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Walking in Yorkshire – Bishop Wilton

trails in Yorkshire

After sitting on my bum all day, I happily jump at any chance to stretch my legs. In addition to the many things I do in Hull to move about (such as go to the gym, run to the river, pub crawl with friends, etc), escaping to the Yorkshire countryside is one of the activities I most adore. It’s the fresh air, and the lack of human contact that I sometimes just crave. Last month, my friend and I decided we were going walking in Yorkshire, and it was just what the doctor ordered.

I was in charge of planning the route. I previously had been to the Yorkshire Moors, so I thought it would be easy to find some country walks not too far from us. Surprisingly, there isn’t too much information available online about walking in Yorkshire. I had to dig around a bit, but finally, I found a circular walk that started (and ended) in Bishop Wilton, a little village outside of York.

Bishop Wilton - Yellow Fields in England

The walk did not disappoint us. It was  a bit hilly, so it was challenging enough, but not too difficult. We passed through large expanses of farmland (which consequently meant that I had terrible signal on my phone). Since we didn’t have a proper GPS tracker on us, I was very nervous. My iPhone battery doesn’t last very long, so I was hoping it would make it the entire duration. During the walk, I was relying on my iPhone, and an app called Trails (which, also drains my battery), which I had recently discovered in my desperate attempt to find more information about this area. Thankfully, with the lack of cell signal and my power bank, we managed to last the whole 3 hours and 21 minutes without getting lost.

bishop wilton trail - walking in yorkshire

friends on a walk in yorkshire

Anyway, needless to say, the walk went without incident. We walked through some heavily pollinated fields (abuzz with little bees and such), sneezed and cursed the pollen a bit, and walked on.

Another interesting thing that happened to us was that we ran into several inhabited rabbit traps. Is this an actual thing in the countryside? We weren’t sure if it was actually a trap to catch a rabbit, or if it was to catch a crow, because almost each trap we saw had a crow in it. One particular cage contained a very panicked crow next to a dead rabbit. A and I had to really make a decision on whether we left the trap alone, or if we intervened. I felt so sad for the poor bird so we decided to let it out. Was it legal or not? I’m not too sure! Does anyone know what is the purpose of those cages??

walking in yorkshire - hiking Bishop Wilton Trail wearing colorado threads

Colorado Threads - hiking in yorkshire

{I love any excuse to take out my Colorado Threads}

Anyway, I loved how green it was! Walking in Yorkshire is just magical. The weather was a bit moody, with lots of wind and gray skies. This weather contributed to the overall allure of the area. The villages were so sleepy. We passed by a gorgeous little chapel towards the end of the walk (below).

pretty church near bishop wilton, yorkshire

walking in yorkshire - hiking Bishop Wilton Trail

After (slowly) walking 6.1 miles (98 km), our walk reached the end. We had drinks, in what appeared to be one of Bishop Wilton’s only pubs, The Fleece Inn. We rehydrated, and called it a day. Because of the overall lack in cell signal, walking in Yorkshire genuinely made me feel disconnected and relaxed. The walk was a great way to clear out my head while simultaneously stay active!

walking in yorkshire - hiking Bishop Wilton Trail

What’s your favorite physical activity you do to unwind?

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