Worsen Dale

4. Go through the gate and just follow the path ahead of you at the top of this stretch of field - again the views are fab but it was very muddy particularly when you get to the next kissing gate, which you go through.

5. Walk straight ahead after the gate as you head towards the wire fence on the opposite side of this field - we spotted a couple of red kites circling above us here. When you get to the fence turn up right and follow the path uphill a bit more with the wire fence on your left. If you look over to your left before you reach the fence, as you make your way up, you are looking over the remains of the medieval Bishops Palace with its fish ponds and moat on Hall Garth.

The Manor of ‘Wilton’ was named amongst the lands given by Athelstan, King of Northumbria, who died in 939 AD, to Archbishop Wulstanus of York. Bishop Wilton is mentioned in the Domesday Book in the eleventh century when, as a relatively small settlement, the village had a church and a priest. At this time the land was in the possession of the Archbishop of York, and the dedication of the church to St. Edith has sometimes been attributed to Aeldred, Archbishop of York from 1061, who had previously been Bishop of Wiltshire where, at Wilton Abbey, St. Edith had taken Holy Orders. Where you are looking over Hall Garth there was once a palace believed to have been built by Archbishop Grey in the first half of the thirteenth century and, most probably, destroyed towards the end of the fourteenth century when Archbishop Neville of York, amongst others, had his lands and good seized in the political turmoil of the reign of Richard II. The manor at Bishop Wilton remained in the hands of the Archbishops of York until 1544 when it passed to the Crown.  

6. At the top of this stretch you come to double gates which you go through.

11. Go through the kissing gate and turn slightly left to head across to the fence at the wood, and then go straight ahead, keeping the wood and fence on your left. The path bends around the corner and you will see a three-way-signpost ahead of you. 

12. Turn left at the signpost through the gate which is both a kissing gate and swing gate.  Head down the path to the end, with Crow Wood on your left.

13. At the end there is a yellow way marker pointing right, which you should follow. However, if you do want to make your walk slightly shorter, you can head though the kissing gate and follow the path downhill to the road at the house with the alpacas (note dogs have to be kept on a lead down this way).

14. Turning right, I just followed the path along the top of Worsen Dale so Bill could have even more of an off-lead romp, but just watch the end of it and as turns down to the quiet road, where I put him back on a lead, just in case. 

15. At Worsendale Road turn left and follow it all the way back to Bishop Wilton, turning left at the first road in the village, back to the school. 

Back in the village you might want to visit St Edith's Church which is known for its beautiful decoration. The Norman church was remodelled for Sir Tatton Sykes in the mid-19th century, one of 17 Sykes Churches across the Yorkshire Wolds. The most striking feature of St Edith's is the late Norman south doorway arch, paid for by Archbishop Grey (1216-1255).  The arch is decorated with traditional Norman themes, including beak heads, the figure of Christ, the figure of David with the head of Goliath, plus a pagan being eaten head-first by a demon, a mermaid (lust), moneybags (greed), and animals eating (gluttony). The windows and decorated ceiling were painted by Clayton and Bell of London, who often worked for Sykes'. The chancel arch has further Norman ornamentation including beakheads and zigzag carvings. The other notable feature of St Edith's is the tiled floor, which is a copy of the floor pattern found in the Vatican in Rome.