a consecrated site well before the stone church we see today was built.

Nunburnholme was abandoned following William the Conqueror’s 'harrying of the north'. The village was re-established on the south side of the beck. Later, the village moved to the north side of the beck. These movements explain the church's position at the edge of today’s village.

The stone church of today was built in the reign of Henry III (1207-1272) by Roger de Morley as the priory church of the Benedictine nunnery of St Mary, which was about 800 metres to the northeast of the church. The church was restored in 1872-73 by architect George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), whose work includes the Albert Memorial. During this restoration two pieces of the stone cross shaft were discovered. The carved faces of the cross shaft include Anglo-Saxon Christian figures, an unusual, haloed warrior, and later pagan Viking and Norman additions. These two pieces were rejoined and the cross now stands inside the church at the base of the tower, but researchers have discovered that the cross has been mounted back to front!

The church tower was dedicated as a memorial to the Revd Francis Orpen Morris (1810-1893), rector of St James from 1854 to 1893 who was a famous ornithologist and wrote several volumes on birds. He was also responsible for starting the movement for the protection of birds. He was succeeded by his son, Marmaduke Morris (1844-1935) as rector. Marmaduke was also a prolific author and wrote many books on Yorkshire life.