We left Wetherby today to continue our travels. First stop was Wharram Percy. This is a Deserted Medieval Village (DMV) and while of significant interest to archeologists, there is not much to see there (since it was deserted in the middle ages!). It was a must-see on Miriam's list and involved quite a drive into the countryside on various back-roads plus a 1km walk to actually get to the site.
The only thing we managed to stuff up was not making sure the audio tour Miriam had downloaded into her Dropbox was physically on her phone so we could listen to it. If we had had cell-phone coverage that wouldn't have been a problem but we find that often there is no coverage where we end up. Lesson learned - make sure such files are 'available offline'!
After the black death decimated the population, farming practices changed and the local landowner converted the area to sheep farming. The village fell into disrepair and all that was left was the church. The farmhouse in the photo was built in the 18th century as part of the 'improvements'. The Church (behind the farmhouse) was used until the 1970's when the roof was removed for safety reasons.
The intensive study of the village over 30-40 years has given archaeologists insight into the everyday lives in the Middle Ages.
Apart from the lack of much physical remains it was a nice day for a walk and the countryside was beautiful rolling farmland.
