Saint Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail: Yorkshire heritage charity launches circular horse riders’ route following one-year milestone
A year after it was launched the Saint Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail has introduced another circular route especially for horse riders.
The 41-mile-long pilgrimage route linking nine churches of Upper Ryedale and Helmsley with Rievaulx Abbey is accessible to walkers, cyclists and now horse riders too.
The trail starts at All Saints, Helmsley and takes in locations including the Rievaulx Methodist Chapel and Saint Chad’s in Sproxton.
The number of people who have completed Saint Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail (SAPT) this year range between 100 to 150 for each trail.
These routes are for everyone, whether they are religious, spiritual or non-religious, said George Gyte, the secretary of SAPT Society.
“They are all in hauntingly beautiful settings.,” Mr Gyte said.
“We wanted to encourage walking at a time just after the pandemic when people were feeling very insular and focused on the screen world as opposed to the natural world.
“We did notice the increasing interest in the dimension of spiritual wellbeing, I’m not talking about religion, I’m talking about what people feel about their relationship with the world and each other.
“We wanted to build engagement and interest in our heritage churches along the new trail that we designed because they range from medieval treasures through to Elizabethan and Victorian beauties.”
The trail has attracted several people from all walks of life.
“The trail became a very important way of opening up opportunities for people,” Mr Gyte said.
We launched the trail, tested it out and to our surprise we had over 100 people responding to that first launch.
“When we did our Lent walk with Bishop Barry in March 2025 we had 150 people [who attended].
“Many of them weren’t Christians, they were people who enjoyed walking, nature, the peace and quiet and tranquility that this part of the North York Moors offers in such abundance.”
The SAPT Society was registered as a charity in September 2025 and will be launching its horse riders’ trail on Sunday, November 2, 2025, which will be attended by The Yorkshire Vet’s Peter Wright.
The SAPT Horse Riders’ Guidebook has been published illustrating the 50-mile route which invites riders to journey through the heather moors, valleys and villages of the North York Moors, linking nine historic churches and the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey.
To celebrate the milestone, a launch event will be held at the Abbey.
The launch will also feature some horse riders in Cistercian monks’ habits and there will be two or three members of Regia Anglorum, a Medieval reenactment organisation, dressed to recreate the early medieval era.
The charity runs around three trails per year in spring, summer and autumn seasons.
It takes visitors through nine heritage churches: All Saints, Helmsley, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint John’s in Bilsdale, All Saints in Hawby, All Saints at Old Byland, Saint Mary’s in Scawton, Saint Michael’s in Cold Kirby, Rievaulx Methodist Chapel and Saint Chad’s in Sproxton.
There is a genuine interest from young people who want more out of life than just mundane living and want that spiritual dimension, Mr Gyte said.
“There is another world out there that they are missing,” he said.
“I think this in part is one of the reasons why we’re seeing a sudden re-emergence of interest and value in the spiritual dimension as well as an increase of the number of people going to church, particularly with young people.
“We’re getting a greater uptake of young men and women than we’ve had in a number of years. It’s very interesting.
“We’ve just had Covid, it was quite a big shock to our systems, we wanted to get a sense of freedom, getting out there, getting outdoors. I think now work and leisure is very screen-oriented.”
A big part of these events is focused on heritage, architecture and celebrating local talent.
“We will be building and continuing work that we do on heritage and the architecture,” Mr Gyte said.
“We really encourage local artists in our area to be a part of our events and have their work on display.
“Along with Ana Matthias, we’ve had Val Mather, a North Yorkshire photographer. She took some beautiful photographs for the launch, ahead of the launch we found this group of medieval re-enactors.
“One thing I’ve discovered about our area is how talented some of our farmers are in a range of ways.
“There’s a couple who farm in Bransdale called Trudy and David Sampson, who are very active within the church.
“Trudy is a beautiful textile artist and leads groups in creating textile creations. She has made several textile creations based on the trail.
“David is a Hardmoors runner and he ran the trail on our launch; he started at 6am in the morning and finished at 4pm in the afternoon in time for our celebration of service, 41 miles.”
The day of the launch will start off with a leisurely trek by riders Rievaulx Abbey via Tylas Barn, Tylas Farm, and Bow Bridge, from 10.30am to 1pm, Peter Wright will cut the ribbon at 11.30am and there will be coffee and snacks available at 12pm.