Towton battlefield loop

Two and three quarter miles across the fields where the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil took place on Palm Sunday 1461, an hour and ten minutes of easy walking with thirty metres of rise and a waymarked battlefield trail with interpretation boards to follow. Park in the lay-by on the B1217 at Towton or in the village itself; the 843 York to Leeds bus stops at Towton crossroads on the A162 a short walk away. The going is field headland and farm track with gates rather than bad stiles, a dog can be loose across the open ground where there is no stock, and Cock Beck at the bottom of the slope gives a drink; this is exposed arable land with no shade at all, so pick a cool day, and the low ground by the beck is claggy all winter.