W4: The Ripon Sanctuary Way

Leave Station car park 9.00am. Start at West Door Ripon Cathedral HG4 1QT (GR: SE 314 711, What3Words: ///procured.shams.universally) at 10.00am. 11 Miles. Moderate. 7In 937AD King Athelstan granted the right of overnight Sanctuary in Ripon, both in the Cathedral but also within a boundary marked by 8 boundary crosses. The next day justice was administered by the church authorities. This walk recreates the 8 boundary markers with interpretation boards and a route to link them, covering riverside and countryside paths and some walking through urban Ripon. As we go round the route we will learn more about the origins of Sanctuary, alongside an enjoyable circumnavigation of this historic City. Although deemed moderate because of its length this walk is mostly over easy ground, although it might be muddy in places.