I visited one of Yorkshire's eerie and desolate 'ghost villages' with a sad nod to changing times

Yorkshire has been inhabited for millennia, with people from all sorts of different places and backgrounds making it their home.

With so many people, so many different civilisations, making Yorkshire their home, it is no surprise that some places get left behind. Wharram Percy is one of those forgotten villages.

Nestled in a stunning valley in the Yorkshire Wolds, outside of the town of Malton, the village was recorded in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror and is believed to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. Now, it stands completely empty - a victim of changing times.

Read More: Yorkshire village ridiculed for its name with 'wonderful' people but 'really tight' for parking

According to the historical record, changing prices in the 15th century led to sheep farming becoming more profitable than crop farming, and so more land was used by landowners for this purpose. As a result, certain places declined Wharram Percy, with the village eventually being abandoned in the early 16th century.

In more recent times, the site has become the subject of a number of archaeological studies and much of the former village has now been mapped out. St Martin's Church, which used to serve the community, still stands on the site to this day, the only building left.

Now the site is operated by English Heritage, with a car park located about three-quarters of a mile from Wharram Percy.

After making my way there along North Yorkshire's perilous and labyrinthine country road system, I arrived at this car park, which was small but empty at the time. There were clear signs pointing towards the village which was down a gravelly path through fields of long grass.

Already, it was an incredibly scenic location, and despite the drizzly weather, or perhaps partly because of it, the valley looked like an environmental shot from a Kurosawa film. Further down the picturesque path, the trees and bushes begin to encroach and you start to feel a little lost.

A brisk walk over a slightly overgrown field takes you to a bridge and a much muddier section. At this point, the only indication I was on the correct path was a tall sign which talked about the town, and so I continued on to the tractor path.

In the distance, you can then make out an old farmer's house, which was distinctly too modern to be a 15th Century building, and far too square to be a church. According to signs in the area, this was formerly an '18th Century Improvement Farm' which also formed the home for archaeologists excavating the site between 1950 and 1990.

Even more surprising, was the fact that I was already in the village itself. As I perhaps should have expected, there was nothing left. A Historic England map revealed that I was stood where some of the homes would have been, and that behind the farmhouse, was the church itself.

While not a particularly large church, it is an impressive site, with half of its old tower still intact and all the walls still standing. The church doesn't have a roof, but still has a graveyard attached.

There weren't any other visitors when I visited, meaning it was perfect for a proper exploration of the site. I spent a great deal of time looking around at everything the site has to offer, from the interior of the old church, to the scenic views of the surrounding valley.

Historic England signs, which had also been dotted up the earlier trail, had plenty of additional information for anyone who wants to learn more about the buildings and the village.

Overall, the trip there was well worth it, and Wharram Percy really does provide some stunning views as well as a great window into some of Yorkshire's forgotten places.